Match thread: Swans v Bulldogs.

[liz]

The SCG used to drain brilliantly . Do those big name concerts
stuff it up ?

I don’t think it’s as straightforward as a drainage issue. Back in the last century, before they fixed the drainage, the crntre square and goal squares would become thick mud patches after moderate rain.

Two thirds of the surface still seems fine, despite there being a bit of rain around (tiny amount yesterday; a lot over the last two months).

[Thunder Shaker]

Highlights:

Heeney is one of the top 10 players in the competition. His 5 goals were all class and equalled his highest goal tally in a game.

Buller's goal. It's always good to see someone score their first.

Gulden's 30 disposals were more than anyone on the ground and he looked dangerous whenever he got near the ball.

Lowlights:

Another loss, but it was a far more competitive game than the recent games against Melbourne and Adelaide.

Kicking for goal was inadequate. Set shots in particular were awful. Some of those set shots were quite wide and far out, but more of the ones from straight in front should have been goals. 4 goals 10 from set shots and a few that did not score at all were not good enough. However, the rest of the score from general play produced 10 goals 2 behinds and that's a significant improvement.

The playing surface was awful. It was a minefield with large patches of anemic grass everywhere. The television coverage had a few occasions where they played spot-the-hazard with some closeups of the more egregious patches of turf. The playing surface needs to be fixed, and quickly.

That loss means we're probably not playing finals this year. That gives freedom to try new tactics and offer opportunities to get a few games into fringe players. I tried out the Squiggle ladder predictor this week and its average prediction was Sydney finishing tenth. Even by tweaking the tips to have Sydney winning all the games except one or two didn't get Sydney higher than eighth. The two-game gap (now three games) between Sydney and eighth is a gap that is hard to overcome. If we're not making the finals, let's at least shape them, starting with Fremantle next week.

Overall, it was disappointing to lose, but it was a good game.

[lwjoyner]

Have they been told not to report frees for and agaiist. I went to bed at half time "p off" wtih umpiring Scrays got most of thema s they did in 2016 which was ap/ship on umpiring. all yr ,they were lucky to make to the gf, Unpires were scolded by AFL as worst effort seen I do remember.
Now is the time to try some of the other close recruits like Snell and if not injured Edwardes, We need to get ready for draft and delisting quite a few of those we recruited last year In what as i see a wated draft, both main and rookie. Paton is an example. And by the way does anyone know what the frees count was in the end.

[liz]

delisting quite a few of those we recruited last year In what as i see a wated draft, both main and rookie. Paton is an example.

Does Paton count as an example if he’s the only one?

[wolftone57]

People are saying if Amartey had a tight hamstring he will be out at least two. Not this time. Cox addressed it in the presser. Totally preventative. McCartin had a virus, both back next week according to Cox. I liked what Buller did. He gives a contest, he is never going to be like the other Blonde 39, Capper, but he is honest and gives a good contest and when he does get the ball he brings his teammates into the play. That handball to Paps was super quick. He kicked a goal.

I want to give credit to two blokes who don't get much love. Lewis Melican's game on Darcy was sensational. Darcy only got 10 disposals, he kicked 3 because he gets the ball very close to goal. He also has players blocking very effectively. I think under the circumstances Lewis did an amazing job. When Darcy was in the ruck Lewis took Naughton and beat him. Lewis hot 17 disposals, 8 marks. If the forwards had kicked their set shots straight we would be saying he beat Dogs. The other bloke is not given much praise unlike Heeney, Gulden, Chad. Sam Wicks was wonderful. He had 18 disposals, 4 tackles. West kicked 1 goal. He kept West to 11 disposals and he also goes to the mids, so most of them came in the midfield.

If we kick straight. We win. simple really. Pity our blokes can't kick straight. It is a virus going around called the Inaccuracy Set Shot Virus and everyone seems to be infected but Isaac. The whole club because the Reserves have it too.

