1 year from now

[Big Al]

I thinks it's great recruitment Penga. If we recruited a guy with a good kick and great technique, imagine the jealousy and resentment it would cause among the rest of the squad.

[BSA5]

Armstrong couldn't even make the Crows best 22 most weeks.
What makes so many on here assume he'll be in our best 22?
Same goes for Morton and Walsh.
At this stage these guys add depth, and have plenty to prove before getting a gig in the 1's.

Armstrong was well and truly in the Crows' best 22 by the end of the season. We were also very keen to get him, suggesting we see him as a best 22 player. He also gives us something we don't have much of, which is good disposal by foot. If Everitt was a round 1 inclusion last year, Armstrong will be.

[wolftone57]

No doubt he is developing well, but it is a little concerning that the Swans site has a photo of his kicking technique, claiming that it is worthy of note. Little bit nit-picking, but if you compare his technique to the most fluent of them all, Andrew McLeod, he's not bringing his left hand up near high enough to give the ball a good roost. He is still too concerned with the drop. Same goes for Pykey, and as a result the Canuck also likes quite ungainly. Get them both out there, get them to kick it to each other a 1,000 times, let them not hit the target a 1,000 times, but watch them grow with confidence with a better technique, and the 1,001st will be a beautiful sight. Stewy Dew should be all over this.

Have a look at McLeod's drop, and compare:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]478[/ATTACH]

That's not the greatest pic, they are a little hard to find, but look at this one too:
http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images...jpg?1273034439

It is a bit harsh comparing anyone new to the game to Andrew McLeod. For a start Andrew grew up in an Aussie Rules city & learned the game as soon as he could walk. There are photos of Andrew kicking a ball at 3 yrs of age. He was also one of the most accomplished footballers in the AFL and the best HB ever. He won a Brownlow for gods sake & 99.9% of footballers playing AFL today from Aus would not stack up against his kicking technique. He was one of the best kicks ever in the AFL/VFL & I mean ever. Don't be so mean!! Try comparing them to say Shane Mumford as they are big ment & should aspire to at least have the drop he has. His drop is quite good & a couple of his passes last year were sensational.

[penga]

I thinks it's great recruitment Penga. If we recruited a guy with a good kick and great technique, imagine the jealousy and resentment it would cause among the rest of the squad.

This is true!! Funny. But worrying.

Stewy's kick was one of the best to watch, too:
dew_swans_246h.jpg

From here: http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/tabid/...?newsid=102679

If Dew is Development Coach, we have an excellent technical ex-footballer. I just hope that he can analyse himself enough to pass on the knowledge to the boys, particularly Walsh.

[penga]

(McLeod) was one of the best kicks ever in the AFL/VFL & I mean ever. Don't be so mean!! Try comparing them to say Shane Mumford as they are big men & should aspire to at least have the drop he has. His drop is quite good & a couple of his passes last year were sensational.

Shane+Mumford+Sydney+Swans+Training+Session+DsZMb53MIZNl.jpg

Um, you actually prove my point. Mumford has an excellent drop. As seen above. Quite McLeod-esque, actually.

Being mean? Hmmm. These are professional footballers who should be working on their technique until it is bang on. Pyke and Walsh's technique fall down as they are not confident in their leading hand to drop the ball properly. They feel they need to keep their other hand there for safety. But it makes their action nowhere near as fluent as what they could be. Hence the pics of McLeod where, as you say, he had the most natural and fluent techniques the game has perhaps seen. This is not to say that I expect Pyke and Walsh to end up the same poetry in motion that McLeod was, it is an indictment on the coaches to not have picked up this quite easily corrected flaw.

[penga]

And a rough Paint job of Tommy:
Tommy.jpg

That is horrible.. Granted, this is just one kick, but he would seriously need to slow down to get this away, otherwise he'll end up face first in the turf!!

From here: http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/photo%...2/default.aspx

[wolftone57]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]480[/ATTACH]

Um, you actually prove my point. Mumford has an excellent drop. As seen above. Quite McLeod-esque, actually.

Being mean? Hmmm. These are professional footballers who should be working on their technique until it is bang on. Pyke and Walsh's technique fall down as they are not confident in their leading hand to drop the ball properly. They feel they need to keep their other hand there for safety. But it makes their action nowhere near as fluent as what they could be. Hence the pics of McLeod where, as you say, he had the most natural and fluent techniques the game has perhaps seen. This is not to say that I expect Pyke and Walsh to end up the same poetry in motion that McLeod was, it is an indictment on the coaches to not have picked up this quite easily corrected flaw.

You miss my point entirely with a little more work these guys will be as skilled as they can be but it takes time. Tommy Walsh never picked up an oval ball until 2 years ago & is in his third season. I have kicked both our ball and the soccer ball. It is hard to adapt from one to the other look at all the problems our blokes have kicking the round ball in the International Series. Mike Pyke had played with an oval type ball, an Rugby Union Ball. It is a different weight and shape to our ball and kicks very differently. I have also tried kicking this ball playing touch rugby and it ain't easy after our ball. I have also tried and American Football (only one way to kick it a spiral).

With Stewie on their case they will improve & we didn't pay big bucks or anything for Tommy or Mikey so they are coming along as expected and will improve. Mike was quite good when kicking for goal in the resies & the games he played in the seniors. I even thought he was going to place kick it once.

Give them time till the end of this season will be enough I would say.