Game Thread Sydney v Collingwood

[Bas]

Lets just get through the last half of the year, maybe win a few games to finish on a bit of a positive and have one HELL of a clean out at years end!

I agree however there is a problem.

If we tank, look at the teams behind us. Are they ever really going to overtake the Swans on the ladder?

If we have a clean out, who do we bring in? Sure we can upgrade Murphy, Pyke, Orreal, three picks minimum in the draft and perhaps an off cut in pre-season. That makes 7 new faces.

At this stage we will have Kenelly, Fosdike, L.Barry gone. Three picks in the draft. Will this realistically improve things when over the next 3 years when we will lose quite a few veterans?

Not looking good.

[Pace To Burn]

Perhaps you can give him some of your name 'cause he's got none.
And admit it, he can't kick. Probably the worst kick in the AFL. I'd put Jobe Watson ahead of him and that is saying something

Oh sorry i forgot that everyone should hit a target everytime. Never made a mistake champ, as i said before if he he is so @@@@house with his disposal why would every club in the comp love to have him. Some of you people are never satisfied and arent happy unless your looking at the negetative side of everything, his game had so much more positive than negative its not funny, what a poor way to live your life seriously

[Pace To Burn]

Kirk had 15 clearances! He was easily one of our best. Its his job to belt it out of the packs. I think too many of you prefer the players who skirt the packs so they can get that clean touch.

Unfortunately some of these people dont understand that someone has to do this so that the seagulls can look good

[annew]

Was disappointed we lost of course and doubly so cos I hate Collingwood but there were positives, Jack was good, Bird was good, Jesse is getting much better and has definite promise and is a good kick Thornton shows was ok and promise, LRT was ok although Cloke is not in form. Glad that there were new players in the team now lets keep playing them in preparation for next year. Bring in Orreal or Pyke and let Jesse have a go in the forward line. Collingwood on tonight's performance will not beat the other 3 top teams (I hope anyway) and I didn't leave before the end but I so wanted to 'cos I didn't want to have to listen to the stupid Collingwood song.

[liz]

I'm in two minds. Frustrated that we lost a game that could have been won. But gladdened in that we were in the game. The Pies haven't just beaten us over the past 3 seasons. For most of those games, and certainly the last 3, they've made us look completely inept. Last time around the game was lost barely before a goal was kicked- you could just sense that the players were terrified of what was going to unfold.

Tonight, the skills were ordinary to say the least, but at least we won our fair share of contested ball and weren't made to look pudding slow - well, not all the time, anyway. I now believe the time might eventually come when we actually win a game against the Pies. Before this evening I was starting to doubt it could ever happen.

I really enjoyed the performances of a few of our younger players, especially Bird and Smith. Neither got a hold load of possessions but they both showed they have some tricks. Bird's work to win the ball on the ground in the pocket that led to one goal (Moores??) was super, and he showed a few more evasive moves to get out of traffic.

I wasn't sure whether Smith would be ready to show off any of his tricks yet at senior level but he looked pretty comfortable out there tonight and showed a few glimpses of what he's capable of. Hopefully he'll get to play most of the rest of the season.

Jack had a pretty good game on Davis, who didn't really look overly dangerous until the final quarter, even though he was arguably the difference by the end of the game. Got some good touches of his own too.

Barlow was very flabby to start but his intensity certainly picked up as the game went on. Shame about some of his decision making. Still, hope they persist for another week or two.

White is gradually looking more like a bona fide senior player. Shame he couldn't hold onto those two grabs in front of goal but at least he got himself into the right spot.

What was others' take on Goodsey's game. I thought his first half was the same old Goodsey, not his most dominant of the season but pretty much what we've come to expect. But in the second half he looked completely spent. He seemed to get close to a lot of contests but didn't have the energy to compete. Most unlike him, because he usually runs out games very strongly.

And hopefully McVeigh isn't in too bad shape. He looked to be in pain for most of the game, after that crunch to his shoulder, and it clearly affected his output.

[Pace To Burn]

I'm in two minds. Frustrated that we lost a game that could have been won. But gladdened in that we were in the game. The Pies haven't just beaten us over the past 3 seasons. For most of those games, and certainly the last 3, they've made us look completely inept. Last time around the game was lost barely before a goal was kicked- you could just sense that the players were terrified of what was going to unfold.

Tonight, the skills were ordinary to say the least, but at least we won our fair share of contested ball and weren't made to look pudding slow - well, not all the time, anyway. I now believe the time might eventually come when we actually win a game against the Pies. Before this evening I was starting to doubt it could ever happen.

I really enjoyed the performances of a few of our younger players, especially Bird and Smith. Neither got a hold load of possessions but they both showed they have some tricks. Bird's work to win the ball on the ground in the pocket that led to one goal (Moores??) was super, and he showed a few more evasive moves to get out of traffic.

I wasn't sure whether Smith would be ready to show off any of his tricks yet at senior level but he looked pretty comfortable out there tonight and showed a few glimpses of what he's capable of. Hopefully he'll get to play most of the rest of the season.

Jack had a pretty good game on Davis, who didn't really look overly dangerous until the final quarter, even though he was arguably the difference by the end of the game. Got some good touches of his own too.

Barlow was very flabby to start but his intensity certainly picked up as the game went on. Shame about some of his decision making. Still, hope they persist for another week or two.

