Sydney Swans Reserves v GWS Giants

[Jesse Richards]

Thanks for the Tweets, ugg. Much appreciated.

[ugg]

Swans 2.7 9.11 15.16 23.16 (154)
Giants 4.3 5.5 7.5 8.10 (58)

Goals: Lamb 6 Haren Pyke 3 Gordon Currie 2 Murphy Kruger Seaby Brain Robinson Mckaigue Sumner

The Swans Facebook page says Brain kicked 2, but they don't have a list of all the goalkickers and neither does the website report

Reserves get day off to perfect start - Official AFL Website of the Sydney Swans Football Club

[Lucky Knickers]

I counted 2 for Brain - who has a good footy brain!
I liked the look of Johnson - Alex that is. He did some very very good things.
Just as I was calling that McKaigue would never play a senior game he popped up with a goal.
Did we have a final team list of the players >50?

[ugg]

I counted 2 for Brain - who has a good footy brain!

So who did I give Brain's second one to? Robinson?

Did we have a final team list of the players >50?

47 Jackson Potter
48 Blake Guthrie (looks so different from last year!)
49 Nathan Kenny
50 James Brain
51 Jack Lynch
53 Kane Murphy
54 Tim Wales
57 (Daniel?) Robinson

Also GWS topups
36 Harry Cunningham
38 Ahmed Kassem

Also, whilst Triple B is stats man for the ressies, I'm pretty sure that young Israel Folau finished with no posessions, a couple of spoils, one free against and an interesting little spell in the ruck.

[Nico]

The name Brain rang a bell so I looked up the footy encyclopedia. Terry Brain played in the 1933 Premiership Team and played 141 games and kicked 198 goals. Club best and fairest in 1934 he was a slightly bult rover who bored in for the footy. His son Terry played 7 games in 1959-61 and as a young bloke remember him playing a heap of reserves games. He played in the Skilton/McGowan era so probably struggled to break into the side as a rover. I wonder if this lad is a decendant of this famous Swans family.

[liz]

Very even performance today - so even that I am loathe to even try and name the best.

Lamb was clever and lively around the forward line but a couple of his goals were gimmes, the result of some very clever play from team mates. Still, he did convert (most of) his set shots well, including at least one from a pretty tight angle.

It was interesting to see Pyke and Seaby playing alongside each other, even against a lesser opposition. While it would be foolhardy to reach conclusions based on one game, there was very little between them today. Pyke had far more time in the ruck than Seaby did, but especially in the first half, he was also the far more dangerous of the two up forward. He kicked three goals, all in the second term, and one of them was a beauty from a free on the boundary line after a GWS player was deemed to have taken the ball out of bounds deliberately. Lamb was also lurking close by and I wasn't too happy when the umpies decreed it had to be Pykey's kick. But Mike looked like he knew exactly what to do with the kick and executed it perfectly. Seaby probably came into his own in the forward line a bit more in the second half, as did Currie. Currie's first half was quite ordinary but he started the second half well and his confidence seemed to grow. He took a few nice marks - what we regularly saw from him two years ago in the reserves - and also got some time in the ruck.

McNeil did a ton of work in the middle - he was without Bird, Meredith, Parker to help him. (Even Eugene was in the square for some centre bounces).

Haren impressed in the forward line, especially in the first half.

Sumner I was a little disappointed with. He started well and looked very classy compared to most of the rest out there, but didn't do a heap for the middle two quarters, other than give away a few too many frees, mostly for high tackles, which is careless when you're as short as Byron is. His final quarter was much better, and he again showed a few touches of class, including setting Jed up for one easy goal.

Best of Otten's three games yet. Seemed far more involved than he has been in earlier outings.

Tadhg looked reasonably fit and showed he hasn't lost that ability to accelerate out of trouble in just a couple of steps. He probably never really got out of second gear, to be honest. Will be interesting to see whether they give him one more week running around in the magoos or send him over to Subiaco. I think the senior team is missing his ability to run the ball out of defence so wouldn't be surprised to see him back next week. He did lose a bit of concentration in the final term, mucking up twice in quick succession.

Alex Johnson impressed at times - he has a good turn of speed for his height. His kicking let him down at times though.

Lewis patrolled the backline, picking off easy uncontested marks and generally distributing the ball very well. I am not convinced the role he is playing for the reserves at the moment is doing him many favours in terms of preparing him for senior footy though. I'd much prefer to see him around the half forward line, trying to use his undoubted foot skills to create forward opportunities.

