So what is our best team...

[JudesaGun]

IMO, this is the team to take us to back to back flags:


Phillips O'Loughlin Schnieder
(One marking target, two good crumbing small forwards. Phillips and Schnieder add speed to our line up and also enable our side to put on good forward line pressure)

O'Keefe Hall Davis
(Best line in the squad. Hall is our star AA, O'Keefe a very underrated leading target and Davis, the out of favour forward who simply must be in the team because he is capable of anything)

Buchanan Bolton Goodes
(Class and more, importantly toughness. These guys carry the Swans more often then not)

Kennelly LRT Malceski
(LRT gives us an option to take the opposition's big forward aside from Barry or Bolton, while the other two provide us with, potenitally, one of the most agile and highly skilled driving force off the backline in the league)

Bolton Barry Crouch
(Solid, experienced last line of defence. Crouch is our No 1 small forward tagger. Bolton and Barry are the heart and soul)

Jolly Ablett Kirk
(Jolly is still our best option in the ruck. NOG and Kirk may not have shown the greatest form this year. But one is the clearance king and the other has the strength and a booming kick to launch the ball forward quickly and help catch the oppositions backmen off guard)

I/C:

Grundy
(Tough choice between him and Vogels. Could go either way. I think Grundy is probably a better mark and on going by present form he's our best choice as a versatile option up forward)

Fosdike
(Midfielder rotation. Great skill and saves his best for the G where we'll have to win to take the Cup again this year)

Dempster
(Quick, skilled backman. Best option here as he has shown teh ability to work as a successful tagger and has the pace and height to take either an opposition midfielder or taller forward. Further, having him, Kennelly and Malceski as options down back give us some very potent runners)

McVeigh/ Schmidt
(Another midfielder rotation option. Can't split them for now purely because McVeigh has shown some great form and I would love to see what Schmidt is capable of)

[NMWBloods]

I'd put McVeigh in the FP for Phillips.

I'd like to put Vogels in for Ablett too.

[liz]

It is essentially the current team + Crouch + Davis + another ruckman.

Who misses out depends on the opposition and the mix - picked from (in no particular order) Dempster, Richards, Grundy, Phillips, Bevan - and with Moore (if he were able to get fit again) and Vogels having a strong case too. There's probably little to choose between those "bottom" half dozen or so in terms of the impact they can be reasonably expected to have in the short term.

[ROK Lobster]

I expect Spriggs to win the Norm Smith medal. Get $20 on him now - could make for an extra special October.

[adnar]

Davis O'Loughlin Buchanan

We rarely will play 3 forwards in positions like this, Buchannan would probably be more likely on the ball, pushing up past half forward. Davis needs to play closer to goal and get hit on a lead 35 metres out, not 65. O'loughlin speaks for himself, I have like him coming up the groun a bit lately.

O'Keefe Hall McVeigh

Dosn't need to much mention, O'Keefe is an inside 50 machine, Mcveigh has good hands and roving skills and has proved he can kick a goal when he has the chance.

Malceski Bolton Goodes

'Eski needs to be having a bounce on the wing and banging it into magic/davis on a lead 40 metres out, Bolton gets plent of clearences and Goodes does his thing.

Kennelly LRT Dempster
LRT will always take the big CHF and Kenelly the second small forward, usually someone he can run away from for rebound. Dempsters long kicking and height are a great asset on CHB

Bolton Barry Crouch
This is pretty standard. When fit Crouch can be very important and Barry and Bolton have proved that they can match it with the best 2/3 forwards.

Jolly Ablett Kirk

We couldn't drop Jolly no matter how bad he plays, needs a kick up the arse this preseason. Ablett is under threat but he is mainly an asset because he is a defensive midfielder like Kirk, I expect Dempster to be given some of his jobs soon if he dosn't improve.

I/C:

Grundy or Richards
Mainly on Saturdays performancefor Grundy but really Ted deserves this slot. has proved that he can be a usefull utility when needed.

Fosdike
Midfield rotation

Doyle
If he stays fit (a very big if) he could be our number 1 ruckman

Schnieder
Midfield/forward rotation

How the hell can you entertain the idea of Schmidt our best team?

[NMWBloods]

Please... it's Schneider.

Schnieder would be pronounced "Schneeder".

