What should we do?

[Go Swannies]

There seems to be rare consensus on this board that last night against the Roos was unacceptable. Talk of recruiting etc is fine but isn't much help for this season. And we can expect Tiger and LRT to be out for a month or so. So what should Roos do with the players he has?

And I think he's working within some parameters. Sure we are being flooded more but I don't think Hall is fully fit - nor is Nick D, unless his lack of purpose has returned?

We have a series of very winnable games coming up - but so was the Roos game (for about five minutes). Next week we're playing a coach who knows the Swans as well as Paul Roos so something unexpected may be necessary. If the Roos in attack can damage us like that - can you imagine what Reiwoldt or Gehrig can do? I wonder if Andy D is going to the Dome to watch the game - if so his comments after might be a useful spur again. But it'd be better is the Swans just turned up to play.

Thoughts and ideas?

[swansrule100]

go the fist

[Frog]

Disclaimer - I am dreaming

[dream]
Eade leaves, Roos takes over as coach - We start winning with a brand of football that leaves everybody shaking their head - We run, and run, and run - slick handpasses, well directed long kicks to the forward area to players that run and run and run and slot goals with ease. The coach sits back, smiles, seems relaxed - He knows what it's about - The team on the field feels free, they know what it's about - Get it between those two big sticks more than the other team and we get 4 points at the end of the night, we get to sing, badly, and we take all the flowers thrown into the arena. Take the path of least resistance - Straight down the middle, stuff the wings, that's only going to make us more tired - So lets run the short stuff, between the sticks at one end and the sticks at the other end. We win the last seven and make the finals.
[/dream]

[reality]
Roos took over full-time. There was talk of a scragging coach for a while, but we wanted the exciting football, not the scragging type. We start a different brand of football - It has almost turned into a scragging type of football, but then, it won us a premiership, didn't it? It gets worse, other teams learn how we scrag and turn our own game-plan against us - There is no plan "B". The players are lost and use the wings, the middle no longer exists, other than for tackles, ball-ups and to use as a shortcut to mark a ball, started by yourself in the backline, at full forward. Players are tired, the coach is starting to lose control in the box - no longer smiling sitting back, no longer just having a talk to the players, re-inforcing his 10 rules of playing - He now lays down the law, yells, throws headphones and slumps his head into his hands.
[/reality]

Originally posted by Go Swannies: So what should Roos do with the players he has?

Go back to the beginning, give us an exciting brand of football, run the damn pill from end to end, through the corridor. Surprise the crap out of the other teams and play fast moving football - stuff this in-and-under, dour scragging, possesion-at-all-cost game-plan. Let the other teams come up with plan-bloody-"B" - Do something different, out of left-field, and watch the other team players scratch their heads as if they do not understand what is happening - Go back to the dream.

[DST]

I think it's very simple, we need to inject some pace into the side. Everything else is in place in terms of structure we just lack that pace from the stoppages at present as was seen through Wells last night.

While I think both Schmidt & Moore will be good players inside a team structure that does not have the likes of Matthews, Kirk, Bolton etc we just can't afford to carry both Schmidt & Moore at present in some games with their lack of pace.

So I think's it time that Roos turns to a couple of guys that can bring pace to the side such as Laidlaw.

If we can add one or two yuongsters with pace into the side we will be fine, the challenge is to find those two players on our list at present who are ready to play now or near in the future.

DST

[Alibi Monday]

...eeerr nothing!?

Structually, I don't believe there's a great deal of benefit tampering. We don't have the cattle in the reserves to replace our seasoned guys just yet.

The reality is that we were beaten by a better side last night who were more committed and snagged some excellent confident building goals. Our game plan works when the guys are more hungry to win than the opposition. Kangaroos were ravenous and why wouldn't they be - season written off, coming off 2 good wins and playing a premiership team. This game had finals like intensity. Sydney nearly won the game from 40 points down! Full marks to both teams for showing tremendous character. Most teams would have buckled under our fight back, but Shinboners were terrific. So were Sydney.

BTW - I thought Jack, looked far more comfortable than any of the new guys (Schmidt and Moore). I think we could be seeing a Crouch like run beginning. He won't get dropped.

