Swans Geelong match thread

[Swans500]

LOLOL...had to laugh politely at the "seriously cold" line.....where I live people go to the "football" to watch The Steelers and the cup of beer freezes almost solid in several minutes ...and they think they are enjoying themselves...

Yeah, we would have been dead tonight without Teddy. Some brilliant saves.

It was seriously cold there tonight. Doubt I could have packed on more clothes...

[MarshallG]

I can't believe Teddy didn't get a mention in the AFL best players list. I thought he was good all night but sensational in the last quarter. His efforts to lift the team by example were as inspirational as some of Goodseys best.

He got a huge wrap on SEN.

[Swansinger]

LOLOL...had to laugh politely at the "seriously cold" line.....where I live people go to the "football" to watch The Steelers and the cup of beer freezes almost solid in several minutes ...and they think they are enjoying themselves...

They're my kind of people , bless them !

[Swansinger]

It will be hard to pick the top three for the TLM. And those AFL DT points do not really tell the story , do they ?
We had a fair few obvious candidates for the best list , but I'll have to watch the replay.
There were plenty of "one-percenters" tonight .
As well as "Tidy Ted" , a few others who did not make it on the list , still contributed strongly (eg Marty and Alex).

A tip on how to vote : if you find it impossible to decide after a very close , physically tough game , give the three to the bloke who laid most tackles.

Given that I was shouting for The Android to replace AG at quarter time : well , if Horse heard me , I may give myself a vote

[SwansFan1972]

The fadeouts of the last two weeks are clearly a concern, but there is just so much to like about us at the moment. Are we playing super footy, or the best in the league at the moment? No - clearly not. BUT the boys are doing what they need to do and that is win the tight ones. Preseason, our crystal ball gazing at the Essendon and Cats games would have seen only the optimistic among us expecting to win one of them, but would not have been surprised to drop both. Very few would honestly have tipped us to win both (or the Hawks game in Tassie for that matter). Sure, the dropped games against Saints and Tigers sucked, and the Crows game was a coin toss, so perhaps they all cancel out. Most importantly, we sit nicely in the top 4 with a 9-3 record, and two expected wins to come. The back end of the season looks tough, so that is when we really need to be clicking for four quarters.

I'm pretty relaxed that we aren't running on all four cylinders right now - it is sooooo hard in the AFL to be up and running and perfect all season, so hopefully the boys will have everything clicking into place when it counts - in September! If you want an example of how being super mid season can mean bugger all, just look at the Crows in our grannie years - they were dominant for much of those two seasons, but didn't even make the main dance!

We have so much upside to come - goodes and mummy getting fitter, Parker to come back in. And we are all going through a pretty dramatic adjustment phase - I think it is fair to say that when we've had the heartstoppers in recent years, it has been because we've watched the boys climb out of a hole and just get up at the death. This honest and exciting team of ours that builds big leads then clings on to win is a very new beast for us all to be watching!! Personally, I like it! Would of course like it better to be burying teams for four quarters, but hoping that they are going to be doing that at the right time of the year - the back end of the season and finals.

Definitely cup half full at the moment, with a reasonable chance for it to keep filling . . . mumford to keep getting fitter, and goodesy, and parker to come back in. Not perfect at the moment by any means, but who is this season? It is a flag that could be snatched by anyone - get four good games going at the right time and who knows who could win it?!?!?!

And hey - how could the game really be anything other than a heartstopper tonight - we had Nick Davis running for us!!! Still get goosebumps remembering THAT amazing night!!!

[ShockOfHair]

I read at least one preview that said Goodes would be the difference between the two sides - and he was!

Anyway, nice dob by Andrejs, and a good moment for him. Reg's work in dislodging the bal from Wojo (?) was probably just as important though.

Don't know whether to be impressed that we can open up a six-goal lead or annoyed that we squander it (again). Our guys kept their nerve, as they usually do,

I'm willing to donate to a statue of Ted, though last night he was just as immovable. Jack is back to his 2010 form. Shaw was pretty much unstoppable. Bolton was Bolton. Goodes can play himself into form against the Giants.

Looking forward to the rematch at Skilled. Memo Geelong Addie: get your poster ready.

[Sandridge]

Tough call on the fitness. When the chips were down we found something from deep down. We appeared to control the game for the last 3 minutes of game time. We were headed twice and looked gone. ROK was outstanding in the last quarter and McVeigh really stepped up in last 5 minutes. It was also coming off the bye and I don't reckon we have won after the bye for a long time. It was the reigning premiers we played.

