Round 19: UWS Giants v Sydney Swans Reserves

[Primmy]

Two sets of Roos?

[ugg]

Sorry 54 Broome

[BillyRayCypress]

Two sets of Roos?

The other was at the ground but not playing. As was Dad.

[BillyRayCypress]

They have a Subway which does get quite crowded.
They also have a Pie place that actually has a decent selection of Pies.
SKODA also has a sausage joint with lots of different styles to choose from with lashings of onions of course.

.... Or so I've heard.

I've heard the kebab place is pretty good as well. The kransky and saeurkraut hot dog was worth a mention.

P1 was full to the brim with a Jehovah Witness convention so that back carpark was a much better option.

Triple B gave Kenny Williams a "God talking to me" experience. That was rather funny.

We were sitting above Ugg and his harem of ladies, so kept an eye on him.

Kenny was there shaking hands with the GWS players. I think he was trying to get Cameron to jump ship. Poor young Cameron looked confused by the end of the conversation.

Good brawl between the teams and the game was fairly even till into the second half.

I'm wondering what the issue is with young Roos and the mattress pads. Are they a family heirloom? If you're cynical, it does make you stand out. He doesn't have a very long kick on him and Walsh towered over him in height.

[Industrial Fan]

Thurgarland must be a pretty good toppy to get in the best. What sort of a player is he Ugg?

Interestingly enough, he was only a lower case best.

[ABloodsMan]

Any reports from people who were able to watch the game? Anyone demanding to take Boltons spot in the side?

Could Lamb get his first run, or mayhap Morton for TDL.

[Primmy]

I am waiting to see what charges MM faces from the stink before expecting him to get a gig.

[707]

Whilst Morton would be new to the Swans he is an experienced senior AFL player so not as risky debuting him as an untried player.

[ugg]

Giants were the slightly better team in the 1st quarter and the Swans would have been happy to be only 2 goals down at the first break. The second quarter was an even contest; the height of their tall forwards was causing some issues for our defenders who were forced to scramble wildly when they moved the ball quick and direct. It was certainly a major component of their game plan to exploit the height differential between our defenders and their forwards and although they only took one contested grab in the forward 50 (thanks to Andrew Phillips' looong reach), there were a few instances when Campbell Heath did incredibly well to spoil his much taller opponent, the Giants cleaned up the spillage and managed to goal.

Palmer was withdrawn at halftime to as the emergency for the GWS-Port game and this would have contributed to their woeful second half performance although it would not have been a satisfactory excuse from their point of view. The Giants struggled with the defensive intensity and tackling prowess of the Swans, and when the turnover inevitably happened, the Swans spread harder and faster and with a much more open forward line to work with, the likes of Morton and Lamb were the main beneficiaries on the scoreboard. In fact the Swans should have won by a greater margin but they slaughtered a host of gettable chances in the beginning of the last quarter, eventually finishing with 3.8 for that term.

