Dockers matchday thread

[Dan]

I thought Jetta played really well when he came on, had a bit of mongrel and passion too him which I haven't seen at all really, layer a few tackles that stuck and got into a few of the freo boys. He contributed more in the qtr or so he was on for than white did in his time.

Ive always been a fan of white but now i belive he is @@@@. Let's not play him again this year so other clubs can't see how bad he really is and hope we can get something for him, maybe a few extra training balls and witches hats might be a good trade?

Parker is a gun, his tackle that started the melee was just plain awesome. Smith laid a few on Ballyintine (little midget scumbag) which was good to see as well. Mattner was brave, one of his spoils was great running back in the forward 50 in the 2nd?? Reid was quiet apart from a few good grabs and leaps but will be a star when he bulks up.

And Hanners, massive man love for the kid tried his guts out, as did McVeigh

[goswannies]

How do the AFL expect to promote the game in Sydney or even to encourage the current supporters to continue their support when the umpiring is so one sided?

Easy. Introduce a new team... let's call it GWS... pay a rugby player a million bucks to cross codes, give them heaps of 1st round draft picks to ensure they will have talent for decades to come, let this new team pillage uncontracted players from other clubs, and finally offer no support to the current Sydney club so that it is less competitive. Oh... wait, that might not do it... so hold the NAB draft in the Western Sydney region and then get an ex-Swan champion and captain on board the new franchise. Yup, that should do it!

[Dosser]

Don't you just love the footy?

[aardvark]

I have just listened to interviews of Hanners and ROK after the game. They are shattered, not by the umpiring decisions but by the lack of a 4 quarter effort and ill-discipline of some of the team members. They are in no doubt as to reasons for the defeat and seem at a loss to understand the lack of intensity shown when it was needed, in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. I was almost in tears as they expressed their great disappointment.

For me it is not so much the players but the totally predictable game plan, the lack of or inability of runners to break the lines (Micky O's comment), and of course a forward line that is structurally deficient. The players can play their hearts out but are at such a disadvantage. When an opposing team has more runners than can be shut down, the Swans are exposed. Especially when the few Swans runners seem to be too easily shut down.

Bigger picture, I fear that we are going to struggle bigtime to get past mediocre despite the young guns coming through.

This ^

[AnnieH]

chamberlian is a *&%^. Bottom line.
He doesn't like us. We don't like him. Never have.

I think we may have some more serious things to worry about, i.e. the "mellee" - happened right in front of us ... and play STILL went on!! (Maggots.)

I foresee some "please explains" at the MRP this week.

What a crap day!!

[Daisi]

Easy. Introduce a new team... let's call it GWS... pay a rugby player a million bucks to cross codes, give them heaps of 1st round draft picks to ensure they will have talent for decades to come, let this new team pillage uncontracted players from other clubs, and finally offer no support to the current Sydney club so that it is less competitive. Oh... wait, that might not do it... so hold the NAB draft in the Western Sydney region and then get an ex-Swan champion and captain on board the new franchise. Yup, that should do it!

I have no doubts that this is their strategy, however, how are they going to defeat the NRL in Western Sydney? . Will anybody from the East, inner west or North, the current AFL heartlands, travel to Blacktown to see GWS? I wont, neither will my Swans supporting friends..

[top40]

What makes me really angry is that the media/press will not mention the umpiring in their reports. Surely the umpiring should be assessed. Personally I vow never to watch another AFL game where Ray Chamberlain is officiating.

[Lucky Knickers]

I commented at half time that we were going to get smashed based on the total lack of effort and commitment for the contested ball. Gees we missed Jude.
You can't play 1 decent quarter or footy and expect to win. The attack on the ball reminded me of the game against Adelaide - there wasn't any.
We have a lot of young kids and we are still way too reliant on the likes of Goodes to drag our arses back into a game. The next crop need to grow and step up a bit more IMO.

[Xie Shan]

I have just listened to interviews of Hanners and ROK after the game. They are shattered, not by the umpiring decisions but by the lack of a 4 quarter effort and ill-discipline of some of the team members. They are in no doubt as to reasons for the defeat and seem at a loss to understand the lack of intensity shown when it was needed, in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. I was almost in tears as they expressed their great disappointment.

For me it is not so much the players but the totally predictable game plan, the lack of or inability of runners to break the lines (Micky O's comment), and of course a forward line that is structurally deficient. The players can play their hearts out but are at such a disadvantage. When an opposing team has more runners than can be shut down, the Swans are exposed. Especially when the few Swans runners seem to be too easily shut down.

Bigger picture, I fear that we are going to struggle bigtime to get past mediocre despite the young guns coming through.

