Skills

[Go Swannies]

The most remarkable thing about Saturday night (besides the Pies inability to kick goals) was the difference in the skills between the two team. The Swans could fumble and drop when by themselves. The Pies could find a space in a crowd and run hard into it and watch the ball drop into their hands. It happened time and again. It was as if the two teams were playing under very different conditions.

I remember in 2005 that the Swans midfield had an almost uncanny ability to find each other in space or in congestion. Now we have a remarkable ability to butcher both the delivery and receiving the ball. It can't just be confidence but has to be skills training, too.

[magic.merkin]

Handpasses and kicks were constantly at our feet or fell short, then there was the odd lack of clean hands to take the ball. All very concerning. Intitaly you write it off as nerves but halfway through the first it was contagious.

[Cheer Squad]

It's pretty obvious, despite the pre-match denials by some team members, that the team has something of a mental problem with Collingwood. Roos said as much at yesterday's recovery session when elaborating on the kick-in issue. How else to explain the reluctance to kick over the top of the defensive zone? They must have been sub-conciously afraid of being able to get hold of the ball again so close to goal.

Sounds like we've got a bit of a choking problem with Collingwood.

[707]

Handballing to someones feet is a sure way to turn over the ball, we were experts at it Saturday night.

[Jesse Richards]

I had a really hard time working out who to vote for this week in the TLM. I left the game thinking no Swan had played well. Watched the game again the next day, it didn't look anywhere near as bad on TV the second time around. Probably because I couldn't see the odd things off the action - at one stage we were in attack and it seemed that at least a third of our players were looking around and waiting for, or going to, their opposite man instead of making themselves available to move it forward. The Swan with the ball was looking around who to pass it to and about 6 Swans were looking the other way - at their man, not at the person with the ball, who should have been kicking long anyway as per Roos' instructions. Or the distance most of the Pies players were putting between themselves and their opponents when they (Pies) were in attack.

Skills? What skills? Bereft. I found myself enjoying watching the Pies for their skills and the fluidity of their play. And, if they made an error they kept on playing, not moping around nor refusing to kick it to someone who had dropped a few - they kept on playing. We got the ball and stopped, waiting for the perfect lead (then not seeing it when it happened), players to be in position (including the Pies), waiting for the perfect play, tossed it around amongst our speedy backline who were standing still, then turned it over when the opposition put a little pressure on us......

Pies had a relatively easy night of it - just capitalised on our mistakes.

[Bloody Hell]

Skills were terrible. Jack had a shocker delivering into F50, and he's usually reasonably good.

I think it's a bit like speed though. The Swans were extremely slow...the slowest in the league! Add Jetta and Rohan and the Swans are lightning quick.

I think if Meredith works his way in, that extra class changes your perception.

[Nico]

It's pretty obvious, despite the pre-match denials by some team members, that the team has something of a mental problem with Collingwood. Roos said as much at yesterday's recovery session when elaborating on the kick-in issue. How else to explain the reluctance to kick over the top of the defensive zone? They must have been sub-conciously afraid of being able to get hold of the ball again so close to goal.

Sounds like we've got a bit of a choking problem with Collingwood.

I think we have gone back to the Eade era when we were seen as the softest team in the comp. It appears our chipping game is now designed to to avoid the contested footy.

[Nico]

I had a really hard time working out who to vote for this week in the TLM. I left the game thinking no Swan had played well. Watched the game again the next day, it didn't look anywhere near as bad on TV the second time around. Probably because I couldn't see the odd things off the action - at one stage we were in attack and it seemed that at least a third of our players were looking around and waiting for, or going to, their opposite man instead of making themselves available to move it forward. The Swan with the ball was looking around who to pass it to and about 6 Swans were looking the other way - at their man, not at the person with the ball, who should have been kicking long anyway as per Roos' instructions. Or the distance most of the Pies players were putting between themselves and their opponents when they (Pies) were in attack.

Skills? What skills? Bereft. I found myself enjoying watching the Pies for their skills and the fluidity of their play. And, if they made an error they kept on playing, not moping around nor refusing to kick it to someone who had dropped a few - they kept on playing. We got the ball and stopped, waiting for the perfect lead (then not seeing it when it happened), players to be in position (including the Pies), waiting for the perfect play, tossed it around amongst our speedy backline who were standing still, then turned it over when the opposition put a little pressure on us......

Pies had a relatively easy night of it - just capitalised on our mistakes.

It's called a conservative, negative, mindset. Against good sides the game plan is defensive every time, and the instinctive flair disappears. A matter of fact I think this instinctive flair has been brainwashed out of them. It is all about match ups, match ups and more matchups. Bevan is only ever there for a defensive matchup. The good opposition teams seem to match up on Goodes and McVeigh and flog us out of the guts, QED and game over. As one poster said, this has been going on for 4 years. Everything is the same for us. Will they be let off the lead for the remaining games?

[Go Swannies]

It's called a conservative, negative, mindset. Against good sides the game plan is defensive every time, and the instinctive flair disappears. A matter of fact I think this instinctive flair has been brainwashed out of them. It is all about match ups, match ups and more matchups. Bevan is only ever there for a defensive matchup. The good opposition teams seem to match up on Goodes and McVeigh and flog us out of the guts, QED and game over. As one poster said, this has been going on for 4 years. Everything is the same for us. Will they be let off the lead for the remaining games?

Were you saying that at the start of this season? If so, you're cleverer than the rest of us.