5 areas where we need to improve the most, on the field

[Go Swannies]

It's not the leadership group alone that annoys me, it's the way they seem to be given a free access pass to have as many bad games as they like knowing they'll be safe the next week. All players need to be under pressure to perform, week in and week out, no exceptions.

So play some of the kids and the ones that are overwhelmed in their first week or two are back to the 2s?

Or tell Eski that he's so far off his form of the year before that there's no way he'll be playing seniors for a while?

Or, for that mater, tell Leo that he can't jump anymore and not having anyone better to play in his place is no reason not to drop him?

[stellation]

Stoppages are the big thing for me. We seem to be good enough at winning the ball, but I don't think we then get it into good attacking position- a lot of that seems to be that the mindset of our midfield for some time has been only to go for the ball as a secondary measure with the primary focus being to stop your man (of course a good way to stop your man doing something with the ball is to get it yourself ). I really, really like seeing Bird in the stoppages for us because he does seem to find the more attacking option within the pack- Veszpremi has it too but I can't see him playing in the midfield next year.

I also don't think we look very well structured when we are bringing the ball out of defence at the moment, it appears to me (and it may be completely wrong) that we have far too many team rules in that area, which I assume have been introduced to continue to play "low risk footy", and it leaves the defenders at times looking as if they are over analyzing the situation. If it is because of team rules, I'd like to reduce them.

Related to the previous, and seemingly at odds a little, we play far too disciplined at times in the back half. If you watch Adelaide play, when McLeod gets the ball they create a pocket space for him to work in if there is no option to take and the half forwards and forwards break on leads, with half the available people in the middle of the ground breaking to the opposite wing to create space and setup for a switch of play; at Sydney the defender will chip back instead and any leading forwards will double back or hold off their leads, with our midfielders remaining stagnant. Obviously we've won a premiership more recently than Adelaide, and they don't do that every time (or for every player!) but it is something I'd like to see us adopt.

Take quick kick-ins. If there isn't a good quick option then fine, wait for the designated kicker- but every single player on the team (LRT included!) should be able to take a quick kick-in if the rule allows it.

[liz]

Kicking for goal. We miss far too many highly gettable shots. Back in 2003 the team achieved unnervingly accurate conversion but since then I suspect we've been in the bottom 25% in the league in every single season.

Main culprits:

O'Keefe - for a player who gets close to the most out of himself in almost every other facet, his conversion at goal is poor, poor, poor.

Moore - gets some slack for still being a player trying to find his feet at senior level but for someone as skilled as he is with his feet, in 2008 he must have missed well over a dozen that he really coulda, shoulda kicked.

Hall - the stats will tell us he's a pretty decent converter. And much of the time he is. But it bugs me how he misses some of the more straightforward chances he gets, often his first couple of shots of a game, through what looks like lazy execution of his normal style.

Vez - I think he kicked 9.11 in his 6 games this year. Not officially an issue yet as he was definitely still finding his feet. But he is a much better kick that those stats suggest.

MickyO - still seems to be a mental thing for him. Either he's "on" or he's not. Mostly a case of keeping fingers crossed the first shot he has at goal each game because if that one goes through, often most of the rest will too. To be fair to him, doesn't seem to have been completely "off" much since late September 2005.

Monty - not sure much will change. But some of the misses are pretty painful to watch.

Macca should give hope to the rest that a skill like this can be turned around. Sure, it helps if you have the ability to take many of your kicks from 2m out, but he nailed many more conventional shots in 2008 that in 2007 would have missed by a mile.

[Go Swannies]

Stoppages are the big thing for me. We seem to be good enough at winning the ball, but I don't think we then get it into good attacking position- a lot of that seems to be that the mindset of our midfield for some time has been only to go for the ball as a secondary measure with the primary focus being to stop your man (of course a good way to stop your man doing something with the ball is to get it yourself ). I really, really like seeing Bird in the stoppages for us because he does seem to find the more attacking option within the pack- Veszpremi has it too but I can't see him playing in the midfield next year.

I also don't think we look very well structured when we are bringing the ball out of defence at the moment, it appears to me (and it may be completely wrong) that we have far too many team rules in that area, which I assume have been introduced to continue to play "low risk footy", and it leaves the defenders at times looking as if they are over analyzing the situation. If it is because of team rules, I'd like to reduce them.

Related to the previous, and seemingly at odds a little, we play far too disciplined at times in the back half. If you watch Adelaide play, when McLeod gets the ball they create a pocket space for him to work in if there is no option to take and the half forwards and forwards break on leads, with half the available people in the middle of the ground breaking to the opposite wing to create space and setup for a switch of play; at Sydney the defender will chip back instead and any leading forwards will double back or hold off their leads, with our midfielders remaining stagnant. Obviously we've won a premiership more recently than Adelaide, and they don't do that every time (or for every player!) but it is something I'd like to see us adopt.

