Saints v. Swans gameday thread

[crackedactor]

First 5 rounds

Everyone else is having their 2 bobs worth so here's mine.

A lot of people (including myself) had overestimated the quality of the team in the first 5 rounds. Back to earth, but no need to panic. Todays effort was crap and we need to improve in a lot of areas.

This season so far, the comp is more even than it has been for some time. In that situation you show up slightly down on performance and you are in trouble. With Mummy and Goodes out our reliance is placed on young shoulders along with players who are bit players and not stars more than it has been for a few years. While that is the case form will fluctuate. I still believe some of those young players will be our stars of the future and will form the core of a very good group going forward.

With the evenness of the comp things can turn. We look like the bottom of the eight side also run side we have been for the past few years, but with a few stars back and an increase in confidence among some younguns I think things can change quickly. I just hope the coaches are drilling into the players that the performance today was not acceptable.

I don't believe in wielding the axe but a few of the worst offenders should go to set an example and the rest of the group should be put on notice.

We were good for the first 5 rounds because our fitness level was superior. Overall we are a bottom 4 side. It amazes when someone like Jack said" Our efforts were not good enough" then we watch them show the same woeful effort next week. Must be smoking weed during inteviews. I wouldn't be watching a swans game again until Goodsey comes back. At least he will give me a few moments of pleasure when he does he magic. Thought Reid, Parker and Johnson could be stars of the future. Must have been smoking weed when I had that thought.

[Wardy]

Very much agree that they didn't take the first option and consistently sold themselves into trouble. But I do wonder if they first options were really that sincere? A lot of half arsed pretend efforts in my opinion.

Anyway, I thought I'd got all this negative stuff out of my system a few years ago, but just a bummer when I finally get to make it the guys don't turn up! Wardy, thanks for your thoughts - the little fella is asleep in bed and dreaming sweet dreams I am sure - he enjoyed his pie and Syd made him laugh.

my great nephew who turns 6 next week is playing auskick he was watching this and rang me to say "aunty Alex they didn't play very well did they? Maybe they all had a cold you and I have" god love him. I could t say what I really thought of the game obviously :-) oh well let's look to next week.

[crackedactor]

Melbourne gave us a lesson on how not to turn up. We learned it well.

Good post ! well said! We did learn well from Melbourne.

[Nico]

Simply outplayed. We played rubbish football and you cannot blame the coaches for fumble football, over possessing and plain dumb disposal options.

Johnson had a howler (2 in a row) and looked injured right from the start.
Bird, Bolton and Parker are as slow as a wet week.
The Saints dragged Malceski back to the last line of defence and he got found out big time. Gets caught up just not knowing where to go and for goodness sake spare us the heartache of him kicking out. He can't kick more than a metre above the ground.
Once again flogged unmerciously at centre bounces. They got the footy into their forward line straight from centre clearances so many times, if they didn't get a direct goal they just locked it in until they forced a goal. Pretty simple stuff....get your hands on the pill first at centre bounces.

Unaccountable footy after quarter time. Our poor leg speed kills us because when a good team has the footy our defensive pressure on the man with the ball is horrible.

Thank goodness for Ted Richards. Without him it would have been a right old flogging.

[Nich]

Another thing that kills me - 4th qtr square up frees by the umps. Dont tell me it doesnt happen!!

[Melbournehammer]

Simply outplayed. We played rubbish football and you cannot blame the coaches for fumble football, over possessing and plain dumb disposal options.

Johnson had a howler (2 in a row) and looked injured right from the start.
Bird, Bolton and Parker are as slow as a wet week.
The Saints dragged Malceski back to the last line of defence and he got found out big time. Gets caught up just not knowing where to go and for goodness sake spare us the heartache of him kicking out. He can't kick more than a metre above the ground.
Once again flogged unmerciously at centre bounces. They got the footy into their forward line straight from centre clearances so many times, if they didn't get a direct goal they just locked it in until they forced a goal. Pretty simple stuff....get your hands on the pill first at centre bounces.

Unaccountable footy after quarter time. Our poor leg speed kills us because when a good team has the footy our defensive pressure on the man with the ball is horrible.

Thank goodness for Ted Richards. Without him it would have been a right old flogging.

It's funny you know, while I was watching I thought Grundy had the better game defensively. True Richards was playing on riewoldt who really did have him for pace, but I thought Richards was well down.

