I am pumped for the Saints game!

[Plugger46]

Facts are we traded 2 premiership players, in their early 20's, for a second round draft pick.
I would love to still have both these.. highly skilled players in their mid 20's(something we have few of now) on our list.
BTW.. If we hadn't of traded them we still would of ended up with either Mattner or Meredith. To suggest we got both because of this terrible trade is misleading.
As a footnote to that, Meridith looks OK but Otten looks like a star of the future.
Anyway on a brighter note I too am looking forward to this game, even though an easy Saints win is on the cards. It will be interesting to see how our younger players cope with the Saints pressure.

The club also mentioned salary cap problems at the time. Dempster and Schneider or Meredith and Mattner.
I know which two I'd prefer.

[SwansFan1972]

The talk about the Schneider & Dempster trades is just raking over old ground. Get over it - they're gone.

Schneids has given the Saints two or three good games, and much more of what he routinely gave us. Ok in bursts, but blows up too quickly, and is erratic in front of goal. Giving away a slowish midfielder/forward with erratic disposal and questionable stamina does not warrant the amount of weeping RWO has shed over him.

And they've had bugger all out of Dempster (with respect to him, through no fault of his own - doing a knee and 12 months sucks).

Sure - it is sad to see premiership players cleared out, but the hand wringing over them being traded should have long since ended. It is surely now time to just think of them as members of an exclusive club with an ever widening membership! Would they have made a skerrick of difference to us if they were still here? Nup. Nada. Nothin!

Anyway, back to the question at hand. There is not a single measure on which we should reasonably think the Swans will win. Except that our team wins more often than most when backs are to the wall and all seems dire. May the stars align and the Swans do an '04 on em! Go Swans!

[Plugger46]

Spot on SwansFan1972.

[goswannie14]

I can't see it happening, but in my history (55 years) of following the swans I have never wanted a win so much in a H&A match. Why are St Kilda supporters so bloody arrogant when they've won bugger-all for so long. When we won in 2005 we were humble in the process, so were Geelong, so were the Hawks especially after they won it. Every year I have to put up with this superior attitude from St Kilda supporters. A win for us this week, then straight sets out of the finals for the Saints would make for a perfect end to the season.

Too true Big Cat, they are the most arrogant, rude, obnoxious fans in the league. They make Pies supporters look like Rhodes Scholars!

I was talking to a plaumber the other week who used to sell pies etc at Moorrabbin in the 70's, said they were just as bad then.

Can't see us beating them, but it would be awesome if we did.

[Primmy]

Well I suppose I can go this game with a fairly assured heart rate of knowing it is highly unlikely we are going to win thisn. I shall have my coffee n biscuit without the shakes, I shall not be charging off to the loo, I will be calm, deep breathing calm.

I will go to the aftermatch and enjoy Bradley's company and see if his shirt is hanging out again. I will then go home, calmly, and eat myself silly. Such is the life of a Swan - at present. It is the calm before the storm. Keep breathing Primmy, keep breathing.

[hot potato]

Well I suppose I can go this game with a fairly assured heart rate of knowing it is highly unlikely we are going to win thisn. I shall have my coffee n biscuit without the shakes, I shall not be charging off to the loo, I will be calm, deep breathing calm.

I will go to the aftermatch and enjoy Bradley's company and see if his shirt is hanging out again. I will then go home, calmly, and eat myself silly. Such is the life of a Swan - at present. It is the calm before the storm. Keep breathing Primmy, keep breathing.

Noice post, eloquent. Hirdy and Sheahan just laughed when Healy asked if the Swans could make the eight.... it is just that sort of skepticism that makes people apply themselves...

HP

[DST]

BTW.. If we hadn't of traded them we still would of ended up with either Mattner or Meredith. To suggest we got both because of this terrible trade is misleading.
As a footnote to that, Meridith looks OK but Otten looks like a star of the future.

Hang on I am confused.

There is absolutely no way Scheinder was worth an early second round pick on his own. Hence why Dempster was also included in the trade.

Therefore it reasonable to suggest that we have both Mattner and Merideth on our list in place of both Scheinder and Dempster for the one trade as it allowed us to add to the list in Mattner and draft Merideth.

Would you have preferred we keep Scheinder, trade for Mattner with our second pick, not draft Merideth and then play Scheinder ahead of both Moore and Vespremi over the last 18 months?

As for whether Merideth is better than Otten or not, that has nothing to do with the trade but a further conversation on our picks with the the selections we had.

Based on list requirements, salary cap pressure and opening up spots in the 22 for younger players, the trade was succesful from our perspective.

DST

[Bob Neil]

Quite frankly, I'll be shocked if we lose.

[Midfield]

If BBB and Teddy were playing i?d back us at home. Without BBB we wont kick enough goals and without teddy we lose that 3rd or 4th man up in the pack that we need against riewoldt and kosi.

Is it too much to ask the boys to play like bloods just one last time? How sweet would it be to be the only team to beat the premiers all year.

[No 14]

I am excited by the fact that we 'could' be the first team to stop their unbeaten run and it would be unreal, but I just cant see it unfortuneatley. I dont think we will be blown away though like these so-called 'experts' will no doubt predict.

It was the swans that broke the saints unbeaten run of 10-11 games in 2004(?)

[10Totti10]

with teddy i'd consider us less of a chance. Makes to many mistakes. Kosi prob won't even play. Bolton can take reiwoldt. Smith will dominate Milne. Schnieder will be held by Mattner or Shaw. We r set.

[pinkemu]

It was the swans that broke the saints unbeaten run of 10-11 games in 2004(?)

10 games, I've still got the cut out photo of Leo and the back line boys that was in the paper before that game. Smashed them.

This is the SCG not Docklands, we're in with a chance.

[Xie Shan]

Don't expect to win, but will be there regardless! We only get two night SCG games this year so still looking forward to the game. In a sense it's the lean years that give you a sense of perspective, knowing you're not a contender, perhaps you won't go to every single game, enjoying seeing the kids develop, while still riding out the bumps or knocks/hard times with a grin (geez, I feel like a Hawks supporter ), knowing that when our time comes again, it will truly be savoured!

[Cardinal]

10 games, I've still got the cut out photo of Leo and the back line boys that was in the paper before that game. Smashed them.

This is the SCG not Docklands, we're in with a chance.

The Saints style of footy is suited to the smaller grounds so unless we have 30000 there I'm not sure how much home ground advantage there will be playing at the SCG.

[DST]

The Saints style of footy is suited to the smaller grounds so unless we have 30000 there I'm not sure how much home ground advantage there will be playing at the SCG.

That's not entitely true, the wider SCG should give us more space to spread the zone should we be good enough to take the ball wide and quickly.

In this instance the SCG actually gives us an advantage over the style St Kilda is playing and doing so well with, which is extreme pressure on the space where the next kick is going to, through a zone that is prepared to not only guard space but to close down anything that comes into it aggresively.

The wider SCG should give us at least a potential to play wide and pull apart the zone and try and play around it or through it.

DST