Are we contenders in 2012?

[Swansinger]

Did any of my fellow RWO-ers ever work for the English tabloid press ? It wouldn't surprise me .
The England soccer team would beat , say , Cyprus or some other minnow 7-0 and they were hailed as world-beaters. Next game , we'd get done by Germany or Italy - one of the "good" teams - and it was all "sack the coach".

If I may offer some solace to those who think we are no longer contenders : we will thrash the Dees next week and , seven days hence , the pessimists here will be logging on to Jetstar and booking a flight to Melbourne for the last weekend in September.

[Dirtyburt]

Did any of my fellow RWO-ers ever work for the English tabloid press ? It wouldn't surprise me .
The England soccer team would beat , say , Cyprus or some other minnow 7-0 and they were hailed as world-beaters. Next game , we'd get done by Germany or Italy - one of the "good" teams - and it was all "sack the coach".

If I may offer some solace to those who think we are no longer contenders : we will thrash the Dees next week and , seven days hence , the pessimists here will be logging on to Jetstar and booking a flight to Melbourne for the last weekend in September.

Don't be so sensible

[Swansinger]

Whew - WCE ten goals down v Bombers at 3QT. I guess we can totally write off the Eagles for 2012 , then.
At least til next week , anyway.

[ScottH]

I reckon Round 7 will tell us a lot more, as to where we are at.

Yep!!

[Velour&Ruffles]

We were genuinely dreadful today. Our forward line was totally non-functional. Our skills were atrocious. We were passive and just waited for the ball to come to us. Sam Reid was awful but the delivery to him was awful as well and that was the bigger problem If we play the way we did today we will not win another game for the year, forget about finals. Don't underestimate the flaws that were shown up today. The closest thing we had to a winner today was Josh Kennedy and it was his worst game of the season. The fact that both Parker and Hanners were both hurt too is just the Santorum on the cake.

[Velour&Ruffles]

Pffft richmond were not that good tonight, we were just terrible! We made them look good. They will not make the 8 IMO. Geez I walked outta there mighty disappointed! Please, please horse get rid of everitt and put pyke in for seaby!! I am really worried about our forward line, I mean grundy was in it in the 2nd half?? WTF? Why was TDL the sub?? After this game I dont think we are contenders, we cannot use injuries as an excuse for that performance.

So true. I will not get too carried away with the awfulness of it because I went to the Swans v saints game in round 10 2005 and we all know how that season turned out. But this really was a terrible performance. Some performances you can put down to a bad day (eg grundy, shaw). With others, I wonder if it was something more sinister. Poor old Seaby was smashed, Jude looked to be 103 years old and Benny was ghastly. I think we have nothing to lose by bringing Pyke in and I think we should. I would also give Walsh a game, instead of Reid . Dont get me wrong, I am a big Reid fan and he will be a star. But he was appalling today and part of becoming a star is learning that you have to produce and are not an automatic selection. He has the talent but his last month has been lamentable. McVeigh also needs to pull his finger out.

[swans_premiers]

At this stage there are 6-7 teams that are a chance, some more than others.

Fact is 3 kicks is the difference between us on top of the ladder and where we are now.

5 points to crows.
Wc beat hawks by less than a goal
roos missed a kick after siren re essendon.

3 small moments over 63 games of football would have us 4 spots higher.

We're a contender, but theres so many factors and were way too far out at this stage.

[Bloodmaniac]

You're only as good as your last game. On that premise, no.

[DA_Swan]

At this stage there are 6-7 teams that are a chance, some more than others.

Fact is 3 kicks is the difference between us on top of the ladder and where we are now.

5 points to crows.
Wc beat hawks by less than a goal
roos missed a kick after siren re essendon.

3 small moments over 63 games of football would have us 4 spots higher.

We're a contender, but theres so many factors and were way too far out at this stage.

Facts are those that said we had beaten nobody and had a soft start of the draw have been proven correct - our best win came against the Hawks lost their best defender during the game and who have since bounced back - we have injuries that we cannot replace (Mumford , Goodes , Rohan ) a key player who cannot play with injury (Reid) so thanks to the draw playing Melbourne is timely and will either cover up the cracks for another week or confirm that unless we get a home a final and the Grand Final is moved from the MCG we are too slow to be serious contenders

[Cheer Squad]

You're only as good as your last game. On that premise, no.