The toppies were all pretty solid, with none of them particularly standing out. Indeed, other than Lynch, they are all much of a muchness sizewise and I suspect maybe a tad vanilla. Last year Potter looked the most confident out there but the others who've been around a while have probably caught him up in that department. They are all relatively small (Lynch aside), not overly quick, and with neat rather than overly penetrating or flashy skills. Too hard to pick yet which of them might graduate at the end of the year. Number 57 did a couple of eye catching things in the final quarter that suggest maybe he has a turn of pace.

Thoughts that GWS might provide sterner opposition than the ECE or Belconnen proved not to be the case. GWS did take it up to the Swans in the first quarter and had a comfortable lead at quarter time. But the scoring shots were almost identical, and the scoreline said more about the Swans' inability to convert their opportunities. From quarter time onwards, the Swans took complete control of the midfield and it was a bit of a cakewalk from there. Did very much like the look of Curtly Hampton, though. It is easy to see him turning into a Harry O'Brien / James Gwilt type - he may not be quite tall enough to play as a key position back but he reads the play very well and looks very athletic.

[Lucky Knickers]

Thanks Ugg,

So who did I give Brain's second one to? Robinson?

Not sure - counted 1 in the 3rd and 1 in the 4th.

[liz]

Thanks Ugg,


Not sure - counted 1 in the 3rd and 1 in the 4th.

I thought Robinson (if he was 57) kicked a goal towards the end of the final quarter.

[ugg]

I had Brain and Robinson both kicking goals in the third quarter, the Swans' 4th and 6th goals respectively . The Facebook page had as its three quarter time update that Brain had 2.

The last quarter I had
McKaigue
Sumner
Lamb
Lamb
Haren
Lamb
Lamb
Currie

[goswannies]

Also, don't forget to wind your clocks back an hour for daylight saving otherwise you'll be turning up an hour early!

Well, I read that advice too late! Forgot to change my clock, turned up for work at 7am instead of 8am (which better than 6am, if I intended to start at 7am!!... which I often do) but it meant I got home with plenty of time to catch the start of the game on TV - I live in SA, but my early start meant I finished early enough to just about fly to Sydney to get there for the start of the match!

[Bas]

- I live in SA, but my early start meant I finished early enough to just about fly to Sydney to get there for the start of the match!

It's lucky you didn't.

Poor old Israel. Played in defence for the whole game as far as I could tell. Played on Seaby and Pyke and did some spoiling but he would have left today knowing that he had a very long way to go in aerial ping pong. Contributed significantly in 2 goals - to the Swans for holding the ball. I'm surprised they didn't play him at FF but I imagine today was designated as a major learning experience for him.

[ugg]

Bas, he was at FF for a very short period of time. LJ was on him, and spoiled him once, and then AJ was moved onto him. He didn't last long there before being switched to the ruck.

[Bas]

Bas, he was at FF for a very short period of time. LJ was on him, and spoiled him once, and then AJ was moved onto him. He didn't last long there before being switched to the ruck.

Great to meet you today. For those that haven't met Ugg, he is not a computer but is a real person.

When I arrived early this morning, I saw a man typing feverishly on his phone. I thought to myself "I wonder if that is Ugg?" - I later found out it was.

I missed the Folau move. It was either up the Essendon cheer squad end or too much chin wagging on my part. Probably the later.

[Primmy]

An interesting game, and somewhat enlightening. A number of the boys have improved a lot even since the intra club game. I would name Max Otten as one, and spagetti arms Ben Haren as another. They are going to be good kids. Max is ready to take them on, and Ben is smart, quick learner, and willing.

I particularly liked Johnston and Johnson, who is an organiser. LJ is turning into a confident player, and Alex is calling shots. He is going to be an interesting one to watch, and he feels like he has started his journey well.

I am delighted to report that Curry played a better game than I had come to expect from him, and that is most satisfying.

MikePyke kicked a couple of goals, from the boundary, near the 50m arc, either side. He is something else. 3 goals today, got to contests, took contested marks, he was a senior player and I have a great deal of respect for him and his attitude.

Dyl and Nipper work. Dyl did a sterling job out of the centre, he will be a tired boy tonight.

Not so impressed by Chris McKaigue. What a whinger. Not the sort of player you want around you to be honest. Not saying he is a bad player, I am saying he should shut up, and get on with it. Respect has to be earned, and if your teammates are not looking at you with gladness, there may be a reason and carrying on is not going to help.

Legs 11 is, in his own mind, pushing for selection. Actually he is pretty darned good, very opportunistic and effective. But gut feeling says it will be a while yet, next year or late this year.