[barry]

Originally posted by liz
It is essentially the current team + Crouch + Davis + another ruckman.
\

Yep.

From current side:

In: Crouch
Out: Bevan

In: Davis
Out: Phillips

In: Doyle
Out: Richards

To be honest, the "outs" are all playing well at the moment, so we are close to our best team on the park at the moment. So why arent we winning more often ???

[liz]

Originally posted by barry


To be honest, the "outs" are all playing well at the moment, so we are close to our best team on the park at the moment. So why arent we winning more often ???

Because

a) Hall is only in "OK" form (by his standards)
b) We're missing Ball
c) Jolly's contribution around the ground is well down on last year
d) Our reigning B&F is having his worst season for several years
e) Our "second" midfielder has had a very ordinary past 6 weeks compared to his first third of this year and his first and last thirds of last year - Saturday was his best game for quite a while and by a fair margin.

[nomae]

good team, except i might put vogels in for grundy instead- one good game doesnt mean you're in the best 22 for the rest of the season.

[SimonH]

I'll bite:

Forwards: Davis O'Loughlin Schneider

Not a lot to add there, other than that:
a) Schneider has been nearly as prolific a goalkicker as in 2003, which is fantastic news, and
b) we need a lot more of the O'Loughlin kicking for goal we saw this week, and a lot less of several weeks prior to that.

Half-forwards: McVeigh Hall O'Keefe

Another line that picks itself, with McVeigh also proving himself very handy around the sticks.

Centre: Goodes Kirk Malceski

As has been noted many times before, Goodes actually has a 'go wherever the hell he wants, and do whatever the hell he wants' role, including some rotations in the middle 4. He's just gotta be picked somewhere. Malceski is also a 'give the kid as much time on the park as possible, and let him at it' selection as much as a specialist wingman. That said, Fosdike would have some claim to starting on the ground.

Half-backs Dempster Roberts-Thomson Kennelly

Dempster can and should keep pushing forward, to keep the opposition HFF accountable/nervous.

Backs: Crouch Barry C Bolton

Crouch, when fit, is a fine negator and knows his fellow team-mates' games inside-out.

Followers: Jolly J Bolton Buchanan

Sure, we need more from Jolly. But as far as the other 3 are concerned, you'd be hard pressed to find a better core of hard-ball-winners in the league than Kirk, JBolt and Bucky. They are the go-to centre bounce team in a tight spot, with of course many rotations to occur through the game.

Interchange: Ablett Vogels Fosdike Doyle

Only one guy listed in the team who hasn't played for Sydney this year, but he is if fit clearly our 2nd best ruckman; and Roos has acknowledged we can't expect to go all the way without a 2nd specialist ruckman.

Ablett is frankly fortunate to get a game, but his body strength, experience and booming kick drag him over the line. I think that Vogels is perfect to come off the bench and play 50 minutes or so at either end as needed.

Unfortunate exclusions: Grundy Phillips Moore Bevan Mathews Richards (plus Schmidt Spriggs Willoughby Chambers etc etc)

Leaving out Grundy is particularly tough, but for runs on the board over a year and a half, Vogels gets the nod as the tall on the bench. I believe that Richards has a long-term future at the club, but he's just not quite there yet. Moore is unlucky to miss out, but at the moment he's a classic 'get a game if someone is injured' player. Bevan and Phillips are others who can legitimately expect more game-time in 2007.

Having done this independently without cheating, I realise that I've done virtually a carbon copy of adnar's! I've also realised that of the 38 players on our senior list, there are only about 4 who currently have no serious claims on selection. That's a pretty impressive figure for a squad that is not excessively old.

[RogueSwan]

Geez, that looks good on paper Simon. I know this is obvious, but if all played to their potential we should be back to back. The front six should be able to kick more than enough and the rebound of the back six should give them plenty of chances.
All great in theory, time to prove it.

[giant]

I don't know if this has been noted elsewhere but Moore is out for the season now.

[goswannie14]

My best team is last years GF team. Enough said. Can we clone Bally?

[swantastic]

Originally posted by goswannie14
My best team is last years GF team. Enough said. Can we clone Bally?

Malceski in,not sure who out?Doyle?

[ScottH]

Originally posted by giant
I don't know if this has been noted elsewhere but Moore is out for the season now.

Yeh, I noticed that. Some thumb injury.