Take quick kick-ins. If there isn't a good quick option then fine, wait for the designated kicker- but every single player on the team (LRT included!) should be able to take a quick kick-in if the rule allows it.

I'm with you on that. And, strange as it seems we need better teamwork. In 2005 it seems as if every Swans' player instinctively knew where every other one was. Now we wait till we see the next player and they wave and by then we're face down in the dirt with half a dozen defenders on top.

Maybe each Swans player could think of shepherding for a fellow player at least once a season. Watch how the Cats protect Ablett (our Ablett would faint if that happened).

The Hawks and Cats have learned from the Swans of 2005/06 - and improved on it. Man up (as we do) and the game is half won. But - as the Grand Final showed - if you can skillfully pass the ball as often as you need to to eventually find a player in space than you can start the attack. Watching the Hawks do it in September was a thing of beauty. We are halfway there - we can normally quickly pass it three or four times before we cough it up.

So, overall, skills work would be good. Passing, kicking (not just for goal), making tackles stick (an area in which we were once good but are now bad). We don't need to be fast (it hasn't got the Dogs far) but we need to be good at finding the next team mate quickly.

That's where the players need to improve. Next we need Paul Roos to have a back up plan. Next time we are getting caned by the Crows or the Pies I'd love to see us do something new. Or anything at all to throw Malthouse or Craig off their plan. Swap Leo and Baz, throw Adam in the ruck, put Jolly at FF or FB (o on the wing for all I care), run down the corridor as a bloody phalanx (with spears if necessary) - just don't sit in the coaching box thinking "here we go, we're going to lose again. Hey, anyone remember how many in a row this'll be be?

[goswannie14]

That's where the players need to improve. Next we need Paul Roos to have a back up plan. Next time we are getting caned by the Crows or the Pies I'd love to see us do something new. Or anything at all to throw Malthouse or Craig off their plan. Swap Leo and Baz, throw Adam in the ruck, put Jolly at FF or FB (o on the wing for all I care), run down the corridor as a bloody phalanx (with spears if necessary) - just don't sit in the coaching box thinking "here we go, we're going to lose again. Hey, anyone remember how many in a row this'll be be?

You sound like Malcolm Blight , but is makes perfect sense, how many times have you heard Blighty say, "Just do something different".

If you are reading this Roosey, you know it makes sense, just do something different.

[Go Swannies]

You sound like Malcolm Blight , but is makes perfect sense, how many times have you heard Blighty say, "Just do something different".

If you are reading this Roosey, you know it makes sense, just do something different.

I hope I never sound like Malcolm Blight. Anyway he normally suggests it when Baz has kicked 0:4 and it's the end of Q1, we're 10 points down and we're playing Melbourne.

[goswannie14]

I hope I never sound like Malcolm Blight. Anyway he normally suggests it when Baz has kicked 0:4 and it's the end of Q1, we're 10 points down and we're playing Melbourne.

nah, he says it more often than that, I like Blighty, and he makes a lot of sense with special comments, he was also a pretty decent coach.

[Xie Shan]

Now we wait till we see the next player and they wave and by then we're face down in the dirt with half a dozen defenders on top.

Watch how the Cats protect Ablett (our Ablett would faint if that happened).

Swap Leo and Baz, throw Adam in the ruck, put Jolly at FF or FB (o on the wing for all I care), run down the corridor as a bloody phalanx (with spears if necessary)

Love your work GS! I'll supply the spears for our next SCG game. One slight correction:

"by then we're face down in the dirt with half a dozen defenders on top...and pinged for holding the ball"

[mcs]

Kicking for goal. We miss far too many highly gettable shots. Back in 2003 the team achieved unnervingly accurate conversion but since then I suspect we've been in the bottom 25% in the league in every single season.

Main culprits:

O'Keefe - for a player who gets close to the most out of himself in almost every other facet, his conversion at goal is poor, poor, poor.

Moore - gets some slack for still being a player trying to find his feet at senior level but for someone as skilled as he is with his feet, in 2008 he must have missed well over a dozen that he really coulda, shoulda kicked.

Hall - the stats will tell us he's a pretty decent converter. And much of the time he is. But it bugs me how he misses some of the more straightforward chances he gets, often his first couple of shots of a game, through what looks like lazy execution of his normal style.