Love Kane Murphy, knows what the bottom of the heap looks like and isn't afraid to be involved. Eugene sometimes forgets that there are other team members out there who are as important as he is.

Uncle was giving away frees.....why. But his pass to Haren was right up there with the best.

Must also note that the ump taking the bounce was pathetic - most of the time it barely cleared Pykie's head! imo.

[ugg]

GWS did start very strong and while the Swans missed their shots, I thought the Giants were good value for their 4 goals. They moved the ball well through the midfield and capitalised on some sloppy Swans defence. The Swans on the other hand were haphazard by foot going into forward line, preferring to bomb long into the tall timber down there rather than spot up open players.

Playfair must have reiterated to the players to stick to their structures during the break as from then on it was all one way traffic.

1. Mark SEABY
Seaby started the game at full forward, marked by Folau. His stint up forward was solid, while he didn't take many marks, he did provide a tall target and when the ball was in the GWS defenders hands he was quite effective in his harassing, tackling and chasing. I would estimate he spent less time in the ruck than Pyke, perhaps the time share was split between him, Pyke and Currie at 40/50/10

10. Daniel CURRIE
I wasn't expecting much from Currie today given his recent poor form and the fact that we had two fulltime ruckmen on hand. His start was as I expected, he seemed to lumber from contest to contest without really impacting on any of them. He had an early snap that hit the post. He was moved to the ruck late in the 2nd quarter which proved the catalyst for his renaissance. He only had a short spell in there but that seemed to give him a much needed confidence-boost and he was a reborn man in the forward line in the 2nd half where he moved much better, started taking marks on leads, and was involved in some clever pieces of play. First, he nimbly picked up a loose ball from the deck and handballed in one motion to Brain who in turn found Lamb. Next he cleverly knocked an incoming ball onto Lamb's path to run into an open goal. He finished the game by kicking the last goal of the game from a 40m set shot. A good performance from Daniel, but I just can't see him getting a game barring a long list of injuries.

11. Jed LAMB
I've come to love watching Lamb play as he is such a clever and skilful footballer. He had 4 set shots and nailed all of them from differing angles (Correction: I remember he missed the easiest of the lot, almost right in front not far out!), as well as running forward for two goals into an open goalsquare. One aspect of his game that has really shone out for me is his ability to control the bouncing ball in front of him with his sly, little paddles. Combined with his great balance and ability to keep his feet, he will either turn the defender inside out, or earn a free kick for being held without it. I'm fairly certain he will play seniors this year, I think his fitness is good enough and his size solid enough, it's just a question of when they will want to introduce him.

17. Tadhg KENNELLY
He started somewhat rustily but by the end of the second quarter we had the old Kennelly back, complete with his serpentine spin and twist move when he tries to elude an oncoming opponent. He must have spent some time onball in the 3rd quarter as he was quite close to the action but for the majority of the time he was doing his thing on the half-back flank. He seemed very keen to come back next week when interviews by Byron Cooke and Adam Spencer during the halftime break but with only a 3 man interchange I think that will work against his return at Subi.

22. Byron SUMNER
He started on the half-back line but at the end of the game seemed to be playing much higher. He showed flashes including a couple of his now trademark bursts from packs, but on the whole didn't really have a big impact on the game. I thought he was indiscriminate with his ball use, preferring to launch long, high kicks into the forward line where it was easy for Izzy and co. to spoil. His last quarter was probably his best of the lot, where he nailed a goal from a throw-in and then set up Lamb for his 6th.

23. Lewis JOHNSTON
Playing CHB again, he is a very assured performer with his kicks with his ability to switch play by hitting players 50m away of a couple of steps a real highlight. Had a bit more to do today defensively and did his job adequately. Didn't get forward as he had in the past 2 practice matches where he was always keen for a ping. I think as a learning experience, this role should be good for him but I can't see him playing in defence in the seniors in the near future.

28. Dylan McNEIL
Didn't mention McNeil a lot in my tweets but I think he had a fine game, doing the hard yards in the midfield, racking up plenty of tackles and possessions. Not sure what else I can add, he does what's asked of him week in and week out but what does he require to make the leap to the seniors. He was consistently in the reserves' best last year and has started well again this year. Is it just a simple case of his small stature being a barrier to his promotion?

34. Alex JOHNSON
He is a smooth mover on the field and is very athletic, he was nominally the fullback but got up the field quite a bit and used the ball effectively. He's not the biggest guy sizewise, but seems to hold up okay against the fellow teenage GWS forwards. Until he fills out though, he could play as a flanker at either end of the ground quite comfortably.

