Against Geelong - would we play like that again?

[Matty10]

Okay, ignoring all the aspects of whether we will make the finals, top four etc, if we played Geelong in the finals would we use the same game plan as we did last night?

Instead of playing 'tempo' football we took on Geelong in their own style and lost - due to a combination of factors. Is this what you would want the Swans to do in September, or would you rather they attempted to control space and the speed of the game (not playing on immediately after a mark, waiting for an option to present etc)?

[mcs]

if we attempt to control space and speed we will get absolutely slaughtered by them. I thought last nights tactics were fairly similar to what we did earlier in the year down there (Except we played on far more last night then earlier in the year). Its the only way that our team even has a hope of beating them.We cant play tempo football against them because they create too much pressure and too many turnovers and frankly our skills are simply not good enough to do it anymore against the best teams.

[Matty10]

It's a tough call either way I reckon.

Playing on is a great option for rebound football (particularly because Geelong swarm up the ground in numbers), but I am not sure that they turn the ball over often enough, in the middle or at half-forward, for us to capitalise on the scoreboard over four quarters. Clearly that depends on our defensive pressure also.

There is also an element of desperation in playing on without purpose - which we saw at times last night. Its also hard to determine how well the game plan was executed last night versus the application of skill.

I am not saying that playing Geelong should just be a matter of slowing down the game if the swans have a chance at winning, but I also don't think we have the quality of skills under the pressure of quick ball movement (by hand) through the centre. That style of play looked foreign to many of our players.

Playing Geelong using their game seems more like suicide to me.

Perhpas Roos was trying to prove a point, or set something up for the finals (who knows). However, I would be surprised if we played in the exact manner we did last night during the finals. Perhaps a combination of the two might occur, particularly when pushing inside 50.

Most of all I would like to see us take any and all opportunities when inside 50. We need more selfish forwards (under pressure handballs when a shot at goal is available is just frustrating).

[sharp9]

It was absolutely the best option...looking at the score 5 minutes into the 3rd Q, we were down only 16 points down, no? 1 complete gift from the umpires, many, many unequal umpiring decision, 3 missed shots from directly in front, at least 4 goals to them from very poor turnovers or frees under what was really only good, standard, afl level pressure.

We (and the umpires) have realistic room to improve in all those areas. Also we can very realistically improve the pressure to make tackles stick without letting the handball out.

So yes it was the right plan, but no we weren't good enough on the night. I think we should go the whole hog...continue with this game plan (which, BTW gives BBB and Mickey their very best chance to shine) but choose the players with the best skill set to achieve this game plan. That means selecting less experienced, but faster, more skillful players where one is available. I believe that this will be most successful for us even the medium (2-3 year) term...let alone the long term.

When you consider that O'Loughlin, Barry, Schmidt, Goodes, Malceski and Kennelly were either out or clearly hampered by injury, and that we lost two quick, line breaker or pack breaker type players (Moore and Crouch) during the game, then I think that 3 goals down in the 3rd quarter, all things considered is a good indicator that the game plan is the right one

[Goal Sneak]

The whole "tempo" footy that the Swans have been successful with in the past is no longer cutting it as a realistic approach to beating the top sides. Our record against the top eight this year is an indication that a good team can counter this type of approach with a fast, flowing style. The fact that Sydney's tackling pressure is not at the standard it once was does not help.