Hawthorn game day thread

[goswannie14]

To be replaced by who, exactly?

How the hell would I know? We never get to see the reserves play.

[goswannie14]

I think that Hawthorns injury list is being used as an exagerated excuse and people are falling for it. They still had a very impressive lineup out there last night. People downplaying the significance of Sydney's win might also want to take a look at Sydney's injury list.

You're right Cruiser, it is a bs excuse by those who want to write us off.

[Damien]

Agree. This is not a true test of our team against the best teams.

I saw the Swans beat the Reigning premiers last night with a team that included Franklin, Hodge, Mitchell, Roughhead, Rioli and Williams, among others including more premiership players.

It is perhaps one of the most hysterical over reactions by some in the media to suggest we played against a second string Hawthorn. Hawthorn had some concerns injury wise last night, but I refuse to buy into this crap.

If it was so clear they were so down, then why didn't the same media hacks pick us on this basis???

[pinkemu]

t.Great night at the Rising Sun , in real good company and the beer was great.

p

I hope you didn't have to pay us much as we did at Homebush, was it $6.20 or $6.30 I can't remember as I'm still in shock.

[Legs Akimbo]

Gooddes grab at the goal post was great. The smart non-infringing thing that Goodes did was pushing the opponent in front out with his raised leg when he jumped towards the mark. Putting the hands on the back is a no-no as we know now.

This tactic should be adopted more often especially with bigger heavier people that we have (such as White, Hall, Jolly, LRT) on most against other opponents of lesser "weight. Jolly was "kicked at the back last week and it was not a foul either.

This tactic should be used when the ball is kicked high to the attacking square.

Why is this tactic not used more often? Someone knows? Coaching failure?
Hall hardly uses this tactic - for fear of injury?

Playsmart, don't mean to be rude, but have you ever played? When I grew up in Daylesford in the 70s/80s, taking a speccy in kick to kick was what it was all about, using the hands was a no no. It is about timing your jump and most importantly taking off on one leg and raising your knee. Of course, Chris Grant and his brother Jamie were the stars at it

This, like handballing and shepharding etc, is an integral part of the game, rather than a 'tactic'.

However, these days, I think the speccie is seen less because (i) coaches tell players to play the percentages - if you go up and miss, you land on your arse and are effectively out of the competition, so they tend to punch from behind rather than 'fly' and (ii) more players have a basketball background where they jump from two feet instead of one.

[Legs Akimbo]

To be replaced by who, exactly?

I agree that Crouch looked like he was struggling but Bevan was a solid contributor. Regardless of different opinions of their games, there was no-one playing in the early game with any hope of doing any better in the short term.

Bit hard on Bevo, but as for Crouch, I still don't get it. Might as well give Brabazon or MOD a hit out because Crouch is giving us squat and he's probably not going to play on next year anyway.

[Donners]

I think that Hawthorns injury list is being used as an exagerated excuse and people are falling for it. They still had a very impressive lineup out there last night. People downplaying the significance of Sydney's win might also want to take a look at Sydney's injury list.

They were missing eight of their best 22, including their best two ruckmen, which made a big difference on the night.

Who are Sydney missing? O'Loughlin, who is hot and cold, Barry who struggled last season, Vezpremi who has shown a few good signs but is by no means a certain starter...anyone else who would have been in the side if fit?

Not saying it was a certain win or anything like that, but it was nowhere near the wins against the Brisbane premiership side like the Herald Sun was saying today.

Bit hard on Bevo, but as for Crouch, I still don't get it.

I think Bevan was at least as bad as Crouch. Not only was he easily outpaced by Stokes and Rioli, he has a habit of crashing onto the ground while his opponents are still standing - meaning that if he misses the ball (as he did last night), they can just run away from him.

[ShockOfHair]

You know ... now I can look at last week's loss in a different light. (Bear with me.) I watched the Ainters today and again, they didn't really let the ball go past the half-forward line. The way I see it, Lyons played Roosey at his own game and did it better on the day; so we lost. (Did anyone see Schnieder's snap in the last quarter ... his eyes were on the ground - a few more of those per year might have kept him in the R&W!!) Tonight's win, however, perhaps has made me a little less cynical ... till next week. Bloody brilliant.

Agree. The Saints are really on right now. They completely locked down Adelaide as they did to us.

Lots of positives: Meredith's debut, the form of Goodes, Kirk, Hall, who were all quiet last week, White's performance - looks like we have two full-time ruckman for the first time since 2005.