36. Chris McKAIGUE
I like McKaigue's endeavour and enthusiasm but after a year of reserves football under his belt, I'm not sure his football nous has developed to any great extent. There was one piece of play in the 2nd quarter that would not have Lewis Johnston inviting him over for dinner any time soon. A high ball was kicked in the air, Johnston was camped underneath it while McKaigue came charging through calling "mine! mine! mine!" Johnston pulled out of it but surprisingly so did McKaigue allowing his GWS man to run away with it. On this rate of development I fear he will not play a senior game for us. He kicked a nice goal today by starting the move from defence and following up to provide a return option for Seaby.

38. Mike PYKE
A little unlucky with Hille's withdrawal (I suspect the Swans knew beforehand) otherwise he would have probably played in the seniors. He is starting to make himself a viable and potent option up forward, with his improved kicking for goal a real highlight. He nailed his first from a tight angle on the left, then repeated the dose this time from the right a few minutes later. His third was a well judged mark 15m out running back with the flight of the ball. His ruckwork was solid rather than dominant as was the case in the past 2 practice matches. I felt that the ruck combo with Seaby and Currie worked well as they wore down the Giants' ruck Giles.

43. Eugene KRUGER
With Parker, Bird and Meredith out from last week's side, someone had to take their place in the centre square and Kruger was the main beneficiary. I had a close look at him in the 2nd quarter and I am fairly certain he was doing a run-with role on Dylan Shiel, who has big wraps on him. His effectiveness as a tagger was fairly limited as Shiel was probably one of the Giants better players. He continued his goalscoring run with a nice finish after a generous handball by Sumner.

44. Max OTTEN
Saw more of the ball as it was coming down there more often than in the past fortnight. I thought he battled hard, defended well and was a solid link down the wings but nothing outstanding.

45. Nathan GORDON
Nipper was the other midfielder given a chance in the middle but he wasn't as prominent as McNeil was. His first goal was a big set shot from 55 m and he took a nice grab for his second. Another competent player without being a standout.

46. Ben HAREN
Not as dominant as last week, but still took some fine grabs in and around the forward 50 area. I'm still very impressed with his kicking both from set shots and in general play. He is one of the better kicks in the side with his poise and balance a definite standout. If Playfair can rotate the athleticism of Haren, Johnston, Johnson and/or Otten around the tall resting ruckman (Currie/Seaby/Pyke) it's going to cause a lot of headaches for the other NEAFL sides.

Topups/Academy Players
47. Jackson POTTER
48. Blake GUTHRIE
49. Nathan KENNY
50. James BRAIN
51. Jack LYNCH
53. Kane MURPHY
54. Tim WALES
57. Daniel ROBINSON

Potter played the majority of his time in the midfield, Guthrie and Wales were stationed mostly in defence. Kenny had some nice inside 50s, setting up at least one goal for Nipper. Brain was lively in the 3rd quarter and was probably the standout for me. Murphy makes you sit up and take notice with his short height but combative nature, but to be honest I didn't see him much. Robinson I didn't even notice until the 3rd quarter where he goaled on the siren. He seems slightly younger than the rest of the toppies.

Other
I was very disappointed that Parker did not play, even for one half. A player or players in the seniors must have been in some doubt leading up to the game. I guess this takes him out of contention for the seniors next week. And for a different reason, it's also disappointing that LRT did not play today. Did he injure himself at training or did he not pull up well from the half-a-game hitout last week? As well as Teddy and Reggie are doing back there for us, I somehow feel more assured when LRT is manning our defensive 50.

GWS
They'll be disappointed to capitulate like that after a great start. Giles (26) was nullified in the ruck as the game went on and their struggled to get good clean direct ball to their forwards who well contained by our defence. Josh Bruce (6) was surprisingly used through the midfield for at least 1 half, I thought they needed his height at either end. Eventually he went back when they switched Israel Folau (4) around without much luck. Poor Israel started the game with some nice spoils but finished with a duck's egg in terms of possessions, even after they chucked him in the ruck to try and get his hands on the ball. Ben Casley (29) and Stephen Clifton (24) were their best players in that first quarter, Curtly Hampton (2) was exciting to watch down back even if he eventually had his colours lowered by Lamb, and later on Jeremy Cameron (8) provided some sort of target up forward.

Swans 2.7 9.11 15.16 23.16 (154)
Giants 4.3 5.5 7.5 8.10 (58)

(Unconfirmed)
Swans Goals: Lamb 6 Haren Pyke 3 Gordon Currie 2 Murphy Kruger Seaby Brain Robinson Mckaigue Sumner
GWS Goals: Casley Cameron 3 Cunningham Tunbridge