GWS v Sydney Swans Game Day Thread

[707]

I'll have a close look at the replay when I get home tonight but a few quick impressions

GWS had a real go as we expected and have got some real talent. Derbies may not be lopsided our way for more than a couple of years.

What may not have been obvious on TV was the level of flooding used by GWS to slow down the game and prevent a real blow out. Vlad would find it an "ugly brand of football". That said I'm not sure we countered the ultra flood very well.

Umpiring, I don't like to harp on about the men in green and will have a close look on the replay tonight but it was like two sets of rules, particularly in the first half. Note to umps - you are not allowed to grab an opponents arm or jumper and impede him as he attempts to mark the ball!

In the midfield, Jack looked back to his best, Kennedy resumed where he left off in 2011, Jetts is finally making the grade but FFS use him more when he has got loose on his own, Hanneberry was very quiet, Goodes was just ok by his lofty standards, Jude was Jude, Bird is finally free of injury and it shows. Parker looked to be illegally hit, the MRP will sort that out.

Down back, other than a handful of ambitious passes that we wouldn't have tried against say Hawthorn, we were very solid. Teddy is a gem.

Forward we know we've got problems and we desperately need ROK and Spangher back. TDL really impressed in the ressies and must come in, Lamb looks likely too. On what I saw in the ressies, Walsh and Morton are not upgradable to seniors at this stage. Everitt has to go.

[Big Al]

That ridiculous G-Man thing was greeted by howls of laughter - and those feet look like they're sponsored by a mafia concreter....

..and that smile looked like Brad Johnson on acid.

[MarkD]

Im pretty sure Adam Goodes was talking about the next time we play GWS at ANZ when its a Bloods home game.

[Legs Akimbo]

Bird's game was definite highlight for me. Thought he played a super game and could easily have capped it with 4 goals on top of his 27 possessions (mostly quality). He deserves more recognition.

It beggars belief that someone has not fixed Sam Reid's kicking yet. The way he lifts the ball up into the air and then drops it from a height is classic Auskick action. The one he missed from 15 meters out was horrible. In today's game with the rapid kick ins, a point is effectively a turnover, so he needs to fix this fast. Otherwise all the awesome marking is pointless. Perhaps they should move him out to wing / CHF in the manner of Nick Reiwoldt. Would allow him to use his aerobic advantages more, concentrate on his field kicking (which is generally OK) and set-up play into the forward line. The way things are at the moment, we could hardly be worse.

Other general thoughts...

- Jetta was better but does still seem to prefer to let the opposition get the ball and then try to lay a tackle rather than contest. I think he'd do better if he contested. I love watching him kick the ball.
- Everett should have his paper's stamped after last night's effort. Reminds me of Barlow in his timidity
- Parker, Kennedy and Jack were all really good, but I thought GWS were really credible in their ability to contest the competitive footy against these bigger bodies. I think McDonald was good for GWS and showed Melbourne they made a mistake in getting rid of him,
- Our defense is great. Despite our forward line issues, I think Teddy, Reg, Smithy and Johnson (and Shaw) will keep us in most contests this year. AJ in particular is all class and is a 10 year play for us. Teddy is aging like a fine wine.
- Skills overall were terrible. Fumbling, consistently choosing the wrong option, dropping marks and hanging on to the ball too long (perhaps they expected to barge through the GWS teenagers with brute strength - they could not). Hopefully just rusty, but it is concerning that the deficiencies of 2011 were on display in Rnd1 2012 and it looks like nothing has changed. We cannot win a premiership without pinpoint razor like disposal. That's where Geelong, Collingwood, Hawthorn and to a degree Carlton excel. I think it will be the measure of Horse whether he can change this and therefore go from pretender to contender. It is a purely and simply coaching and as when on song, all our players can dispose of the ball well.

As for the umpiring, it was awful and frustrating. Sure GWS need every bit of help they can get, but systematically ignoring holding and interference is taking it a bit too far.

Finally, I think we will play much better at the SCG. I hate watching us play at the Olympic Stadium (or whatever it is called now).