[Dow]

Have they been told not to report frees for and agaiist. I went to bed at half time "p off" wtih umpiring Scrays got most of thema s they did in 2016 which was ap/ship on umpiring. all yr ,they were lucky to make to the gf, Unpires were scolded by AFL as worst effort seen I do remember.
Now is the time to try some of the other close recruits like Snell and if not injured Edwardes, We need to get ready for draft and delisting quite a few of those we recruited last year In what as i see a wated draft, both main and rookie. Paton is an example. And by the way does anyone know what the frees count was in the end.

Think you need to stop blaming the umps for our woes, there were howlers both ways and we won the free kick count - across the board we dominated most facets of the game except 2 key areas goal efficiency and disposal efficiency and right there is where we lost it.

[wolftone57]

I don’t think it’s as straightforward as a drainage issue. Back in the last century, before they fixed the drainage, the crntre square and goal squares would become thick mud patches after moderate rain.

Two thirds of the surface still seems fine, despite there being a bit of rain around (tiny amount yesterday; a lot over the last two months).

It's not to do with water. It is the surface itself. The turf they have laid is not stable and therefore moves easily. I once helped lay turf for a front lawn. It was heavily muddy as it was a moist day. lots of humidity. In one patch of the lawn we were slipping and big skids of mud were appearing. Eventually that problem disappeared. but for the first two to three weeks it persisted and every time my friend walked on his lawn he had to be careful to avoid that section as it was very slippery. When the grass grew and covered the mud completely it was fine. if that turf has just been laid, then it might be the reason it is slippery. But the reality is, that is not good enough. It is dangerous. a player could break a leg on a slippery surface.

[wolftone57]

Have they been told not to report frees for and agaiist. I went to bed at half time "p off" wtih umpiring Scrays got most of thema s they did in 2016 which was ap/ship on umpiring. all yr ,they were lucky to make to the gf, Unpires were scolded by AFL as worst effort seen I do remember.
Now is the time to try some of the other close recruits like Snell and if not injured Edwardes, We need to get ready for draft and delisting quite a few of those we recruited last year In what as i see a wated draft, both main and rookie. Paton is an example. And by the way does anyone know what the frees count was in the end.

At half time the frees were;

Bulldogs 33 Swans 22

Full Time
Bullfdogs 16 Swans 17

Woek that out because I can't.

[UUaswan]

At half time the frees were;

Bulldogs 33 Swans 22

Full Time
Bullfdogs 16 Swans 17

Woek that out because I can't.

Zero chance there were 55 Frees in that first half

ITo work it out, think you were looking at the wrong column

We are our own worst enemies with disposal, plain and simple

[Dow]

People are saying if Amartey had a tight hamstring he will be out at least two. Not this time. Cox addressed it in the presser. Totally preventative. McCartin had a virus, both back next week according to Cox. I liked what Buller did. He gives a contest, he is never going to be like the other Blonde 39, Capper, but he is honest and gives a good contest and when he does get the ball he brings his teammates into the play. That handball to Paps was super quick. He kicked a goal.

I want to give credit to two blokes who don't get much love. Lewis Melican's game on Darcy was sensational. Darcy only got 10 disposals, he kicked 3 because he gets the ball very close to goal. He also has players blocking very effectively. I think under the circumstances Lewis did an amazing job. When Darcy was in the ruck Lewis took Naughton and beat him. Lewis hot 17 disposals, 8 marks. If the forwards had kicked their set shots straight we would be saying he beat Dogs. The other bloke is not given much praise unlike Heeney, Gulden, Chad. Sam Wicks was wonderful. He had 18 disposals, 4 tackles. West kicked 1 goal. He kept West to 11 disposals and he also goes to the mids, so most of them came in the midfield.

If we kick straight. We win. simple really. Pity our blokes can't kick straight. It is a virus going around called the Inaccuracy Set Shot Virus and everyone seems to be infected but Isaac. The whole club because the Reserves have it too.

No know cure lol the Dockers went through this diesease for about 4 years in the end they had to trade the players and or delist them…. Hope we can find a cure lol ?

[mcs]

Im not saying effort doesn't matter, of course it does, im saying I'm not going to praise a professional athlete for putting in effort.

