Gameday thread vs Collingwood

[ScottH]

Kirk has had a really flat second half of the season. I wonder if he is carrying an injury.

Someone from RWO mentioned that they spoke to him a few weeks ago and he said he was very sore.

[i'm-uninformed2]

I said Barlow was soft. Interestingly, I see someone has launched a thread on BF devoted to this very topic. I am hardly alone on this.

If you want to spend time on an online forum where people only say nice things about Sydney players, you've come to the wrong place.

If you want to play act as the RWO thought police, search for a few posts by Bear or Nico - plenty of fodder for you there.

BTW, if you actually read my earlier posts, it's pretty obvious I was watching the game, so that was actually a lame riposte.

You and Benny should get a room. The two of you are boring me @@@@less.

[Legs Akimbo]

You and Benny should get a room. The two of you are boring me @@@@less.

No thanks. I'd rather eat my own head. Sorry to drag the thread down.

[Nico]

Kirk has had a really flat second half of the season. I wonder if he is carrying an injury.

He got a shoulder injury back about 6 games ago and has not had the same clearance success. He seems to be playing purely a tagging role.

[i'm-uninformed2]

Not sure Nick Smith is getting enough credit for today. Didak has been blitzing the comp - probably among the elite on current form (not sustained form) the last half of the year.

Didak rarely had space or the chance to be effective and drill it today.

And when he had the ball Smith used it well.

Our best behind Goodes for me.

[Lohengrin]

Its not the numbers, its the positions and circumstances that they are paid in.

Addition: And possibly the fact that they are not warranted.

There are always bad decision in a game of football, but they go both ways and have no impact on the result, and constant complaining just makes people look like sore losers.

[Lohengrin]

No thanks. I'd rather eat my own head. Sorry to drag the thread down.

Is it liquorice?

[ScottH]

Didak came to the bench in the 3rd term.
Smith was running about 3 metres to his side.
Didak was looking at him and his mouth was motoring along.
Smith just focussed on heading to the bench, and totally ignored him.

I think Nick earned a bit of respect from Didak today.
I look forward to seeing Nick play this time next year, with another 20+ games under his belt. He is awesome.

[bennyfabulous]

There are always bad decision in a game of football, but they go both ways and have no impact on the result, and constant complaining just makes people look like sore losers.

Im not convinced on that one, but ive argued enough tonight.

[Nico]

If ever I get a chance in an audience to have a Q and A with John Longmire within the next 2 years or so I will be asking him the question: Why why oh why does the Swans perform SO poorly against Collingwood and Adelaide?

And why oh why is our centre clearance work so bad. Now the supposed stats on these today were 14 to 8 in the Pies favour. I don't know where they get the 8 from because I can only recall 1 clear clearance and that was Bolton's right at the end of the game that went to Eddy. Maybe it is the first side to get their hands on the ball.

Last week Essendon got the break on the saints because they got goals immediately from centre breaks, something like 8 clearances in a row. It wins games and no wonder we can't get the pill into our forward 50 to pressure other teams.

Once again we got slaughtered in this area. The other glaring problem was how easy the Pies cleared it from our forward 50. We had no smalls running to the fall of the ball. The contested footy in our forward 50 was woeful by us.

Roos said after the game that we contributed to the margin by slaughtering the footy.

[ScottH]

You're right Nico, when we did win the taps, you could see th pies eyeing it off.

[Nico]

Isn't it obvious that we do not have enough running power to match those sides?

Do you have to ask, can't you just watch and see the obvious?

Correct Reggi. We have close to the poorest midfield in the comp for running power. Yes we have Shaw and Mattner running off half back but when we get it to the centre the midfielders can't break the lines, or over possess and turn it over. Today all they wanted to do was go sideways when clear in the guts. I think Jack should play as a true midfielder next year and get someone else to do his tagging. He has hown that when let loose he adds speed to the midfield.

[hammo]

And why oh why is our centre clearance work so bad. Now the supposed stats on these today were 14 to 8 in the Pies favour. I don't know where they get the 8 from because I can only recall 1 clear clearance and that was Bolton's right at the end of the game that went to Eddy. Maybe it is the first side to get their hands on the ball.

Last week Essendon got the break on the saints because they got goals immediately from centre breaks, something like 8 clearances in a row. It wins games and no wonder we can't get the pill into our forward 50 to pressure other teams.

Once again we got slaughtered in this area. The other glaring problem was how easy the Pies cleared it from our forward 50. We had no smalls running to the fall of the ball. The contested footy in our forward 50 was woeful by us.

Roos said after the game that we contributed to the margin by slaughtering the footy.

Nico I think Tim Watson referred to one of your other bugbears during the game about the Swans being too disciplined in sticking to their negating roles and not going for the ball. The particular instance was a kick into our forward line where our defenders just watched on as a Collingwood player took an uncontested mark 30 metres out when 4 of them probably could have made a contest.

[Nico]

Was in the paper this morning re-signed for 2 years along with Grundy, Meredith and White. Bird re-signed for 3 years.

Talking to a regular at the game today who gets a bit of info and he was on the ball as to why White was playing 2's mid season after an injury. His mail today is they were really disappointed when Meredith broke his arm, think he's a top player and can't wait to get him back next year.

[dimelb]

We were at the game today and I can't believe some of the tripe in this thread.
Barlow is not soft. He competes as well as most (did anyone see his final mark?) and his disposals under pressure were no worse than many others - including one or two from the BOG. (Goodes in case you were wondering).
LRT had a good game, one horrendous clanger of a handpass, which Collingwood fortunately butchered, but I think finished about even with Anthony, who I thought was the Pies' best.
Pyke was good. I was amazed at the way some of his taps went straight to our runners. And I'm all in favour of sending him forward when the opposition puts someone like Prestigiacomo on him. The problem was that the ball didn't come into the forward 50 while he was there.
Our problems began in the midfield. (Apart from the umps). How often did Jolly get first hands to the ball and the Pies came away with it? And the error count favoured the Pies heavily. Also their skills were noticeably better than ours, especially field kicking. Moreover they were able to lose their man in attack much more easily than we could; we are playing more of a man on man game but we are some distance behind Collingwood and the Saints in this area.
The younger brigade was very encouraging. Smith, Hannebery (despite some comments in this thread), O'Dwyer were all good as could be expected at this stage and at this level. Smith especially was outstanding in this group.
And I don't buy the argument about our lack of leg speed. I think the problem is that a side like Collingwood positions themselves much better than we do at this stage and it's not so much leg speed per se but the fact that the ball will always move faster than the man that leaves us behind.
I'm not unhappy with today's result given that I never expected that we would win, and there are encouraging signs for next year. Add McVeigh, Richards, Johnston and Bird to the mix, not to mention Meredith and Laidlaw (plus whoever we can poach with our war chest) and see what happens.