[johnno]

My observations....
Everitt needs to go
LRT, good honest player, but not our answer up forward, only gets a game as a defender when 1 of Grundy, Richards or Johnson are out(sorry LRT...still luv ya)
Mumford I believe thought all he had to do was turn up and he'd dominate. Either that or the GWS ruckman is very very good.
Surface was crap
Goodes was serviceable but I felt at times he tried to be a bit too fancy.
Parker was obviously affected by that early knock from McDonald.
Rest of the side was good-very good.

My question is....if ROK, Shaw, maybe White and Spangher(definately) come into this side, who goes out?

[liz]

- Jetta was better but does still seem to prefer to let the opposition get the ball and then try to lay a tackle rather than contest. I think he'd do better if he contested. I love watching him kick the ball.

I am not sure why any player would want to take possession in congestion nowadays when they can just wait for their opponent to do so and then tackle them. The concept of prior opportunity is dead. There was a HTB played against Malceski last night when he received a (hospital) handpass and the opponent tackled him almost simultaneously, pinning one arm. Malceski tried, unsuccessfully to get rid of it but it was impossible with one arm pinned. He had absolutely no prior opportunity yet was pinged.

And the 'in the back' rule (in a tackle) seemed not to apply to our chaps last night (as indeed did the "holding in the marking contest", especially for Reid).

[Legs Akimbo]

I am not sure why any player would want to take possession in congestion nowadays when they can just wait for their opponent to do so and then tackle them.

Except that Jetta is one player who has a good chance of actually beating his opponent one on one in a contest by using his speed and creativity. Just needs to back himself more. It manifests in his tendency to dispose too early when most of the time he has more time. All between the ears.

[giant]

http://www.afl.com.au/Video/tabid/76...e/Default.aspx

Good work Smithy on kicking those goals....


/killself

The bar for getting a job in the AFL media is pretty damn low when you hear that crap, no?

[Nico]

Bird's game was definite highlight for me. Thought he played a super game and could easily have capped it with 4 goals on top of his 27 possessions (mostly quality). He deserves more recognition.

It beggars belief that someone has not fixed Sam Reid's kicking yet. The way he lifts the ball up into the air and then drops it from a height is classic Auskick action. The one he missed from 15 meters out was horrible. In today's game with the rapid kick ins, a point is effectively a turnover, so he needs to fix this fast. Otherwise all the awesome marking is pointless. Perhaps they should move him out to wing / CHF in the manner of Nick Reiwoldt. Would allow him to use his aerobic advantages more, concentrate on his field kicking (which is generally OK) and set-up play into the forward line. The way things are at the moment, we could hardly be worse.

Other general thoughts...

- Jetta was better but does still seem to prefer to let the opposition get the ball and then try to lay a tackle rather than contest. I think he'd do better if he contested. I love watching him kick the ball.
- Everett should have his paper's stamped after last night's effort. Reminds me of Barlow in his timidity
- Parker, Kennedy and Jack were all really good, but I thought GWS were really credible in their ability to contest the competitive footy against these bigger bodies. I think McDonald was good for GWS and showed Melbourne they made a mistake in getting rid of him,
- Our defense is great. Despite our forward line issues, I think Teddy, Reg, Smithy and Johnson (and Shaw) will keep us in most contests this year. AJ in particular is all class and is a 10 year play for us. Teddy is aging like a fine wine.
- Skills overall were terrible. Fumbling, consistently choosing the wrong option, dropping marks and hanging on to the ball too long (perhaps they expected to barge through the GWS teenagers with brute strength - they could not). Hopefully just rusty, but it is concerning that the deficiencies of 2011 were on display in Rnd1 2012 and it looks like nothing has changed. We cannot win a premiership without pinpoint razor like disposal. That's where Geelong, Collingwood, Hawthorn and to a degree Carlton excel. I think it will be the measure of Horse whether he can change this and therefore go from pretender to contender. It is a purely and simply coaching and as when on song, all our players can dispose of the ball well.

As for the umpiring, it was awful and frustrating. Sure GWS need every bit of help they can get, but systematically ignoring holding and interference is taking it a bit too far.

Finally, I think we will play much better at the SCG. I hate watching us play at the Olympic Stadium (or whatever it is called now).