Vez - I think he kicked 9.11 in his 6 games this year. Not officially an issue yet as he was definitely still finding his feet. But he is a much better kick that those stats suggest.

MickyO - still seems to be a mental thing for him. Either he's "on" or he's not. Mostly a case of keeping fingers crossed the first shot he has at goal each game because if that one goes through, often most of the rest will too. To be fair to him, doesn't seem to have been completely "off" much since late September 2005.

Monty - not sure much will change. But some of the misses are pretty painful to watch.

Macca should give hope to the rest that a skill like this can be turned around. Sure, it helps if you have the ability to take many of your kicks from 2m out, but he nailed many more conventional shots in 2008 that in 2007 would have missed by a mile.

Very important points Liz- we have lost a few games along the way we could of won if we had of kicked straighter. It is so frustrating, especially in games (Ie Collingwood/St Kilda Rd 1 etc) Where we are struggling and then waste the few chances we get. So often in the last couple of seasons we have found a way to drag ourselves back into the contest, only to throw away any slim chance through poor kicking.

You are a little bit harsh on Magic o,p- since that awful off day in 05 on GF day, he's been very very good in front of the sticks! Still has the occasional bad shot or day, but overall he is pin point accurate compared to periods in his earlier career.

[2005]

Kicking for goal. We miss far too many highly gettable shots. Back in 2003 the team achieved unnervingly accurate conversion but since then I suspect we've been in the bottom 25% in the league in every single season.

Main culprits:

O'Keefe - for a player who gets close to the most out of himself in almost every other facet, his conversion at goal is poor, poor, poor.

Moore - gets some slack for still being a player trying to find his feet at senior level but for someone as skilled as he is with his feet, in 2008 he must have missed well over a dozen that he really coulda, shoulda kicked.

Hall - the stats will tell us he's a pretty decent converter. And much of the time he is. But it bugs me how he misses some of the more straightforward chances he gets, often his first couple of shots of a game, through what looks like lazy execution of his normal style.

Vez - I think he kicked 9.11 in his 6 games this year. Not officially an issue yet as he was definitely still finding his feet. But he is a much better kick that those stats suggest.

MickyO - still seems to be a mental thing for him. Either he's "on" or he's not. Mostly a case of keeping fingers crossed the first shot he has at goal each game because if that one goes through, often most of the rest will too. To be fair to him, doesn't seem to have been completely "off" much since late September 2005.

Monty - not sure much will change. But some of the misses are pretty painful to watch.

Macca should give hope to the rest that a skill like this can be turned around. Sure, it helps if you have the ability to take many of your kicks from 2m out, but he nailed many more conventional shots in 2008 that in 2007 would have missed by a mile.

Rekon your right on the money here Liz except :

Moorey : No excuses on most of the goals he missed , senior level or Canberra ,they just have to be nailed. He had chances to win a couple of games for us and missed far to many easy goals for a small forward.
He was missing as many at years end as at the start.

Mickey O : His kicking has been pretty good post 05 and I rekon he is the one I feel most comfortable kicking at goal for us.
He has the occasional bad one, so does every forward.

Agree with Vezpa ,Hally ,Monty,Macca and Rhino ( No 1 Culprit ).
Rhino is possibly one of the worst Set Shots going around Ive seen.
For a side that generally doesnt kick big scores , we must convert much better thann we have the last couple of years.

[liz]

Rekon your right on the money here Liz except :

Moorey : No excuses on most of the goals he missed , senior level or Canberra ,they just have to be nailed. He had chances to win a couple of games for us and missed far to many easy goals for a small forward.
He was missing as many at years end as at the start.

Mickey O : His kicking has been pretty good post 05 and I rekon he is the one I feel most comfortable kicking at goal for us.
He has the occasional bad one, so does every forward.

Agree with Vezpa ,Hally ,Monty,Macca and Rhino ( No 1 Culprit ).
Rhino is possibly one of the worst Set Shots going around Ive seen.
For a side that generally doesnt kick big scores , we must convert much better thann we have the last couple of years.

OK - agree with your observation (and MCS') that I might have been a tad unfair on Magic. Also was going to include Goodes, but while his set shot kicking is far from elite, it seems to be an area he improved on significantly in 2008.

The thing that bugs me most about watching ROK take set shots is that it is often just kick and hope. He honestly looks like he has no idea where to aim half the time. You would think that, with 7 or so years of senior footy under his belt, he'd had a decent understanding of his own kicking style by now and have some idea of the likely trajectory of the ball. His field kicking is pretty good - someone will come up now with effectiveness stats but I don't pay much attention to those because they ignore the fact that he frequently kicks quickly, long and to a contest and generally this is a good thing but it doesn't help his effectiveness stats like short sideways chips would.