I think we have missed Kirky big time this year. His meditation and Buddhist philosophy brought a steadying influence to the side. And when you take out Jude from a team already missing THE most influential leader of the last few seasons, it is no wonder that the team that took the field out there today lacked discipline and intensity. This is why I am very reluctant to blame Longmire for our problems just yet. We had plenty of ordinary performances in the Roos/Kirk era but I always felt we would get through the rough patches as there was a steady hand guiding the ship. It remains to be seen who will put their hand up to lead the team through this period. I was encouraged by the last quarter, perhaps McVeigh is finally starting to learn what it means to be captain. I think we do have some good leaders coming through in Jack, Hannebery and Kennedy. We will probably muddle through the last few weeks of the season and may still grab sixth spot, the older heads like Goodes and O'Keefe need to hold the guys together.

[Nico]

Screw being politically correct. Ray robbed us. I've only ever directly blamed the umps for a loss twice, first against the Dons in 07 (that famous McPhee incident), and this game. The other umpires were fine, quite good in fact, but Ray... Inexcusable. Simply inexcusable.

@@@@ saying the Dockers were a better side. They weren't. We were better in the first quarter, we were better in the second quarter, we were a little worse in the third and we shat all over them in the last. The better team lost today because Ray Chamberlain is a self-important, officious little @@@@@ who probably got beaten up by the footy players at school and can't stand the game.

Longmire should make an official complaint to the AFL, and use the Grundy vs Ballantyne incident as an example. Ballantyne is taking full-blooded swings at Grundy who is simply holding him off, and Chamberlain is just waiting, waiting for Ballantyne's cheek to graze Grundy's fist as he was thashing about. Unbelievable. Not to mention the free paid to Ballantyne in the first for tripping over.

Anyway, positives: we actually played pretty well. Our handpassing and spread was really good. We linked up well, we found targets with the ball. We still lacked that forward structure, but that's fine, we don't have the forwards to build a structure around. That's not a coaching problem, it's not an effort problem, it's a list issue. We were more functional than normal anyway.

McVeigh played a real captain's game. Goodes was good. Jack was great. Parker was good. Smith was great. Shane Mumford mighty. We had a lot of great players that deserved better today.

On the game BSA; I must have been watching another game. McVeigh went missing for the middle quarters and Freo kicked 6 on the trot in the third quarter. It is time to sack the centre clearance coach. In most cases the frees in front of goal were there and it came about because of easy centre clearances and we didn't put enough pressure on the ball carriers and the footy seemed to be in their 30 metre zone for most of the quarter.

I continue to be stunned by our weekly ineptitude when we have the footy, both in front of goals and in general play, particularly when we are free and in the clear. Some of that rubbish from Malceski in the first quarter was laughable. Reid, McGlynn and ROK missed goals from set shots with little or no angle and Goodes runs into the 50 and kicks it out of bounds. The commentators couldn't quite work out what he was trying to achieve. Was he trying to kick to a non existent player or trying to kick a goal? Bloody awful to say tthe least. But we do this every week. Miss set shots and the Goodes obligatory miss on the run by a long way. It is indefensible. Hanners and Rok bemoaned the lack of discipline. This has been going on for weeks. They should have added lack of commitment at the contest. Pity ROK didn't add that his own disposal has been woeful this year.

The real problem is this stuff is so ingrained in how we play and our skill set that it aint going to change in the short term.

[Nico]

How many goals from frees to Freo? Absolutely pathetic performance from the umps. For a senior player, Kennelly's brain fade is unforgiveable as well

How many times has he done this in close games this year? Over the hill?

[Nico]

Not sure you can fault Benny's attack on the ball

But his disposal is deplorable. No point getting the footy if you slaughter it most of the time.

[Nico]

And another thing...why does it take a 40 point deficit to start using the corridor. Our best footy this year has been when we have kicked the ball to a spot between the square and 30 metres, yet we have this bent to go sideways when running with a full head of steam through the guts. It is not as if they are kicking to a player on their own, it is usually to a contest. Better to have a contest in the teeth of goal than the HBF. Kennedy is a main offender.

[Lucky Knickers]

[QUOTE=Nico;539281]And another thing...why does it take a 40 point deficit to start using the corridor. /QUOTE]
This

[Ratna]

It was a hard game to watch today, not helped by the umpiring. I agree with others that Horse and the club should be asking for an investigation from the AFL.

Despite this we were not good enough, perhaps on an equal playing field (ie. without the effect of umpires), the teams were equally bad today.

On the last quarter which has been seen as a positive by many here, IMO two things happened, Freo went overly defensive but we became more attacking and worried about winning the game rather than tagging. It happens often in our losses that when we actually start trying to win the game instead of trying to stop the opposition we look a lot better. I would love for the swans to take a more offensive approach from the start of a game.

Maybe I am ever the optimist but despite the frustration of today I thought there was lots to look forward to in todays performance and for me the glass is still half full.

Final thought is that I have always been on the side of keeping White and playing him, often against the tide of opinion here. Finally I have recognised the wisdom of other R & W onliners and agree it is time for him to go. Just can't keep being soft as that and keep getting a spot. If Jude is Plays like Tarzan looks like Jane, Jesse has to be the opposite.