My 9yr old is expected to put in effort every week, no excuses

Of course effort levels should be high every week. But they aren't - and last nights levels were in my opinion by far the best we've reached across the season, and should be recognised. I'd be amazed if the coaches do not recognise the effort levels in their review of the game, and in highlighting expectations that we need to be seeing that every day of the week.

The game has moved on a long way from hard nose attitudes where parts of what deliver high levels of performance are just ignored because they are assumed to be a 'given'.

Zero chance there were 55 Frees in that first half

ITo work it out, think you were looking at the wrong column

We are our own worst enemies with disposal, plain and simple

There were 20 odd to quarter time, they were pretty trigger happy.

[wolftone57]

Have they been told not to report frees for and agaiist. I went to bed at half time "p off" wtih umpiring Scrays got most of thema s they did in 2016 which was ap/ship on umpiring. all yr ,they were lucky to make to the gf, Unpires were scolded by AFL as worst effort seen I do remember.
Now is the time to try some of the other close recruits like Snell and if not injured Edwardes, We need to get ready for draft and delisting quite a few of those we recruited last year In what as i see a wated draft, both main and rookie. Paton is an example. And by the way does anyone know what the frees count was in the end.

Logan McDonald & Wil Edwards; 7-9 weeks

Tay Adams 3-5 weeks

Riak Andrew did ok

Riley Bice was good with 25

Jesse Datoli kicked 1.3, from 13 and 3 tackles. Another that has the Setshot Virus

Bed Bowman doesn't seem to have shown anything at VFL level

Will Green doesn't seem to have played much time yesterday. The young ruckman was playing quite well, especially when Ladhams played AFL

Tom Hanily either didn't play or got injured early

Pistol Pete had a good game D24, Cl13, 2.1. Should come in for McLean who is looking more like a Mac Truck than a Hino 300

Blake Leidler doesn't seem to have developed.

Caleb Mitchell doesn't seem to be developing as he was last season. Can't see us playing him in the AFL team anytime soon.

Patrick Snell seems to be developing quite well but Key Defenders take time. Maybe next season.

Ben Paton was playing really well up until his concussion. I think there is more upside than down with this guy. He has the capacity to get the ball. I think maybe play him mids. He seems to be playing there in the Reserves.

Robby Fox will soon be back

[wolftone57]

Does Paton count as an example if he’s the only one?

i don't think Paton is a wasted draft pick. He has played really well in the reserves and probably would have played another couple of games if not for a virus and concussion. His form in the reserves has been very good. If he can convert that to AFL then we have a real player. Mind you he plays back in the AFL but Mids in the VFL.

[wolftone57]

Think you need to stop blaming the umps for our woes, there were howlers both ways and we won the free kick count - across the board we dominated most facets of the game except 2 key areas goal efficiency and disposal efficiency and right there is where we lost it.

How do you know we won the Free Kick count. The figures on the AFL Website are not the figures. At half time the figures were Dogs 33 Swans 22. But at Full Time the figures were Swans 17 dogs 16. You figure it out I can't. The AFL has said they will not be reporting figures, so are those just an estimate?

[mcs]

Pistol Pete had a good game D24, Cl13, 2.1. Should come in for McLean who is looking more like a Mac Truck than a Hino 300

Need to bite the bullet and give Pete a good run at it in place of Mclean for mine, who looks hampered and struggling for form and confidence. Wouldn't harm someone to teach him to get his eyes up occasionally when he marks on the wing and move it on a bit quicker - he does blow some good opportunities by taking too much time, which is frustrating after he works well to get up the ground and get the ball on the lead, something we desperately need more of.

How do you know we won the Free Kick count. The figures on the AFL Website are not the figures. At half time the figures were Dogs 33 Swans 22. But at Full Time the figures were Swans 17 dogs 16. You figure it out I can't. The AFL has said they will not be reporting figures, so are those just an estimate?

According to the website it was 22-16 our way. But there were near on 20 frees in the first quarter. I'm not convinced there were only 5 a quarter for the rest of the game - the numbers look shoddy to me (in quantum terms - no idea in split terms)