On Moore, he did miss some set shots but I don't remember many that were woeful. It was more the relatively easy snaps, shots on the run that got me but we have to acknowledge that as a relative newbie to senior footy, he may not always have realised the time he had available. Judging time and space is a damn sight easier when you're sitting up in the stand!

[2005]

OK - agree with your observation (and MCS') that I might have been a tad unfair on Magic. Also was going to include Goodes, but while his set shot kicking is far from elite, it seems to be an area he improved on significantly in 2008.

The thing that bugs me most about watching ROK take set shots is that it is often just kick and hope. He honestly looks like he has no idea where to aim half the time. You would think that, with 7 or so years of senior footy under his belt, he'd had a decent understanding of his own kicking style by now and have some idea of the likely trajectory of the ball. His field kicking is pretty good - someone will come up now with effectiveness stats but I don't pay much attention to those because they ignore the fact that he frequently kicks quickly, long and to a contest and generally this is a good thing but it doesn't help his effectiveness stats like short sideways chips would.

On Moore, he did miss some set shots but I don't remember many that were woeful. It was more the relatively easy snaps, shots on the run that got me but we have to acknowledge that as a relative newbie to senior footy, he may not always have realised the time he had available. Judging time and space is a damn sight easier when you're sitting up in the stand!

Yeah Rhino is the intruging one to me Liz,cant understand a quality player of his standing is so poor at kicking at goal.He seems to have got worse as his career has progressed as well. Hope with all that has happened he may be able to turn things around in 09 and Rhino can become reliable.
Still rekon Moorey has to be better and more accountable though.
As I said when you are a small forward you have to kick them and you are right its his snaps at goal and on the run that a well below par.
Matty Campbell , Lindsay Thomas, Wonamerri, Stokes, Rioli, all come to mind as young goalkicking forwards that seem to close the deal.

[BSA5]

Moore looked to me like a very good set shot. It seems that only his shots at goal in general play are poor. A pressure thing?

Rhino is a weird one. In 2003 and 2004, he kicked 17.5 and 33.17 respectively. That's a pretty impressive conversion rate (69% over the two years). And then in 2005, he kicked 31.33, and he never quite recovered his accuracy. He has the ability to kick straight, but he seems to have forgotten how to do it.

[liz]

Still rekon Moorey has to be better and more accountable though.
As I said when you are a small forward you have to kick them and you are right its his snaps at goal and on the run that a well below par.
Matty Campbell , Lindsay Thomas, Wonamerri, Stokes, Rioli, all come to mind as young goalkicking forwards that seem to close the deal.

I don't think Moore is that similar a player to those, though (and this year took more of a role in the midfield too). He's less silk (though not unskilled), more bulldozer. Most of those guys are pretty good tacklers - you have to be nowadays to survive in that role -but I don't think they burrow into packs or barge through traffic in the way that Moore does. And few of his shots are easy pick-ups and runs into goal. (McVeigh has those covered ATM!)

Also, many of those types of players miss more than their share of relative sitters. At least one of those two North boys missed some howlers this year. I think it was Campbell but I confess to finding them a bit too hard to separate watching games.

Not denying that it is an area Moore needs to improve but I still think we can expect an awful lot of guys who are still babes in terms of senior AFL experience.

[The Big Cat]

Only reason? I guess it had nothing to do with having one of the best power forwards, the tightest defences, one of the best tap ruckmen, guns like Williams and Kirk at peak fitness and form, the perfect balance of youth and experience? Goodes in the middle of two Brownlows?



Even if it were the only reason, and it's not, tempo football and taggers were winning games back then but things change. Just because the leadership thing worked for us in 2005/2006, it doesn't mean it's the going to be the best way to go about things in 2009.

It's not the leadership group alone that annoys me, it's the way they seem to be given a free access pass to have as many bad games as they like knowing they'll be safe the next week. All players need to be under pressure to perform, week in and week out, no exceptions.

I didn't say we had no other attributes as undoubtedly we were a very good side. My point is that it was the leadership/culture etc that took us from a very good side to a premiership one.

I agree that tempo footy/hard tags etc are no longer as effective as they were. But this has nothing to do with the leadership structure and the Ray MacLean philosophy of great teams. The style of play has nothing to do with the leadership set up.

I cannot agree with your point about the leadership group protecting their own backsides. Matthews hardly got a game last year. The WHOLE team changed little in 2006-7. Most of those who continued to get a game were not even part of the leadership structure - Everett, LRT, Mcveigh (before he came good), Fosdike, Crouch (until injured), Bevo etc etc.