Best XX11 for 2012

[Ruck'n'Roll]

If LRT returns to full fitness, I'd like to see him take the biggest of the opposition's forwards. I do like Grundy as a defender but I'm not completely sure he's a key defender. He tends to give away a lot of silly frees when minding monsters. I suspect his game would benefit from taking the oppositions 3rd option. Which given SuperTed's form leaves AJ on the fringe in his second year.

[Auntie.Gerald]

geese Heath cant take the third tall most games can he - he would be matching up on some 190 t0 192cm talls that move like lightening !

AJ has given us so much flexibility with matchups as he can take medium and talls and run them off their feet !

[wolftone57]

geese Heath cant take the third tall most games can he - he would be matching up on some 190 t0 192cm talls that move like lightening !

AJ has given us so much flexibility with matchups as he can take medium and talls and run them off their feet !

I agree and Grundy can take the big guys but he needs help from the on-ballers and rucks getting back to close the gaps. In the games he got monstered he was against the top forwards in the game and everyone got monstered by them last year ie; Cloke

[Ruck'n'Roll]

So Heath is slow?

[graemed]

I agree and Grundy can take the big guys but he needs help from the on-ballers and rucks getting back to close the gaps. In the games he got monstered he was against the top forwards in the game and everyone got monstered by them last year ie; Cloke

There is no 'good' match up against the likes of Cloke and Franklin. The job has to be one of minimising oppourtunites and containment. Mattner has done a good job of zoning back into the gaps in the past but with Coll'wood and Hawthorn it just means freeing up one of their on ballers and that means extra bodies at the ball. I like LRT on Dawes and Richards on Cloke with Grundy zoning off his own man if required.
Like I said no good result. We've just got to hope we can beat them in the clearances and convert our chances.

[Big Al]

So Heath is slow?

Nah, he seems to be fairly smart to me.

[wolftone57]

Nah, he seems to be fairly smart to me.

Me too but I think he is better on a tall than on a mid

[jono2707]

Me too but I think he is better on a tall than on a mid

Agreed. He is also better when he doesn't have glandular fever....

[Auntie.Gerald]

i still dont think there is much between LRT and Grundy except

Ted

[ShockOfHair]

B: Mattner, Ted/LRT, Smith
HB: Johnson, Grundy, Malceski/Armstrong
C: Hannebery, McVeigh, Jack
HF: Goodes, Walsh, ROK
FF: Morton/Lamb, Reid, McGlynn

[B]R: Mumford, Kennedy, Bolton

I/C: Rohan, Shaw, Bird, Pyke/White/Spangher



Here's my attempt at isolating the locks and the maybes.

Of the maybes:
-Ted was brilliant last year, but for most of his Swans career he's been LRT's understudy, so a slight question mark. If as is likely he gets FB, LRT will join the queue for tall forward/ruck. He kicked 26 goals in 12 games last year including that fabulous dummy goal.
- Unless he gets the worst case ever of second -year blues, I can't see AJ losing his spot. Which makes Malceski the weakest link. I think Armstrong will take over the Kennelly running HB role along with Shaw, and Melcho will play as HB or HF off the bench if he plays at all.
- Walsh is surely the frontrunner to be our second tall forward although not a lock yet. We may well see him playing CHB in the pre-season.
- The big traffic jam will be around the last forward and ruck spots. I really have no idea how to split SPangher, White and Pyke, but LRT may get preference ahead of all of them.
- For the other small/medium forward Moore, Jetta, TDL might also be in the contest but Morton's got the track record and was traded in.
- Don't know where exactly we play Rohan but we will play him. He's a game-breaker.
- I think Bird offers more than Parker or any of the other mids and the coaches have a high regard for him, so I mark him as a lock.

[S120]

After last year, surely Teddy is more of a lock than Grundy. I can't pick how Longmire is going to structure his defence with so many options, but Teddy will surely be one of the locks at FB.

[graemed]

[
-Ted was brilliant last year, but for most of his Swans career he's been LRT's understudy, so a slight question mark. If as is likely he gets FB, LRT will join the queue for tall forward/ruck. He kicked 26 goals in 12 games last year including that fabulous dummy goal.

AS much I like 'Reg' especially his ability to win the footy and his run both in support and off the ball. His disposals and decision making are unreliable at best. Ted also struggles with these issues but made big strides last year, especially oon the last line.
LRT is a good bet for CHB but do not feel comfortable when he the last line so I believe he is more likely to play up forward and change as required.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

The big traffic jam will be around the last forward.

Yeah it's a monster conundrum. It may come down to Morton v Lamb, but they both have question marks (as does TDL) but we may decide to continue to go with a third tall (we performed best with that structure last year) in which case Spangher/Everitt/Goodes. Again lots of question marks, was Spanky's forward play last year a fluke? Is Everitt realy that bad (hard to believe if the recruiters are as omniscient as some claim). And there's Gary Rohan, an absolute wildcard. Not just atm, who knows aht he might become. He's phenomenally quick and that attracted the Swans, but Roos made a comment last season that the development of his physique may see him become a tall.
Lastly, Paul Roos etal have been predicting Goodes would need to move forward to semi retirement for years, in which case perhaps it will be Morton v Lamb (and I have completed a a 360' thought circle )

[Mr Magoo]

Yeah it's a monster conundrum. It may come down to Morton v Lamb, but they both have question marks (as does TDL) but we may decide to continue to go with a third tall (we performed best with that structure last year) in which case Spangher/Everitt/Goodes. Again lots of question marks, was Spanky's forward play last year a fluke? Is Everitt realy that bad (hard to believe if the recruiters are as omniscient as some claim). And there's Gary Rohan, an absolute wildcard. Not just atm, who knows aht he might become. He's phenomenally quick and that attracted the Swans, but Roos made a comment last season that the development of his physique may see him become a tall.
Lastly, Paul Roos etal have been predicting Goodes would need to move forward to semi retirement for years, in which case perhaps it will be Morton v Lamb (and I have completed a a 360' thought circle )

I know everyones excited by Lambs potential but Id be suprised if he plays more than five games. Hes a second year player who has had injury issues in his first. That forward spot is more likely to go to a resting mid like mcveigh or bolton. I would be suprised if Morton lines up until he proves himself a little in the resssies like spangher did. He wasnt recruited on the basis off more game time whereas you would imagine Walsh may be given the initial opportunity as the swans tend to do with targeted draft players. That would mean that the final forward spot will probably go to a tall ruckmen like LRT or to the likes of white, tdl or spangher. If LRT's fit hes too versatile to leave out - he can play forward, he can play ruck and hes certainly no slouch in defence, so why wouldnt you go for him as a tall utility.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

Couldn't agree more, I think LRT is important to our defence, but as to his versatility. . . . .
He's not a great forward and I think his re-appearance there this year had more to do with our selectors mistaken adherance to last seasons unpoven yet faddish "you can't play 2 ruckmen" theory.
I really hope that with a dual-ruckman-team yet again winning the grand final we may have seen the end of that nonsense.