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General concensus seems to be that the Eagles have improved since last year and will have benefitted from the experience (and hurt) of last year.
But how about the Swans?
Over the season as a whole, I'd say that some of the more important players have had slightly worse years than last. Leo and Kirk are two such examples. On the plus side, their form is the first half of the season is meaningless now and both have been gradually improving as the season has worn on.
This time last year Baz was on fire but he was far from the most important player in steering us to the GF. Indeed, he was pretty close to ineffectual in the QF and SF, before making valuable - but not dominant - contributions in the PF and GF. There were some goodish signs on Sunday afternoon from the big man, after a relatively flat patch for him.
Goodes is in rare form - not just brilliant but consistently so over a long string of matches. He is clearly in top shape and his confidence must be high. He is also a seasoned campaigner now and there is no reason to think he won't carry his recent form into the finals. He was an important player in last year's finals - especially in the GF - but he didn't dominate.
In past years our midfield's class level has looked clearly a notch or three down when Willo has been missing. McVeigh and Malceski have gone some way to addressing this. Neither deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Willo in terms of what they have achieved thus far compared to Willo at his flying best, but they can lay valid claim to reducing the "drudge" factor often prevalent in our midfield.
Ball's absence has had an impact this year, as most expected, but less obviously so in the last month. The form of Jolly plus the amazing ability of Doyle to string four injury free and constructive games together makes the absence of Ball seem far less of an issue than at any other time this year.
Last year LRT's first quarter of the GF took us by surprise, despite the fact that he'd steadily improved throughout the second half of the season. This year, I suspect a similar performance would barely have us blinking, so far has he come.
The likes of the Bolton boys, Kennelly, O'Keefe and Buchanan are pretty consistent and their recent form has probably been at a similar level to this time last year. Ablett and Schneider look to be in slightly better touch. Goal kicking aside, O'Loughlin looks in better form than at any time over the past three years.
Crouch is a loss and one that could bite the team badly. His ability to break the lines through the middle, his toughness, his ability to blanket a small forward or to moderate a mid-sized midfielder is a hard combination to replicate. Without him the team has less defensive flexibility. But hopefully a combination of Schneider and Dempster (a contrasting pair) can go some way towards fulfilling the roles than Crouch could have been called upon to play.
There are seven other teams in the finals series that, on their day, can play fantastic football and blow any opponent away. The Swans may well be beaten by a better team on the day. But I think we are in at least as good shape as this time last year and in some aspects better balanced.
Thoughts?
But how about the Swans?
Over the season as a whole, I'd say that some of the more important players have had slightly worse years than last. Leo and Kirk are two such examples. On the plus side, their form is the first half of the season is meaningless now and both have been gradually improving as the season has worn on.
This time last year Baz was on fire but he was far from the most important player in steering us to the GF. Indeed, he was pretty close to ineffectual in the QF and SF, before making valuable - but not dominant - contributions in the PF and GF. There were some goodish signs on Sunday afternoon from the big man, after a relatively flat patch for him.
Goodes is in rare form - not just brilliant but consistently so over a long string of matches. He is clearly in top shape and his confidence must be high. He is also a seasoned campaigner now and there is no reason to think he won't carry his recent form into the finals. He was an important player in last year's finals - especially in the GF - but he didn't dominate.
In past years our midfield's class level has looked clearly a notch or three down when Willo has been missing. McVeigh and Malceski have gone some way to addressing this. Neither deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Willo in terms of what they have achieved thus far compared to Willo at his flying best, but they can lay valid claim to reducing the "drudge" factor often prevalent in our midfield.
Ball's absence has had an impact this year, as most expected, but less obviously so in the last month. The form of Jolly plus the amazing ability of Doyle to string four injury free and constructive games together makes the absence of Ball seem far less of an issue than at any other time this year.
Last year LRT's first quarter of the GF took us by surprise, despite the fact that he'd steadily improved throughout the second half of the season. This year, I suspect a similar performance would barely have us blinking, so far has he come.
The likes of the Bolton boys, Kennelly, O'Keefe and Buchanan are pretty consistent and their recent form has probably been at a similar level to this time last year. Ablett and Schneider look to be in slightly better touch. Goal kicking aside, O'Loughlin looks in better form than at any time over the past three years.
Crouch is a loss and one that could bite the team badly. His ability to break the lines through the middle, his toughness, his ability to blanket a small forward or to moderate a mid-sized midfielder is a hard combination to replicate. Without him the team has less defensive flexibility. But hopefully a combination of Schneider and Dempster (a contrasting pair) can go some way towards fulfilling the roles than Crouch could have been called upon to play.
There are seven other teams in the finals series that, on their day, can play fantastic football and blow any opponent away. The Swans may well be beaten by a better team on the day. But I think we are in at least as good shape as this time last year and in some aspects better balanced.
Thoughts?
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