And on that premise neither are the Eagles, who were given an absolute hiding by the Bombers at Etihad yesterday. You'd think that was a far more significant loss for them than our loss to Richmond.

[jono2707]

Facts are those that said we had beaten nobody and had a soft start of the draw have been proven correct - our best win came against the Hawks lost their best defender during the game and who have since bounced back - we have injuries that we cannot replace (Mumford , Goodes , Rohan ) a key player who cannot play with injury (Reid) so thanks to the draw playing Melbourne is timely and will either cover up the cracks for another week or confirm that unless we get a home a final and the Grand Final is moved from the MCG we are too slow to be serious contenders

I agree with pretty much everything in this post, but it has made me wonder why I follow the Swans. Whilst winning the premiership is of course the ultimate prize for any team, it is not the reason I'm a supporter. It's just that I love footy, I love my town Sydney, and I usually love the way the Swans go about their work (I said usually....). We certainly don't have a perfect squad - we are very strong in some areas and quite weak in a few others. But really I love the week in week out ups and downs of a footy season, the rollercoaster ride that footy fans strap themselves in for each year. Whatever happens at the end of the season, I always get an empty feeling just after the Grand Final because, regardless of who made the finals and who became premiers, footy season is over and there's another 6 month wait until we all go round again.

I guess my love of footy and the Swans is unconditional......

[Hartijon]

To be a contender come September we must have our best 22 on the field playing well.The minor round is an opportunity to discover and unite this best 22 into a powerful force come September.As long as we win enough games to make the Finals preferably top 4 we Can be contenders if injuries don't wreck our year.What I disagree with is playing injured players like Reid then being surprised when he is beaten and we lose.Don't drop him,rest him and bring him back to the top 22 when his body is up to it. This also gives the coaches the chance to try Walsh,Pyke, Morton instead of then running around in the twos.For mind,the selectors have missed an opportunity to discover the best 22 and we have lost 2 games on the trot.Lose lose!!

[Velour&Ruffles]

At this stage there are 6-7 teams that are a chance, some more than others.

Fact is 3 kicks is the difference between us on top of the ladder and where we are now.

5 points to crows.
Wc beat hawks by less than a goal
roos missed a kick after siren re essendon.

3 small moments over 63 games of football would have us 4 spots higher.
We're a contender, but theres so many factors and were way too far out at this stage.

This is delusional. The issue is not three small moments in those games (two of which we did not even play in). The issue is the 120 minutes of undiluted garbage we dished up last night. The issue is the 50 or so "moments" we moved into our forward 50 last night without any system or effectiveness. The issue is also perhaps the "moments" that Gary Rohan and Adam Goodes went down with serious injuries because without them we look glacial and were horribly exposed for pace last night (apologies to Lewis jetta and Rhys Shaw but they can't do it alone).

[Melbourne_Blood]

West Coast were ripe for the picking and the Bombers are a top 4 contender on what they've produced so far. It was a poor loss last night, much worse than West Coast losing to the Dons. We normally come back Strong after a loss, that couldn't be further from the truth last night. It was an insipid performance. There are players consistently performing in the reserves and they need to be rewarded when senior players aren't doing what is required of them. Im not saying hit the panic button but White, Everitt, Seaby, Mcglynn, all need to be looked at. Seaby should be cut a little slack, I believe his workload as number 1 ruck is fatiguing him and it showed last night. The others have no excuse. White has no hunger for the contest what so ever. Everitt looks like he works harder, but lacks the same appetite as White. Benny has gone missing ( did he have a similiar patch last year of poor form ?). 2 or 3 changes should be made. Walsh should be probably be first in line based on Ressies reports this year, seems to have been the most consistent performer week in week out.

[Melbourne_Blood]

Good teams, contenders, don't carry out of form players or players who are clearly not up to it . They are ruthless and they drop them because you need to if you want to be the best. It sends a clear message and encourages the reserved players to keep performing consistently knowing spots will open up and they will be rewarded if players are not meeting the required standard in the seniors. These good teams set a standard and if it is not met, the axe swings ( especially after a pretty woeful loss) This is how real depth is created. The pies are a pretty good example of this. They'll drop players without batting an eyelid and the guys they bring in generally get the job done more than competently. I would say now would be as good a time as any to make a few changes.