Bolton and LRT have been outstanding in these first two games in the absence of Leo.

[Xie Shan]

Well, didn't Roosy play the media beautifully this week! Come and see Buddy, he says. I didn't get sucked in to that, though I must admit I tipped the Hawks, more as a result of our poor recent record against the top sides in 2007/08. In hindsight, the late withdrawals for Hawthorn were fairly important, and we were always going to be a chance in this game if we could take advantage of our ascendancy in the ruck and their weakened backline, as we already have a pretty good record against them under Alastair Clarkson.

But it was a great win, we ran, hunted in numbers and tackled strongly, and most importantly kicked to the advantage of our forwards! In short, we did all the stuff that went missing after quarter-time next week, and it was fantastic to watch!

Meredith reminds me of a young Jude Bolton but with better disposal, so hopefully he doesn't cop as much of a bagging as Jude has on here over the years Slotted in nicely. Should see more of him this year.

White impressive again, it's been mentioned previously but he was robbed of a brilliant mark in the last quarter...not happy.

Shaw...well in many ways he's the opposite of our previous No. 2 isn't he! Runs everywhere but not the most reliable kick. Still not his greatest fan but I suppose he's there to do a job (provide run off half-back) and by that measure he did it well.

Rant ahead: Umpires/rule interpretations!

Thankfully the umpiring didn't influence the result of the match as the Swans clearly had more of the best players on the ground and deserved the win but there are just so many rules that are open to interpretation these days it's become really frustrating to follow. Lost count of the number of free kicks inside 50 that led directly to goals (for both sides) for minor infringements. Most of them were there, but I want to see less umpire intervention, not more. It makes for a better game (and it was a pretty good game to watch, too).

Now I know it's not the umpires' fault as they were only applying the rules, and we got our fair share of soft ones, but the more the rules committee goes down this route, it'll only end up highlighting the incorrect decisions and the decisions that AREN'T paid. Grr. [/rant]

[Nico]

All you Noggy knockers - just watch his game tonight..

He doesn't standout, just does his job.

Sorry Sprite, I saw the replay this morning and he was just as average as he was last night. What was his job that he did so well? 4th lowest ranking for the team. 11 possessions, 7 in the 2nd half, 3 tackles. He did get around the ball a bit more often but his disposals were so ineffective. He spoiled a contest by trying to jump for a mark or something, that saw a quick turnover. He is our 22nd player for mine. Doesn't do enough and is not creative.

Jack had a shocker. 9 possessions, 8 clangers, 5 frees against with his redeeming factor being 8 tackles.

[sidswan]

It was FANTASTIC...... but I'm concerned about 'money-bags' ROK, I reckon he's still out of sorts & not trying his hardest.

What about the 22 (TWENTY-TWO) goals ...........ugly and disreputable??

[Big Al]

...... but I'm concerned about 'money-bags' ROK, I reckon he's still out of sorts & not trying his hardest.

There is a difference between not playing well and not trying. He was running as hard as everyone last night but some nights it just doesn't work for you. Just ask Buddy

[Nico]

Jack did hs role well enough, but he made lots of mistakes. Bird gave the ball away at least twice in the first quarter. They weren't too bad overall, I just have doubts over their skills.

Gee harsh on Bird there Donners. Skills are not just realated to disposals and most times they were good. He only had 53% game time, got injured and concussed, then came on in the 3rd stanza where he had 6 possessions and showed incredible coolness when he had the footy. He gets behind the play and uncannily gets on his own.
He has Robert Harvey type skills in that he slips tackles and instinctively knows which way to go. Did you not notice his 4 centre clearances in the 3rd quarter?

[liz]

It was FANTASTIC...... but I'm concerned about 'money-bags' ROK, I reckon he's still out of sorts & not trying his hardest.

What about the 22 (TWENTY-TWO) goals ...........ugly and disreputable??

Hard to say whether ROK's effort is there or not but he may be suffering from the lack of O'Loughlin (or White when Currie is ready to debut in the ruck, or Grundy if and when Leo is back in defence). He has been stationed much closer to goal than normal in both games so far this year, and his best asset is his ability to run, run, run and mark on strong leads.

And at least he is nailing his shots at goal (based on these two games plus the pre-season game at Rouse Hill). That has been a big let down in his game in recent years so if he is converting a couple of shots a game, even if he's not giving us his normal run, he is still contributing.

[ScottH]

craig bolton and LRT were immense in defence tonight

Both seem to be much fitter and in much, much better form than '08, esp. LRT.