Well, I've looked at the game again and I've finally found a negative.

[Nich]

Ha! I was doing the same thing Triple B : )

By the way - how great was it when Rohan crunched Wojo and then the jPod threw himself at Gary and then Benny Mac got stuck into jPod? Man I loved that.

[kangle4]

Getting a lot of credit from the VIC media from what I've been hearing.

[Red]

Jimmy Bartell was on OTC on Monday and when Sheahan talked about how off the Cats were, Bartell commented something along the lines of how it was a lot to do with the Swans pressure.

Yep, I saw that interview as well. He also said the Swans had more to play for, and wanted it more. Watching the replay again last night, that's exactly how it looked.

[Go Swannies]

Yep, I saw that interview as well. He also said the Swans had more to play for, and wanted it more. Watching the replay again last night, that's exactly how it looked.

So the 29 teams that lost before us didn't want to win at Skilled Stadium? And we simply don't want to beat the Pies in Sydney?

[swansrule100]

Getting a lot of credit from the VIC media from what I've been hearing.

i thought the media turned and jumped right on our bandwagon, we had rubbish youth and needed to rebuild two weeks ago, now rohan is a superstar and so on. Got to love media consistency

[Red]

So the 29 teams that lost before us didn't want to win at Skilled Stadium? And we simply don't want to beat the Pies in Sydney?

No. It's not a case of not wanting it, it's a case of not wanting it badly enough.

[Wardy]

In the final 5 minutes the commentators kept saying 'Geelong need 3 goals' continually, even though we led by 20, then 19 points.

I kept yelling 'It's 4 goals you @@@@ing knob!!!!!'

I have no idea what my neighbours think sometimes...lol

I was yelling that too (although with more earthier fish wife sounnding tones) - at least Dunstall was talking us up - the rest didnt give a flying fart about how good we were on the day..

[Rob-bloods]

In fairness we had (and do get) a lot of positive stuff in the Melbourne media. We almost always get admired for our Club structures, etc etc KB is a rap on us always, and everyone always admires us giving an effort. David King gave a great spiel a week or two ago about how great it must be to support the Swans because you know you are going to get your team having a crack. Major dissenters on us Tim Lane (dementia setting in), Malcolm Blight (lost the plot too), Robert Walls (bitter and twisted) Caroline Wilson (what can I say). The rest of the Fox crew in the main are too busy trying to be Fatty Vautin and co and are pretty pathetic. Tim Gossage should quite simply be shot he is a ranting lunatic.

[Cpt. Kirk]

Caroline Wilson (what can I say).

Worst afl media person ever her name should be censored out on this forum. Then again so should Robert Walls.

If Robert walls ever says anything positive you know he is talking about carltank. On a side note how good will it be if essendon beat carltank in their first final.

[Nico]

I had exactly the same thought when I watched the replay. Given our domination of the contested ball, relatively favourable umpiring and the fact we kicked reasonably straight and the Cats missed some sitters, we should have won by more.

I can think of two factors that partly explain this. One is that good as our "inside game" was, our "outside game" still has plenty of room for improvement. We didn't make as much of the advantage we had in contested ball as we should have done.

The second factor - which is more guesswork / psychological - is that I reckon the team didn't quite believe they could win, not deep down. So when they found themselves with a comfortable lead halfway through the final term, it was almost as if they expected Geelong to come at them and snatch the game and maybe they didn't press home the advantage that they had. We did concede two relatively soft goals to them late in the game, which made the margin more respectable for Geelong than it should have been. Hopefully a few more victories in the next season or two over the very best teams will give our boys more belief that they really can match it with the best.

Hard marker Liz. I just watched the replay and attended the game and our pressure was great all game. That of a team that believed they could win. We answered every challenge and I think they only kicked 2 goals on the trot twice. A side renowned for its ability to multiples goals in a row in a short time. Geelong got within 5 points then we kicked 3 straight goals to take the game away from them. I can't agree on the favourable umpriring bit either. I thought the umpires did a good job on the day and the replay confirmed that. One that Geelong fans went nuts on was Christensen's fend off on Bolton. The replay clearly showed he initially got him in the face them had his arm around Bolton's neck.
Our centre clearance work was the best I have seen in years and our forward pressure was outstanding eg. Goodes and McGlynn goals in the 3rd quarter.

Couple of other points: Geelong had won 29 straight at the ground and they had only lost 2 games for the year.

[SimonH]

I don't think it's that hard to find negatives:
1. To smash Geelong in the clearances but have fewer inside 50s (and fewer scoring shots) than them, sums it up. Firstly, we turned the ball over too often; and secondly, when they didn't have their mystifying attacks of fumbles, they were more efficient than us at breaking through the middle of the ground. (Admittedly, they are perhaps the equal of any team in history at that particular aspect of the game.)
2. Kennelly, god love him, tried hard but was somewhere between poor and embarrassing when the heat was on.
3. We don't have two Gary Rohans.
4. Why doesn't Luke Parker play like that every week?
5. How will Jude Bolton keep getting a run in 2012, if Luke Parker does start playing like that every week?
etc etc

[GongSwan]

Given thast our forward line consists mainly of mid fielders resting, it will be as hard to get Parker and Bolts in the same side as it has been this year. Yes, yd love a few Rohan's around the place, if Jetta had a bit more size about him and the ability to go hard into a contest without breaking his neck, we'd have 2. I can't see the irishman playing this week, especially if Mal is on deck

[Primmy]

Sheez Simon, give Luke Parker a break. He played his first game this year, age 18. That makes a total of about 6 games. Even Jude needed time, he used to bounce around the outside of the pack like an enthusiastic labradore puppy, used me make me laugh, and wonder what the future had in store.

We don't have two Gary Rohans because there isn't anyone quite like him. And he is still a kid who had a lot of injury this year.

As one of the comentators noted, our kids are quite well developed and doing well; the reason they are well developed (physically) is that they get held back until certain criteria are met, and then they can go play with the big boys. Health and safety. Longevity. I like it a lot.

As far as finding a negative......its me. I had my eyes closed a lot......until half way through the fourth quarter, and we were four goals up......and I thought the kids would be tiring, and the old blokes too, and my noives were shot.

[aardvark]

4. Why doesn't Luke Parker play like that every week?

He had a pretty big impact for a bloke who's only played a few games. I'm sure he will play even better given time and a little patience.

[Triple B]

One that Geelong fans went nuts on was Christensen's fend off on Bolton. The replay clearly showed he initially got him in the face them had his arm around Bolton's neck......

My wife said 'That was a bit lucky' when it happened. I said, 'When was the last time a smallish guy ran headlong into Jude Bolton and managed to break free? If he didn't fend off high, Jude would have nailed him and got a holding the ball free anyway'

She had nothing, so shutup.

Sunday afternoon my wife was nagging me to do a job around the house. I said ''When was the last time a smallish guy ran headlong into Jude Bolton and managed to break free? If he didn't fend off high, Jude would have nailed him and got a holding the ball free anyway"

It didn't work again...damn