Reid indeed has a strange kicking technique. You made reference to Auskick. As an Auskick coach you try to iron Reid's bugs out at 7 years old and his father was a fairly good kick in the big time. If he didn't do Auskick then it may explain something. Most junior clubs don't work on their actions etc. I am amazed someone hasn't tried to fix this but I thought I saw something written off season that he was doing a lot of work on his kicking.

Agree on the disposal. I don't know that I have ever given McGlynn a vote for the TLM simply because he rarely hits a target, even when under no pressure and from a free or mark. He had a couple of howlers last night. One to a leading forward that went nowhere near him and the other in the 3rd quarter from a set kick across half back where surely he had picked out the GWS player. There is no way we can go top 4 without a marked improvement in disposal.

[Lucky Knickers]

Hanners had a restricted pre-season. Give him a few weeks to get fit and catch up and he'll be right. In the practice game last week it was him coming on that got us going in the second half against the Suns so definitely just a matter of match fitness.
Surface at Homebush is pathetic. Jetta commented that when he went for that run down the Eastern wing everywhere he bounced was a pot hole. Ridiculous situation.
Be great to have ROK back in the engine room and forward. Everitt doesn't do it for me. Disappointed to hear Morton was as uninspiring in the seconds as he has been in pre-season.
We were rusty. Plenty of room for improvement.
Parker may have fracture to the face post that hit. Ch7 applauding MacDonald's "leadership" in taking out a player off the ball - pathetic. S
Rohan needs to play with a bit more awareness - Jude's head is not the one you want to clash with.
I for one am happy footy is back and that we have a break this week to work on our game and give the boys a chance to heal.
Loving JPK!
Good to see the umpires remain consistent year on year.
Finally thank you AFL for the pearl that is goal line technology.

[longmile]

Reid indeed has a strange kicking technique. You made reference to Auskick. As an Auskick coach you try to iron Reid's bugs out at 7 years old and his father was a fairly good kick in the big time. If he didn't do Auskick then it may explain something. Most junior clubs don't work on their actions etc. I am amazed someone hasn't tried to fix this but I thought I saw something written off season that he was doing a lot of work on his kicking.

The annoying thing is that Reid's field kicking is great. He just chokes up in front of goals. Dare I say it, but I think he needs a bit of advice from Travis Cloke to sort his yips out

[J_Moore]

Izzy, as shown by that tackle has the build and then good handball off, possibly has the skill to make it as an AFL player. But if they are going to play him as a forward, he has to learn how to lead very quickly. At the moment he seems to have no idea but to stand there waiting for a bomb in like he is still playing NRL. But he may get there, one day.

He seemed to be leading too early. Generally was making his leads one kick ahead of when he needed to. Needs to learn to wait until the ball is in a position where it can be delivered to him.

also, i noticed he would often lead to the opposite side of the direction the ball wad heading, meaning his player couldn't see him, and would need to kick awkwardly across his body if he did.

[ShockOfHair]

Good to see Jetta is better, Jack is back and Bird is the word.

Our ball movement was often really good, especially by hand. But we missed so many targets.

Reid's kicking wasn't bad over the preseason, so I'm not panicking about that yet. Our tall forward line wasn't going to work so well in last night's congestion. A lot of teams are going to go tall up forward to beat the zone -will that bring about a return of the flood?

I didn't mind LRT's effort. At least he gets to the right spot and makes a contest. Everitt was all fumbles and hesitation. He'll lose his spot to ROK in round 2 - hard to see him getting it back.

Statwatch: We won inside-50s 70-28. Contested marks inside-50 9 apiece.

[Primmy]

umpiring......shootme.......no protection for the bloods......wrist slapping at the very least.....as for not seeing Parks get his head knocked offf......mutttteeerrrr muttteeerrrrrr....

[WeHaveTheGoodes]

The umpriring was terrible, but to fair this is the AFL we are talking about where the umpiring always allows you to think something more is going on. Reid was invisible to the umpires last night.

I don't know what they (the afl) were worried about it's not that as if all those frees in front of goal would have mattered, would have most likely ended up being behinds anyway!

Everett was just hopeless and soft.

Funny to hear Kirk really make Darcy re-think his comments about Folou, he has such a positive soul! And such a natural in front of tv.