We have done in the last 2 games what we have failed to do in the past few years; beat top teams when it mattered. (except Geelong at Geelong in 2011)

Damn right Nico! Essendon got close enough to beat us but didn't. Geelong got in front of us twice but didn't beat us either! Yes, the fade outs are a bit of a concern but two top teams came back at us HARD and we held on!

Go the mighty Bloods!

[Nico]

Non calls are fine and they definitely went both ways, its the inconsistent ones that went geelongs way that bother me. Pods throws teddy out of the way 15m out in front of goal, no decision ( goal to geelong). Teddy throws Pods out of the way 15m in front of goal, decision against us (goal to geelong). Its utter crap, week in week out! But great fight by the boys!

22 frees to 14 our way.

Umpires are not paying many frees and are prepared to let it go particularly when players fall forward when tackled from behind. So when not many frees are paid we have to make sure we don't give them away in front of goal. Grundy twice nudged players in the back in front of goal. On the replay you couldn't dispute what he did. Mathews said on TV that the Swans backs later in the game were trying to get in front of their man in one on one contests, which showed they knew they had to avoid in the back frees.

[Nico]

A couple of observations:

I think LRT is in the team for ruck back up right now. The backline is settled and unless there is an injury to say Grundy or Ted then they will be loathe to change that structure and personnel.

Regarding fade outs: In 3 games against top sides we have been creamed in the first 10 minutes of the last quarter. Adelaide did it and we nearly got back and won the game. Essendon ripped us apart and Geelong found 3 quick goals. In each of these phases we have been done over on clearances both from the centre and elsewhere. Dangerfield had a purple patch at the start of the last quarter. It is almost as if they go to sleep. We must have Mumford starting on the ball in the last quarter and our hardest midfielders in the centre and around stoppages to make sure it doesn't happen again. The footy just seems to leak out to outside opposition players in these phases. No blocking, no fancy stuff, just find the footy.

By the way; Mark Fine on SEN in the wee hours of the morning said don't underplay the last 15 minutes of McVeigh. He said he was outstanding.

[erica]

LOLOL...had to laugh politely at the "seriously cold" line.....where I live people go to the "football" to watch The Steelers and the cup of beer freezes almost solid in several minutes ...and they think they are enjoying themselves...

So pleased to entertain you, Swans500.

[Primmy]

I have no voice. So don't phone me. Its been a while since I have been completely throated out.

Now, for those calling for Jesse to be reinstated, he played in a ressie team that beat the opp by 145 or so points. and he did not sparkle. He had a moment, yes, but honestly and this is from someone who is dying to make him an afl player of standing, he is not up to the current crop of seniors. LRT is a far better player, and he has flexibility, can be called on to ruck when necessary, has courage and strength as well as a sense of the game. Not the greatest player agreed, but necessary to our team. So please stop beating up Lewie. He is who he is and he is good at it.

Did I miss Mal or TDL? Unfortunately I did not miss Mal (sorry sweetheart, you know I love you to pieces, but...) perhaps TDL would have been very good, but at whose expense. LRT? Size and mass does matter at times. Benny? no.

On another note. HOW about that 65 meter goal from Jetts!!!! It didn't bounce through, it hit the fence! That was one hell of a roost for such, yes we will need to admit it, chicken legs.

And I agree with Erica. It was frigging cold.

[Mel]

Like Primmy I am a bit hoarse this morning. I don't know if I can handle many more of those heart stoppers!

I also want to put in a quick word for AJ. He ws really good last night. Seemed to be everywhere in the back line and for a 20 year old, he plays with such poise and calmness. Love him

[grarmy]

[QUOTE=tantrum;577108]Gee, just noticed I haven't posted since October 2007 and have 388 posts. Thought it was going to say 13 posts or something like that. I had no idea I'd posted so often here. :-o

Welcome back. We missed your opaque, intoxicated views.

[grarmy]

I thought this game - or the reasons for the Geelong come-back - were a little different to the Essendon game. As much as anything it was a very experienced and smart team finding a way to work through the structures that Sydney had in place and wrest back control. The structural issues in our forward line also became more apparent as the game wore on and Geelong started to make it far harder for Sydney to cut them up on the rebound out of defence. Unlike the Bombers game last quarter, where we could barely get our hands on the ball, I thought we had plenty of opportunities today in the final term but all the smaller players were sucked so far up the ground that long kicks into our forward line were just getting no result. We definitely could have done with a TDL in there today, at the expense of one of the taller players.

Great take on the game, Liz. Very insightful.

[grarmy]

LOLOL...had to laugh politely at the "seriously cold" line.....where I live people go to the "football" to watch The Steelers and the cup of beer freezes almost solid in several minutes ...and they think they are enjoying themselves...

It gets so cold in Adelaide the Crows supporters interfere with themselves for warmth.