White is gradually looking more like a bona fide senior player. Shame he couldn't hold onto those two grabs in front of goal but at least he got himself into the right spot.

Bird had 20 Liz, not bad for his usual 50% gametime

[Robbo]

Who was meant to be playing on Didak?

Whoever it was should hang their head in shame because I don't think I've ever seen anyone run around on their own for so long. It was @@@@ing unreal.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that we need to rebuild. And that doesn't mean giving away draft picks for recycled players, it means drafting as many kids as possible and blooding them.

Smith was decent but we really need guys who can kick with greater efficiency.

[Nico]

Oh sorry i forgot that everyone should hit a target everytime. Never made a mistake champ, as i said before if he he is so @@@@house with his disposal why would every club in the comp love to have him. Some of you people are never satisfied and arent happy unless your looking at the negetative side of everything, his game had so much more positive than negative its not funny, what a poor way to live your life seriously

Sanctimonious twaddle.

[liz]

Bird had 20 Liz, not bad for his usual 50% gametime

Didn't look at any stats so wasn't sure of the numbers. That is a good output added to how effective some of his moves were.

Some of you should hold judgement on Smith and his kicking. I didn't see too many dodgy ones tonight, a couple of very intelligent ones, and a lot under pressure with a greasy ball. He is a more than adequate kick, based on what I've seen at reserves level. But his real asset is his brain. He is a very smart young footballer, and once he gets a few more games under his belt I think you'll all start to see that.

[ugg]

Who was meant to be playing on Didak?

Whoever it was should hang their head in shame because I don't think I've ever seen anyone run around on their own for so long. It was @@@@ing unreal.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that we need to rebuild. And that doesn't mean giving away draft picks for recycled players, it means drafting as many kids as possible and blooding them.

Smith was decent but we really need guys who can kick with greater efficiency.

It was ROK on Didak for most of the night.

[Haz]

Barlow a poor finisher? Not sure what game you were watching, he was amongst our best in that regard. Granted, he took on a couple of very difficult shots at goal, but in both instances they were the best option, and he didn't quite pull them off. Doesn't make him a poor finisher. His kicking in general play was fantastic, and that goal he slotted was straight as a bullet. Might have been from straight in front, but it would have been a goal from anywhere.

Also, to those saying Barlow lacked physicality/looked scared, I couldn't disagree with you more. One thing I noticed about his game is that his intensity was 10X the last game he played. He picked up 5 contested possessions (out of 16), chased all day (something I haven't seen from him before, he really put in), and used the ball really well. Very happy with his game, he has definitely earned another one in my opinion.

Couldn't agree more. I thought barlow's effort tonight was top notch. Was very influential in alot good passages of play, and unlucky not to get a couple more goals. (i think goodesy should have tried to mark barlows kick to the goal square instead of trying to shepherd it through.

I was at the game and thought all of our youngsters played and tried really hard.

Crouch should probably go. Fumbled nearly everything.
Micky o needs to prove himself in the next 10 weeks. still has his touch, but has well and truly lost pace.

[DST]

I agree however there is a problem.

If we tank, look at the teams behind us. Are they ever really going to overtake the Swans on the ladder?

If we have a clean out, who do we bring in? Sure we can upgrade Murphy, Pyke, Orreal, three picks minimum in the draft and perhaps an off cut in pre-season. That makes 7 new faces.

At this stage we will have Kenelly, Fosdike, L.Barry gone. Three picks in the draft. Will this realistically improve things when over the next 3 years when we will lose quite a few veterans?

Not looking good.

Add to Kennelly, Fosdike, Leo Barry with both Crouch and MOL and you have 5 spots even before looking at the likes of Brabazon.

Things are not that bad, as per my reply in another thread we are treading a fine line but we still have a group of decent youngsters who with atleast 6 or 7 picks in the last un-compromised draft this year will give us something to work with.

DST

[annew]

Yeah Barlow needs to play more games, cos he showed some promise. I think he gets a bit intimidated. O'loughlin it is sad to say is officially too old and too slow but he has to play 'cos he deserves to get 300 games up to be the first Sydney Swans to do so.

[DST]

It was ROK on Didak for most of the night.

That ended up a draw between the two of them.

Leon Davis finishing skills was the difference in the end.

I said mid week, only way we would get close was if Jolly had a blinder and we controlled the clearances. We did but were not clean enough to take advantage.

DST

[hammo]

Some deplorable skills on display tonight. And no surprise that we got back into the game in the third quarter by kicking longer and doing away with the mindless handpassing. I was worried our 3rd quarter effort would eventually see us run out of legs and that appeared to be the case.

I was impressed with the younger players: Thornton, Smith and White just looks like one of our better players now.

Just have to admire the efforts of Jude and Kirky. You never know, Jude might snag the B&F this year such is his intensity and desire.

MOL's form is a big concern for me. Is age finally catching up with him? We need to desperately do something with our forward line because we just aren't taking enough marks in our forward 50. They just aren't running hard enough or into the right positions. Moving ROK up the ground is probably a double edged sword.

Finally, Rhys Shaw needs to stop his constant berating of teammates. For someone who is an average player at best and comes up with than his fair share of clangers, he is the last person to be passing judgment. His frustration seems to stem from not being given the ball. Unless the game plan is to give the ball to Shaw at all opportunity, which seems unlikely, he should concentrate on getting into better position if he expects to be given it.