The flagellation thread

[swans_premiers]

Reid def needs a preseason in the gym.he's only 19! Scary to think what he'll be like at 22 with another 3 preseasons.

[Cheer Squad]

It was obvious that Hannebery should not have played. We improved dramatically after he was subbed off.
Maybe if we didn't have to spend rest of the game playing catch-up football it would have been a different outcome.

[Hartijon]

Perfect summation I reckon Harti.

When you agree with me Jewels I know I must be close to the mark!

[Melbournehammer]

Perfect summation I reckon Harti.

+ another for me. I've been spending the day thinking that we simply have got to improve a long long way to be a show for top four. As perhaps one of the few who watched the game live and then replayed it on the tv so many goals in that first half came about because of our skill levels being anything other than afl standard. The very first goal by my recollection was a direct result of mcveigh missing bird or kennedy in the centre square when he was completely open. Goal number two was hanners shocking kick. I'd be frankly amazed if we managed more than four kicks in a row to a target last night which is a combination of lack of speed to get clear and also lack of skills to actually kick to advantage.

We are a lot like the girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead. And contrary to the massive expectations that are developing here there is just as much chance of us going backwards as going forwards. Some of the young uns might improve out of this world, but we could be looking at lots of the older ones struggling. And we are only an acl away from losing seriously good players.

We finished about as high as we could have - let's remember that while we beat st kilda and Geelong we also lost comprehensively to hawthorn twice, Adelaide, Fremantle, Richmond and to Carlton in a game where they kicked fourteen goals straight.

We need to get everything right and have everything go right to improve. And our skills have to massively improve.

[Swansinger]

Were we slaughtered out of the centrre or what. They scored so many times from clean clearances. We were intimidated in the first half.

Yep . And for all the guts of our players down the years , we have lacked a class midfielder.
(Our best player is normally called by the presss a "utility" !)

[Swansinger]

Swans often play with the same predictability

You mean , Week 1 kick it to McEvoy , Week 2 kick it to Gibson ?
If we'd made it Week 3 , Nick Maxwell would have had a field day !

[ScottH]

Seagulls were annoying.

Especially when you get shat on.

[Velour&Ruffles]

Good summary in SMH, I think:

Slow-starting Swans made to pay as Buddy boots the Hawks through to the final four

Quote: "Sydney can match it with the elite at their best but their worst is abominable and unfortunately it was on show for the entire first half."

All I want from next year is more of the best, less of the worst.

Not a bad summary but a ludicrous headline. Three of Buddy's four goals were basically rubbish. He was the least of our problems. I thought Ted did a pretty reasonable job all things considered. Hodge was approximately 8 zillion times more influential on the outcome than Buddy. I don't really rate him as a player but I also have to concede that Josh Gibson was significant.

[Nich]

It was obvious that Hannebery should not have played. We improved dramatically after he was subbed off.
Maybe if we didn't have to spend rest of the game playing catch-up football it would have been a different outcome.

The crazy thing was how easy it popped out again. He just raised his arm in the air and....pop! Hanners struggled badly, poor kid.

[ShockOfHair]

The way Hanna avoided making a tackle in the first quarter said it all. Shouldn't have been there.

We didn't respond to Gibson, who picked up plenty of easy kicks as a loose defender. Along with the Hawks' intensity was the difference between the sides in Q1.

Still, a very satisfying season. Next year I look forward to big contributions from Mitchell, Lamb and the latest clutch of rejects.

[Primmy]

I agree with you Shock. He shouldn't have been there. Lesson learned I hope by Hanners and coaches and medicals. But, you have to admire the kid for refusing to admit there was a problem...kind of.