Having said that we should be reasonably satisfied with the defence, which did ok in the circumstances where our midfield simply couldn't win it or hit a forward and so it was just coming back every minute or so.

[aardvark]

OMG Walsh scored -3 in Dreamteam. I didn't know you could go negative.

[annew]

OMG Walsh scored -3 in Dreamteam. I didn't know you could go negative.

That is just embarrassing. Embarrassing that a coach could pick a player that gets negative dream team points, embarrassing that there is a goal kicker in Mitch Morton that's not getting picked. Too many passengers and too many duds that are not AFL level and wouldn't get a game at any other club.

[emaze1]

Another thing that kills me - 4th qtr square up frees by the umps. Dont tell me it doesnt happen!!

the afl umpiring dept is ruining the game
it's miles behind every other element of afl in terms of professionalism
the swans cop the most frees against them, away from home , and have for years, and that's backed up by stats
it burns but what can you do?

[jono2707]

So it sounds like I missed a game well worth missing. I have also missed (until now) the usual heartbreak and pain on here as a result of what seems to have been a pretty listless performance. A good team gets up and dusts themselves off after a game like this, hopefully learns a few lessons, makes some changes and gets ready to defend our home turf again next week. This is a close competition this year and in my eyes there is no shame in losing the matches that we've lost so far as long as we can harden up a bit and get out there and do it better against the Dogs next week.

[Cpt. Kirk]

That is just embarrassing. Embarrassing that a coach could pick a player that gets negative dream team points, embarrassing that there is a goal kicker in Mitch Morton that's not getting picked. Too many passengers and too many duds that are not AFL level and wouldn't get a game at any other club.

Yes lets blame a player that has played one game of afl football who looked quite handy last week albeit against Melbourne lets not blame the senior players for their massive mistakes throughout the whole game. I would suggest that the only player that played tonight that wouldn't be playing in the starting 22 of another club would be the young man that you have decided to blame the whole teams disgusting effort upon. Can't wait for alex starling to start playing so all you guys can start blaming him for a loss aswell.

[jono2707]

That is just embarrassing. Embarrassing that a coach could pick a player that gets negative dream team points, embarrassing that there is a goal kicker in Mitch Morton that's not getting picked. Too many passengers and too many duds that are not AFL level and wouldn't get a game at any other club.

I'll state upfront that I haven't yet seen tonight's game but it may be a little harsh to call an Irishman with some great physical tools a dud in only his second ever AFL game in his first year on our list. Sounds like he had a terrible and forgettable night but a guy like Tommy is worth persisting with.

I saw earlier that TDL was named sub and that made me scratch my head. Sounds like that idea didn't work out too well. Otherwise I will wait to see the game in a couple of days (geez I'm glad I haven pay TV at home) before I pass judgement.

Just remember that losing is a part of the ups and downs of footy.......

[Bloody Hell]

I guess we all see things different ways. Agree it was a lazy, lacklustre performance by the team, and especially the midfield, but I thought Macca was one of the better players. He seemed to be trying to run to space to offeran option, and a few times created a neutral contest when he was outnumbered. Hanners didn't stop trying either.

I thought Parker had a shocker, while Bolton and Bird were anonymous. JPK was allowed no space.

Jack was good in parts, at least when he had the ball. Jetta only really came into it in junk time. TDL had no chance as sub but looked reasonably lively when he did come on. Benny Mac also tried pretty hard but didn't have enough mates.

If Parker had a shocker then Bird should be upgraded to shocker status.

They were the turnover twins.

[GongSwan]

Were there players that didn't turn it over? I don't think it's one person in the team or the coach or the gameplan. We just didn't win the hard ball that we usually do and they did. It was a bit like watching the Richmond game a gain, a few free kicks went against us that shouldn't have, teh ball bounces the wrong way over a players head etc, and the other team gets momentum which we were unable to turn around. It's very ahrd to play that hard contested style every week, the younger players are going to have an off night occasionally, and the older players are getting older and can't have the same impact as when they were 26, because they're 30 or 32, it's a huge difference in elite athlete terms. In 2005 we got belted a number of times, again in 2006. It's not the end of the world or the season

[anniswan]

We were lazy! God help us against Essendon in 2 weeks, thanks to DrJ for getting me on the right train home