2026 Preseason

[Syd76]

Anyone read the Herald Sun? There is an article quoting Errol that there is a bolter for the Swans opening game. I refuse to pay so can't read

The so called bolter is said to be Harry Kyle.. the article that I read was from the Australian. and based off the training thus far .. and I quote "Kyle is set to be the standout of his class in the early stages"

[Auntie.Gerald]

Harry Kyle

https://archive.md/R0GwY

[KSAS]

Thanks AG . Interesting to note in that article that Papley missed Monday's hit out with soreness. Riak (calf) and Cootee (hip) also missed. Hope they are minor and we'll see them returning soon.

[dejavoodoo44]

I bumped into Errol and Logan at the Sydney FC game the other day and had a quick chat with them, got a few interesting insights:
- Logan has been training both forward and back over the preseason, reckons he will be playing a bit of both this season.
- Mills has been training with both the midfield and the backs
- When I asked who had impressed them so far in preseason they were quick to point to Rosas who they said is lightning quick and does things nobody else could dream of
- Errol had huge raps on Serong, called him an "absolute beast" and expects him to come in and make an impact straight away
- Errol also said Blakey has been brilliant in preseason and thinks Serong can really free him up to become even more of a rebounding weapon

That all seems pretty positive. Though personally, I'd prefer to see McDonald largely stick to playing forward. If he's fit and firing, he'd be an excellent alternative target to Curnow. Along with Amartey or McLean. I'd prefer it if it was more like the Sam Reid role, of sometimes dropping back for a few minutes here and there, to help out the defence.

Hopefully, as the season progresses, we'll see more of Mills as a big bodied mid. I'm still haunted by us being overpowered in grand finals, so he might be handy in guarding against that.

Also pleased to hear that Rosas is firing. As someone who's seen a lot of the Suns over the years, I was a bit surprised that he seemed to be on the outer last season. At his best, he's extremely skilful and can put points on the board in a hurry. Competition for the small and medium forward spots should be interesting this season. Dattoli is also someone I'll be looking at with interest. I was impressed with his ability to win one on one contests, even though he seemed nowhere near fully fit last season. So, with a decent preseason, he could be very useful, both as a small forward and an occasional midfielder.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Double post

[Auntie.Gerald]

Agree re Logan and Mills

ie being used in the backline when the game is not on our terms and we need to stack that backs but primarily Mills will play midfield and Logan forwards and or when there are tricky matchups up front of back

also re Logan it would be very helpful to defend on Curnow for small parts of training to learn from how Curnow engages / runs lines / holds etc and the little body work tricks

great news re the above a new players to the Swans

[imuninformedtwo]

That all seems pretty positive. Though personally, I'd prefer to see McDonald largely stick to playing forward. If he's fit and firing, he'd be an excellent alternative target to Curnow. Along with Amartey or McLean. I'd prefer it if it was more like the Sam Reid role, of sometimes dropping back for a few minutes here and there, to help out the defence.

Hopefully, as the season progresses, we'll see more of Mills as a big bodied mid. I'm still haunted by us being overpowered in grand finals, so he might be handy in guarding against that.

Also pleased to hear that Rosas is firing. As someone who's seen a lot of the Suns over the years, I was a bit surprised that he seemed to be on the outer last season. At his best, he's extremely skilful and can put points on the board in a hurry. Competition for the small and medium forward spots should be interesting this season. Dattoli is also someone I'll be looking at with interest. I was impressed with his ability to win one on one contests, even though he seemed nowhere near fully fit last season. So, with a decent preseason, he could be very useful, both as a small forward and an occasional midfielder.

Dattoli is an interesting one. In the near term, he'll play forward while he builds his tank and durability. But long-term, I reckon he's a midfielder. Some of his gathers and handball releases in chains of play last year were so clean and precise. Just an instinctive thing. At the very least, he may have tricks around the forward line and spend some time there, but he looks to me like someone who could and should spend the majority of his time as part of the on ball rotation once he's got the fitness base.

[Auntie.Gerald]

https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/1946057/goodwin-reveals

simon Goodwin interview

[KSAS]

Watched 6 min video highlights via Youtube of club's latest match sim hitout (doesn’t appear on club's webste as yet).

https://youtu.be/TUHQw45eXx0?si=oquDEQX_K_Xgnnm_

Looked intense. Logan playing key forward with Charlie in the opposing team. Didn't see Armatey. Papley appears still missing with soreness, along with Riak & Cootee.

Rosas involved in a few clips which looked promising.