[ROK Lobster]

Sydney nearly won the game from 40 points down! Full marks to both teams for showing tremendous character. Most teams would have buckled under our fight back, but Shinboners were terrific. So were Sydney.

Bollocks. I would rather nearly lose after being 40 points up in a spineless performance. This whole nearly won from a long way down is wearing thin.

[DST]

Bollocks. I would rather nearly lose after being 40 points up in a spineless performance. This whole nearly won from a long way down is wearing thin.

Get used to it, we simply have a team that will not fall off the pace and fight it out to the end no matter what type of night we are having.

DST

[swansrule100]

we should put this photo on every players locker

http://www.aflphotos.com.au/images/thumbs/main/5731.jpg

just as a reminder as to what it looks like if you put the ball in that area. I know it would be a radical move to put the ball there but it could work

[ROK Lobster]

Get used to it, we simply have a team that will not fall off the pace and fight it out to the end no matter what type of night we are having.

DST

Huh

[NMWBloods]

I think we are at a possible tipping point.

In the past we have started slowly, but gradually built momentum and improved as the season progressed. However, there is no guarantee that because we are starting slowly, we will again have the later build up. There is no real reason why we need to have that slow start anyway.

The other side is that we will continue to struggle throughout the year. A few of the older players are struggling relative to their form of previous years and we have not had a great influx of younger players to offset that. This could mean that this year we slide back a bit.

Of course, we may still have the late season improvement, but a number of things need to be fixed.

I'm not sure about massive changes, but we need to something about our midfield and forward line. Our midfield is slow and defensive. It can keep us in games, by strangling the opposition, as we have seen many times and even in the second half last night. However, it's also vulnerable to exploitation and it means that is very difficult to blow sides away and take advantage of our quality forward line. Our forward line structure also needs some work - when the opposition floods back or has a loose man or double teams Hall, we seem to have few answers.

I think we need to consider getting rid of some of our taggers and adding some pace from the reserves. We need to work more on how we get the ball into the F50 more effectively and take advantage of all our options there.

[NMWBloods]

This game had finals like intensity. Sydney nearly won the game from 40 points down! Full marks to both teams for showing tremendous character. Most teams would have buckled under our fight back, but Shinboners were terrific. So were Sydney.

In what way were we terrific? We outscored them in the last quarter, but so has nearly every other side this year, and we fell short. So we played two crap and one mediocre quarter, finishing with one reasonable quarter (which we also wasted - when were within 4 points, Kangaroos looked to be struggling. We should have run over the top of them, but instead we wasted the opportunity and they kicked the last two goals).

Pretty much nothing positive out of last night's game.

[swantastic]

Yep drop a tagger and bring in some pace from the ressies.

[Legs Akimbo]

First, I did not watch the game last night, so cannot really comment on that.

I got sucked into writing the team off too early last year (and the year before for that matter), so am wary of calling for wholesale change.

Whilst it is is a good thing that this year we have bought a few players through, I honestly think if TK had played last night, we would have won (based on the online and match reports, anyway).

As the winter sets in and the grounds get heavier, our style of play will start to become more effective.

Having said all of that, I think Roos should start considering

1. Spida is not the messiah...
2. From here on in, Hall gets worse not better
3. Ditto for Jude, Kirk, Mathews and Leo
4. McVeigh is not going to make it

This year is, realistically, the last shot at a flag. We go down whilst the likes of Hawthorn, Port and Collingwood go up. Will be interesting to see what transpires if we get a sustained losing streak.

[16.SFC]

Bollocks. I would rather nearly lose after being 40 points up in a spineless performance. This whole nearly won from a long way down is wearing thin.

Agreed

I find it puzzling that Sydney can consistently find the guts and determination to fight back after half time - hasn't it twigged with any of the players and/or coaching staff that if the same desperation was applied from the beginning of the game they may not be so far down, or (dare I say it?) ahead at half time?

Why wait till it looks like an impossible task to get their game face on?

[Red]

Extra goal-kicking practice. Then more goal-kicking practice.