Rnd 21, Swans v Dogs, Etihad

[hot potato]

Only saw last quarter on Fox... Very clean tsunami footy... Loved it... The few glimpses of Morton were terrific, seems a really confident and descisive footballer.

[Wardy]

Yep thd crowd and the cheer squad sounded great (don't know about singing the club song prior to the end of the game - we don't want to appear arrogant )

[GongSwan]

After a disgraceful first quarter it was a good win, but the real stuff starts next week and we need to beat Hawks. Start like that and we will get flogged

[Dirtyburt]

Nice win, good warm up to hawks game.

[Dogzbody]

Good win. Hope that Pykey is OK, as demonstrated today we need him, his work rate is immense. Will Minson should be banished to hell, he is obviously a poor human being. I don't really care about the stomp on Jack (in isolation although I hope the MRP throw the book at him), more so the repeated incidents of absolutely poor quality judgement from this guy.

We will need to start game on against the hawks next week.

[rojo]

I thought Goodsey's 2nd half was encouraging - hopefully he has turned a corner. We needed to see some upside from him as we face the next few weeks. He was starting to remind me of ROK the year he played all or most of the season with a groin problem and couldn't run and couldn't kick but he played anyway.

[Doctor]

Just read this thread from beginning to end (yeah I don't have a life) and it was great to see the posts go from negative to positive. Obviously the Dogs came out of the blocks hard but they were never going to be able to keep that tempo up. We obviously eventually decided to wake up and start playing too. I reckon we'd kick big score like that more often if we played in a domed stadium too mind you. (As an aside I don't think that any team that plays most of its home games at Docklands has won a flag, and there's a good reason for that).

Great game from Pyke (hope he's ok) and Mummy. LRT gave it all as usual and the mids were great once they got going. Look at the spread of our possession getters as opposed to theirs (Griffen and Boyd) and that tells you why we won, and why we keep winning.

[monopoly19]

The focus on Griffen was ridiculous! Do the commentators think he gives a crap about being the highest possession getter in a game they lose by 80 points (extending their losing streak to what, 10 games?) I imagine that most footballers worth their salt would prefer a competitive team that has a spread of possession getters.

On the positive side, looks like Goodes is getting some form back, Reid got through without injury, Pyke & LRT were very impressive in the forward line, and Morton looked lively. I think our midfield is bloody impressive given that we're doing it without Jude and I've loved Parker's comeback. He's slotted back in seamlessly and seems to work so, so hard (as do Jack, Kennedy, Hanners etc). Thought Smith was able to play a slightly more attacking game today, which was nice to see. Good win!

[liz]

I thought Goodsey's 2nd half was encouraging - hopefully he has turned a corner. We needed to see some upside from him as we face the next few weeks. He was starting to remind me of ROK the year he played all or most of the season with a groin problem and couldn't run and couldn't kick but he played anyway.

I thought Goodes' performance was pretty good, considering his recent form. I am in the camp that believes it is not just poor form, but a physical problem that is hampering him. He has lost his explosiveness - one of his best weapons. What I do wish he'd do, though, is play within his current limitations. He must know he can't kick accurately for goal 40m+ out at the moment, so he shouldn't be trying. He laid it off once to Reid, when he knew he couldn't kick it himself, but then tried two later on which went nowhere close.

[Nolie]

best game I have seen Parker play.

[satchmopugdog]

Have just arrived home from Art class at Sheffield where I was following via a phone app.....first half I was throwing pencils and drawings. One drawing landed in the golden syrup for the scones and cream....class was in uproar. So glad things were able to setle down as we drew away from t5hose Footerscray lot.

[Cheer Squad]

Reid came through OK, which was a positive.

[royboy42]

I thought Goodes' performance was pretty good, considering his recent form. I am in the camp that believes it is not just poor form, but a physical problem that is hampering him. He has lost his explosiveness - one of his best weapons. What I do wish he'd do, though, is play within his current limitations. He must know he can't kick accurately for goal 40m+ out at the moment, so he shouldn't be trying. He laid it off once to Reid, when he knew he couldn't kick it himself, but then tried two later on which went nowhere close.

You hit the nail on the head Liz...for years he has taken that giant first stride when trying to distance himself from opponents.
Since he came back from the hurt quad, that has not reappeared.
I agree with you that his form is ok, but his body is letting him down atm.
Good signs in the second half today..but I reckon he is really gonna need a long rest thru oct/dec to let the healing complete.

[Nico]

The focus on Griffen was ridiculous! Do the commentators think he gives a crap about being the highest possession getter in a game they lose by 80 points (extending their losing streak to what, 10 games?) I imagine that most footballers worth their salt would prefer a competitive team that has a spread of possession getters.

On the positive side, looks like Goodes is getting some form back, Reid got through without injury, Pyke & LRT were very impressive in the forward line, and Morton looked lively. I think our midfield is bloody impressive given that we're doing it without Jude and I've loved Parker's comeback. He's slotted back in seamlessly and seems to work so, so hard (as do Jack, Kennedy, Hanners etc). Thought Smith was able to play a slightly more attacking game today, which was nice to see. Good win!

My 2 bobs worth...Griffin was BOG. He repeatedly won the ball at centre clearances and gave the Dogs first option. He tried his guts out and was still running when his team mates ran out of gas in the 2nd half. Outstanding footballer and would love him with us. When a player walks off the ground with 40+ possessions, regardless of the result, he is always happy with his game. It's not his fault he is surrounded by a sub standard team.

[wolftone57]

Good win in the end. We were asleep in the first and the ruckwork was being wasted by some lazy mid work. Griffen & Boyd took advantage through to early in the second then we got a move on. The mids woke up and started getting to the ball first. I agree with Liz on Goodes. He tried very hard and did some good things. The AFL round up has him in the best I would have thought that going a bit far. He did a job today but he is either still hampered by tightness in his leg or he has lost the ability to kick more than 40 metres due to old age.

Parker was wonderful in and under today, he kept putting his body in and crashing the packs. Which opened up the play to our advantage many times. Hannas did the same as well as Jack & Joey. Very good stuff but big hand for Lukie as best on that front today. The run and spread was very good in the last 2 1/2 quarters. I like the big blokes taking the pack marks and kicking goals, it seemed to be a case of 'If you can do it, I can do it, Pykie'.

Morton looked very comfortable out there when he came on and did a few very nice things. A big game next week and I think he could be an X Factor. Shawie ran around like a chook with it's head cut off in the first half and a bit but did a bit more after that. He was getting carved up in the first half and I think he just had to be accountable and couldn't give run from defense. Mal was a bit wayward in the first quarter & a bit but got it together and some of his passing was very good. Jetts might not have had a big one but every possie is class. That mark he took on Skinner in the last was very good. Some of his delivery on the run was super but have3 to get more out of him in the big games.

The defense was good after Quarter time and was as hard as ever. I thought Smithy was having some trouble bending down at one stage maybe he got one in the groin or something like that. Typical old fashioned trick in the old days when taking off is to give the opponent a backhander to the mid-drift but sometimes you missed and got them a bit lower. Nobody can tell me it doesn't still happen.

A lot of goal kickers and some very good work getting it in there. LRT must be given special mention for turning his game around to play forward. I presume it cannot have been easy for him so well done. He played well again today & I thought he was one of the stand outs last week, he always put in and never gave up.