Reserves

[swans song]

They were down at 1/4 time but lead by a couple of goals at half time.
Crouch limped off injured??

[swans song]

3/4 Swans 16.15 Belconnen 6.10
We kicked 1st goal last 1/4

[swans song]

reserves won 21 goals to 10
Josh Willoughby may be reported for breaking Belconnens Capt Coach jaw??

[ItsAllGoodes]

From sportingpulse.com.au

Swans 1.4, 8.8, 16.15, 22.20. 152
Belconnen 5.1, 6.7, 6.10, 9.11.65

Goal Kickers:
S Phillips 5; S Rowe 3; T Schmidt 3; J Willoughby 3; L Vogels 2; P Currie 2; N Davis 1; S Garrubba 1; D Spriggs 1; K Thornton 1;

Best Players: D Spriggs; T Schmidt; K Thornton; J Willoughby; S Phillips; K Jack;


I would be very surprised if Spriggs doesnt win the Reserves B&F, perhaps both for the Swans and the Canberra comp

It says N Davis...but I am assuming M Davis

[ROK Lobster]

Originally posted by ItsAllGoodes
It says N Davis...but I am assuming M Davis

Well, the word is that he has worked very hard on his fitness.

[ugg]

For once I actually agree with that list of 'best' players. No one really stood out though and you could easily give BOG to any of Willoughby, Schmidt, Spriggs or Phillips.

Belconnen gave it a real go for about a quarter and a half. They didn't give the Swans midfielders and forwards any space which forced plenty of handling errors and turnovers. They also went with a Western Bulldogs-type of forward line with shorter but trick players which caused a few problems in the backline. However, the question was whether they could maintain it for the majority of the game.

The turning point came midway through the second quarter. Belconnen were in charge and leading by 3 goals when a free kick was awarded to Garrubba for a high tackle. The Belconnen player wasn't happy with the decision and remonstrated first with the umpire then with Simpkin which resulted in a 100m penalty. Garrubba goaled from directly in front and Belconnen really lost it from there. They were undisciplined from then on and allowed the Swans to run riot through the midfield. Minutes later, Willoughby took a mark on the wing and was driven into the ground late by a player who was not in the marking contest. 50m penalty results and Willoughby goals to put the Swans in front for the first time, from which they were never headed.

It rained goals from then on, with Phillips particularly impressive with some of his goals. His 'goal sense' is terrific and he probably should have kicked a few more as he had 4 behinds to go with his 5 goals.

Jack played at fullback against one of their star players in Jeffery who kicked 3 early goals for them in the 1st quarter. However for the rest of the game, Jack was excellent and even outmanouvered his opponent in some one-on-one contests. Very impressive comeback by Jack.

Thornton has steadily improved over the course of the season and I think he'll push for a senior spot in the next year. Simpkin's game was the best I've seen from him and I think they'll give him another go on the rookie list next year.

The ruckmen Ericksen and Shaw finally took charge in the 2nd half.

Crouch watch: Started the game, rotated off during the 1st Q. Started 2nd but went off again and not sighted since then. Must be a long shot for the finals now.

I'm struggling to remember the Willoughby incident. I do remember a Belconnen player in a bit of strife but have no idea what happened. A bit of niggle in some passages of play. I get the feeling that other teams are getting frustrated by playing us and believe we're being protected by the umpires.

Also Luffy mentioned on the MMM broadcast that the Swans were looking for the reserves to play in the SANFL. Weird idea for a multitude of reasons, not least the cost of it.

[swans song]

Good report.
I think we genuinely have some depth in our reserves. The development of a lot of these kids is crucial. Makes a nice blend to the immediate future of the club.

[Foreign Legion]

Thanks for that report ugg - good to hear about the 2's.

Spriggs must be pretty pissed off - sounds like he is knocking the door down but doesn't have the coaches' confidence.

Will they give him a run this week to see if he can cut the mustard? Might be some blokes rested this week I reckon - although that doesn't send a good signal to the opposition.

[satchmopugdog]

Did anyone see how Laidlaw played?

[ugg]

He was pretty good - rebounding off half back and doing a solid job in defence.

[SimonH]

Originally posted by ugg
Also Luffy mentioned on the MMM broadcast that the Swans were looking for the reserves to play in the SANFL. Weird idea for a multitude of reasons, not least the cost of it.

Mein gott! What a left-field idea.

Negatives are obvious:
? cost
? lack of geographical connection to the market we're trying to grow (w/ apologies to players from Broken Hill)
? willingness of SANFL to fund their clubs' trip to Sydney every fortnight (I presume we wouldn't be so mad as to play every game in Adelaide); and
? attitude of AFL, which has consistently white-anted the SANFL's plans to expand to anywhere other than its allocated development zone of the NT (the ACT and Qld are both ideas that have been floated, with varying levels of seriousness, for a 10th SANFL side).

However, the one major positive is the biggest one of all: the SANFL is the 2nd-best comp in Australia. Even though some VFL die-hards may beg to differ, a number of indicators (not just VFL/SANFL interstate game results) point in that direction. Our seconds sure as hell wouldn't dominate it, and in fact would be doing an outstanding job to keep an even ledger of wins & losses.

[elroy67]

Originally posted by SimonH
Mein gott! What a left-field idea.

We would also have easy access to all our previous rookies.....

[SimonH]

Originally posted by elroy67
We would also have easy access to all our previous rookies.....

And we could, in one fell swoop, halve the go-home factor for our South Australian draftees! (By my count there are 8 of them on the senior list; although the only one I can recall in recent memory who has actually gone home in a trade, as opposed to going home after delisting, is Ryan Fitzgerald.)

[Matt79]

Originally posted by SimonH
And we could, in one fell swoop, halve the go-home factor for our South Australian draftees! (By my count there are 8 of them on the senior list; although the only one I can recall in recent memory who has actually gone home in a trade, as opposed to going home after delisting, is Ryan Fitzgerald.)

Scott Stevens?

[Jeffers1984]

Originally posted by Matt79
Scott Stevens?

Scotty Stevens is originally from WA.