• Brett Meredith - Fast developing a reputation as the "Mr. Fixit" of the side. He played a variety of roles throughout the day: started at halfback on the dangerous Nick Haynes then a small stint on Israel Folau when the Giants went taller in the forward line. He ran off Izzy at every opportunity and was never threatened defensively by Folau who still struggles to run to the right spots as a forward. The second quarter involved a shift to the midfield including a rest in the forward half before being told to go back to defence. Looks comfortable playing off halfback with his kicking being his major asset. He managed to find space in the last quarter for a 4 bounce canter down the corridor but sadly panicked a little when confronted by two defenders and miskicked the ball for a behind.
• Mitch Morton - He was well contained by Shaun Edwards in the first half who had great assistance due to the Giants pushing back huge numbers into our forward 50 to block our forwards' space. The forward line opened up in the second half and Morton cannily ran to the right areas to take a number of marks inside the forward 50 and converted with his usual "around the corner" style. He's been criticised for his selfish play in the past so he deserves credit for his unselfish act of passing off to Dylan Roos unmarked in the goalsquare for one of his set shots and was also the first teammate in to assist Jed Lamb when the brawl before three quarter time broke out (see below)
• Jed Lamb - An eventful day for Jed, 4 goals topping off another good performance as well as being involved in the 2 physical clashes of the day. The first happened after he executed a legal shepherd on Edwards who took strident exception and shoved Lamb violently in the back to the ground. The second occurred about 5 minutes later during a boundary throw in, where with heavy numbers around the ball, Gerald Ugle blew up for some unknown reason and started a confrontation with Lamb. There were a few punches thrown from players on both sides but luckily none of them really connected. Lamb received a 50m penalty and kicked his 3rd goal from that incident. He played more up forward with bursts in the midfield. His set shot conversion was impeccable (could give TDL a run for his money): he nailed 2 goals from the 50m arc including one from the intersection of the 50m line and the boundary line. His other goal was a clever gather from a boundary throw-in, a sly inside step and pivot freeing him for a clear shot on goal.
• Andrejs Everitt - Played as an onballer with the freedom to run hard in both directions. His ball use, particularly when delivering the ball inside 50, was very good especially when he had the time to think it through. I don't think he would be afforded this sort of luxury at AFL level but it may well be a moot point because Longmire rarely uses Everitt in a midfield role in the seniors.
• Tommy Walsh - He was prominent on the leads and presented well for his teammates but once he marked the ball, he either failed to convert the resulting set shot or made a poor decision in trying to find an option inside 50. With such a powerful right boot the temptation for Walsh is to boot it as hard as he can which rarely results in an advantageous situation for the team. However when he tries the shorter pass he tends to overcorrect and the ball tends to fall to feet of his intended target.
• Jesse White - A mammoth effort to ruck almost the whole game against Phillips, Folau and Tom Downie, and is testament to his improved fitness that he was able to perform this role. The only time he went off was when he landed awkwardly on his right leg (ankle?) in the 3rd quarter and limped off to get treatment but came back to ruck the 4th. Everitt relieved him in the ruck during this resting period - there was an amusing incident when Phillips told a teammate to block Everitt from being the third man up at a throw-in not realising he was actually the opposing ruckman and ended up giving away the free kick for an illegal block.
• Tony Armstrong - Played off a wing in the first half with the task of running with one of the GWS midfielders. Was a little quiet by my reckoning but when he was swapped into defence in the second half he looked much more natural with his run and carry from halfback.
• Matthew Spangher - He was the catalyst that sparked the Swans into action in the first quarter but found the going much harder after that. Jack Hombsch marked Spangher out of the game a few weeks ago when these 2 sides last met and he did it again for this game. Hombsch was particularly smart in his defensive positioning, either playing just in front or maintaining constant body contact to curtail Spangher having a clear jump at the ball. Spangher was so frustrated that after a topup's poorly directed kick fell short which allowed Hombsch to spoil easily he let out an anguished cry of "What the F was that kick?" that could be clearly heard around the ground. On the bright side, he would have wrapped up the Ressies Mark of the Year award with a perfectly timed leap onto Jesse's back who was kind (and strong) enough to keep him up there for a good second or two. It was reminiscent of the Grundy v Port mark from a few years ago.
• Dylan McNeil - Was full of running despite playing an inside mid role and made the effort to push forward hard to create goalscoring opportunities but could only finish with 1.3 from his shots on goal.
• Jarred Moore - Back to his clever best. He may not have goaled himself but had a direct hand in at least 3 of the goals. His vision and quick decisive play made him a standout in our midfield.
• Campbell Heath - Marshalled the back six who did an outstanding job in the second half to restrict GWS to only 2 goals and 6 scoring shots. Heath's sangfroid under pressure would have undoubtedly assisted the few toppies who were playing alongside him in defence.
• Alex Brown - Played in defence; some of his distribution from the back half was just outstanding with his long kicks turning defensive situations into attacking opportunities.
• Jack Lynch - A great game from Lynch who displayed some fantastic bodywork in defence to outposition his bigger opponent. Like his partner-in-crime Heath, his kicking is a solid part of his game and along with his athleticism I feel he would make a fine half-back flanker, but alas will probably have to stick to key defence for the time being due to a lack of other key defensive options in the reserves' side.
• Harry Cunningham - Tagged Palmer tightly in the first half and shifted onto Stephen Clifton in the second half but in not such a tight role. I'm pretty sure he's a right footer but does like to utilise his left for a quick kick around the corner when trying to clear the ball from a contested situation. Had a rare sighting of his pace when he hared down one wing and delivered a pinpoint pass to Morton who comfortably completed a chest mark.
• Jackson Potter - Has spent a lot of time in defence this year but was used in some centre bounces in this game. Doesn't look out of place alongside the likes of Moore and McNeil with his tough, nuggety frame and penchant for tackling.
• Topups - Dylan Roos (#52) sported the thigh pads again but looked more at ease than his first game a fortnight ago. His handball work in close was good but his kicking lacks penetration. Lewis Broome (#54) started each half on the bench and stayed there for some time before getting injected into the game. It was probably his most quiet Reserves game to date finishing with just the one goal. Has strong hands. Dane Rampe? (#59) a solidly built blonde midfield type, has VFL experience in his CV who played well. Jack McKinlay (#53) was in defence but didn't see much game time. Mitch Crawford (#51) played across half-forward and apparently had one goal which I had marked down for Morton. The remaining topups #55 and #58 were either Beau Heeney or Thomas Thurgarland each kicked a nice goal from 40 on the run. #55 started in defence and looked shaky early when outmarked by Nathan Wilson in the first quarter but to his credit was a solid player from thereon.

Giants 5.1 7.6 8.6 9.10 (64)
Swans 3.3 6.6 15.10 18.18 (126)

Next week is our first ever meeting against the Hills Eagles who have surprised the preseason experts by qualifying for the NEAFL finals in their first year.

[BillyRayCypress]

Great report Ugg.

Ugle certainly lost the plot there for some time. Something was obvioulsy said to him to make him that mad.

[Industrial Fan]

Great report Ugg.

Ugle certainly lost the plot there for some time. Something was obvioulsy said to him to make him that mad.

Ay relation to Ugle that plays for the Pies?

[TPR4]

Good to see Lambchop getting involved, Spang has clearly transformed into a fulltime forward now that he's spraying others further up the ground for poor delivery.

Bonus points for using "sangfroid" in an Aussie Rules reserves report.

[barry]

Hombsch is an AFL standard defender (he was in my supercoach side for a while), so its not the end of the world if he beat spranger, especially if delivery was substandard.

[ugg]

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/videoaudio/tabid/8664/default.aspx?contentid=476830#playvideo

Highlights but sadly no Spangher speccie