Best XX11 for 2012

[Primmy]

Horse has thrown curved balls at us. Jordan, Tommy Walsh, whoda!! I leave it to your speculative powers to decide who what when where. Me, I am lucky enough to have a friend with Foxtel, and that is where I will be. Thrilled to bits.

[aardvark]

I hope LRT is not going to be a back up ruck this year as it is not his possie. He is not a ruckman and it shows against some of the monsters like Kruizer, Hille and Hampson.

Longmire spoke about the "Huge workload for Mummy this year" when discussing whether or not he'd play in the Nab cup so id be surprised if the second ruck wasn't Jessie or LRT. I'd really prefer Pyke to get the gig.

[dimelb]

Longmire spoke about the "Huge workload for Mummy this year" when discussing whether or not he'd play in the Nab cup so id be surprised if the second ruck wasn't Jessie or LRT. I'd really prefer Pyke to get the gig.

So would I, but whether it's Pyke or Seaby, Mummy must have another ruckman in support. LRT is just about my favourite Swan, but he is not a ruckman, and although Jesse is better at it, neither is he.

[Hartijon]

So would I, but whether it's Pyke or Seaby, Mummy must have another ruckman in support. LRT is just about my favourite Swan, but he is not a ruckman, and although Jesse is better at it, neither is he.

Agree 100%!! The work rate of Mummy is awesome but he needs support.Otherwise injury is inevitable and we will lose him for a period of time. So yes! I would use up valuable bench space with Seaby and play 2 ruckmen and give each one 10 minutes on 10 minutes off and in doing so keep them fit and healthy for the whole season. I would play Pyke on the field at Full Forward as a KPP in progress and give him a chance before Jesse or Walsh.
The other two on the bench would be midfielder/forward types( Bolton/Parker/Gordon) who are flexible enough to play in a number of roles. I think if Pyke clicked at FF we could be an awesome side with this set up.Relentless Ruck domination,height and pace! If you are clearing the ball well from stoppages there is less stress on midfielders and forwards which means less need to interchange when blown out.

[aardvark]

I'd like to hear someone from the coaching group come out and explain why we only need one and a half ruckmen. I'm yet to hear a good argument in favour of it, it just defies logic.

[jono2707]

Two and a Half Men has been about my least favourite show on TV for several years now - I do not want to see it surpassed by the even worse 'One and a Half Ruckmen' this year. Please can we have 2 proper rucks this season?

[Ruck'n'Roll]

Two and a Half Men has been about my least favourite show on TV for several years now - I do not want to see it surpassed by the even worse 'One and a Half Ruckmen' this year. Please can we have 2 proper rucks this season?

Amen to that

[wolftone57]

I agree. Two ruckmen Horse please!!!

[Hartijon]

[QUOTE=Auntie.Gerald;The only reason I went with Morton or Lamb initially is because we need to persist with a genuine goal kicker medium small forward coming from the bench to replace ROK, Bolton, Macca - we need more goals and these two can kick them ![/QUOTE]

Its all very well to be pleased with the depth of our list but what about the balance? Where is a genuine Full Forward? This gap has cost us dearly and we would have been a different (probably top 4) side had we had a fit Bradshaw the last year.We need a Swans spearhead to match the other top 4 sides. There is no ready made one in the mix,hence we have to make one from Walsh,White,Pyke, Morton etc...and also promote goal kickers like Lamb /TDL if we are to win matches and not just match field play but lose coz we can't score. Reid has "star" potential at CHF but is not a reliable kick for goal and to date has still not changed his faulty technique.To win you need to score more than your opponents thats all.You can outplay them all day and still lose if they kick a higher score than you. So I agree, we need goal scorers in the top 22otherwise we will have some frustrating defeats.

[Dan]

If I had to pick the team for Round 1 it would be:

Back: Smith - Richards - Shaw
Half Back: Mattner - Grundy - Johnson
Center: McGlynn - Kennedy - McVeigh
Half Forward: O Keefe - Reid - Goodes
Forward: Morton - Pyke - Rohan
Followers: Mummy - Bolton - Jack

Interchange: Hannebery - Malceski - Parker - Jetta(Sub)
Emergency: LRT - Bird - Moore

Haven't considered Armstrong or Mitchell as they won't be a fit for round 1. Don't think Walsh is ready for AFL football just yet. McGlyyn, McVeigh, Parker, Goodes and OKeefe can all rotate through the middle and forwards.

Thoughts on this team?

[ShockOfHair]

So would I, but whether it's Pyke or Seaby, Mummy must have another ruckman in support. LRT is just about my favourite Swan, but he is not a ruckman, and although Jesse is better at it, neither is he.

LRT is pretty much my favourite Swan too. If I have one ambition for him it's to see him throw a punch. I don't care at who, I just want to see him get unreasonably aggressive. LRT if you're reading this, trust me - it's a great career move.

Back to topic. He's not much of a ruckman but I did love his dummy and goal last year. Walsh seems not ready on his admittedly limited showing, Spanger's out and White is being tried up back - so maybe Lewie will get a run up forward.

On the other hand, the mania for super tall forward lines means everyone has to deploy tall backlines, which is an argument for putting him up back. That could mean dropping the fabulous AJ - surely a hanging offence.

So to clear up any doubt, I have absolutely no idea. But I'm willing to bet Horse is sweating on it, too.

[Auntie.Gerald]

[QUOTE=Dan;560471]If I had to pick the team for Round 1 it would be:

Back: Smith - Richards - Shaw
Half Back: Mattner - Grundy - Johnson
Center: McGlynn - Kennedy - McVeigh
Half Forward: O Keefe - Reid - Goodes
Forward: Morton - Pyke - Rohan
Followers: Mummy - Bolton - Jack

Interchange: Hannebery - Malceski - Parker - Jetta(Sub)
Emergency: LRT - Bird - Moore

I like it Dan.........I am warming towards your 22......i just prefer slightly different possies.........I would still like a little more speed counter attack from the backline..........obviously Pebbles gets the defensive forward possie.....and can rotate with Jude, Macca and Mcgylnn. I dont think we will ever see Mitch Morton and Jetta on the field together.......gotta say I loved watching Harry play the game on Friday night and he could level jump a few by mid season?

Back: Smith - Richards - Shaw
Half Back: Mattner - Grundy - Johnson
Center: Rohan - Kennedy - McVeigh
Half Forward: Jetta - Reid - Goodes
Forward: McGlynn - Pyke - ROK
Followers: Mummy - Bolton - Jack

Interchange: Hannebery - Bird - Parker - Morton(Sub)

[Lucky Knickers]

I want to fit a tender Lamb chop in there.

[707]

I want to fit a tender Lamb chop in there.

Then that chop had better get fit and play a few pre-season games!

Not playing two ruckmen means that you put a bigger workload on our second most valuable player and you lose clearance effectiveness whenever the stop gap ruck is competing against a genuine ruckman.

Time to bite the bullet and persist with Pyke who is one of the best hit out to advantage rucks and looks to be developing as a FF. We have to have an eye on September or why are we bothering so two genuine ruckmen has to be bedded down.

You reckon the best 22 isn't causing some problems with the selection panel?

[Dosser]

[QUOTE=Auntie.Gerald;560479]

If I had to pick the team for Round 1 it would be:



Interchange: Hannebery - Bird - Parker - Morton(Sub)

Hmmm... I like the idea of Morton as a sub. He is not really a tackling player and loves getting in space. To have him fresh when the opposition is tired could be an interesting scenario.