who is under pressure in 2014 ?

[Ruck'n'Roll]

AJ looks to have built up quite a lot while injured, he's starting to look more like a key psition defender than a third tall, which is handy given the age of Ted, Reg and LRT.

As for Lewis Jetta, we will play him because when he wasnt available we looked a bit one paced. in the past we have been opened up by the quicker teams.

[tasmania60]

players in doubt

Lets be honest Mc Glyn dead man walking, crumbing forward nah never in the right position ,wrong man . Tagger not sure if hes got the endurance , first 20 games from Hawks looked a world beater .Honestly sorry to say this but hes going to be swallowed up with kids coming through a lot more hungry .Jetta i know hes had some injures and it didn't help him last year, hes lost his pace already another whose going to struggle with a spot. I relay think were going to give it a shake this year and spots are going to be cut throat .

[Mr Magoo]

On what basis do you say that Jetta has lost his pace. He was injured most of the year . Agree that McGlynn may struggle to hold his spot if he doesnt perform at his absolute best but we didnt really pick up any new guys of his type over the off season so it is likely that he will be ahead of biggs, cunningham and a few others at this stage.

[wolftone57]

It's drawing a long bow to have Rohan starting and Jetta on an extended bench. Jetta has a few more points on the board than the rooster, as good as he will probably be, he isn't there just yet ( he may have been if not for that injury though ). Jetta may have been the most important player structurally to our flag year, he starts until fitness or form dictates otherwise IMO.

Watched the 12 minutes highlights of the 2011 win at Kardinia Park and Rohan was sensational. If he can get back to that sort of form he will be wonderful. Jetts is in my top 22.

[DK_]

So where does that leave LRT ? in my mind i find it difficult to have ROK, SHAW and LRT in the 22

I've been guilty of not seeing a spot in our 22 for LRT on more than one occasion in the past and he's always proven me spectacularly wrong! It's hard to beat his versatility around the ground, particularly his ability to push forward or drop back as the flow of the game changes. Being able to play backup ruck will not hurt him either.

On a more serious note, is there any way we can cancel January and February? I'm beside myself with excitement for round 1! So many possibilities, so far away!

[ernie koala]

Under pressure.....Walsh....He's in the last year of his contract. Says his first wish is to stay at the Swans.

He needs to come back from his awful injury and have some kind of impact.....Unfortunately that looks unlikely.

[swansrob]

Under pressure.....Walsh....He's in the last year of his contract. Says his first wish is to stay at the Swans.

He needs to come back from his awful injury and have some kind of impact.....Unfortunately that looks unlikely.

I find it hard to believe Walsh will be in Australia for 2015. He is coming off a huge injury and is last in the pecking order as far as tall forwards go (a commodity in which we are well stocked)

[DK_]

Under pressure.....Walsh....He's in the last year of his contract. Says his first wish is to stay at the Swans.

He needs to come back from his awful injury and have some kind of impact.....Unfortunately that looks unlikely.

It's a tough ask. Though the club still might see him as a replacement for an ageing LRT. If I remember right, ressie watchers said he was spending a lot of time down back before he was injured. I suspect he'll be competing with Sam Reid there - who must also be under pressure to produce a breakout season.

[erica]

Injured Swan Walsh considers going home to Ireland - AFL.com.au

[graemed]

I like the idea of a rotation policy and have narrowed the list to 26:

2 Rhyce Shaw - should be interesting to see how he holds up after LARS, deserves his spot.
3 Jarrad McVeigh - outstanding last year
4 Daniel Hannebery - had a quiet finish to 2013 after setting the world alight early, will be tagged and needs to work through it.
5 Ryan O'Keefe - looked to have really lost a yard and will struggle to maintain his midfield role despite his strength and fitness.
6 Tom Mitchell - started sensationally but lost some form and then had trouble regaining his poise. Injuries always a problem.
7 Harry Cunningham - has real speed and looks comfortable in seniors but too limited and needs to improve defensively to take on midfield role if required.
8 Kurt Tippett - will play in ruck with Pyke, et al. Wonder what sort of a role coaching staff have in mind when resting as forward.
9 Nick Malceski - was in great form until teams began to man him up. Needs to win his own ball more and be accountable defensively not just our best attacking defender.
11 Jeremy Laidler - not required at Carlton under Mick but has good qualities and could be used if key defenders go down.
12 Josh P Kennedy - contested possession and stoppages king, essential member of midfield.
14 Craig Bird - best tagger in side. Graet in and under player and ablosute mud-lark. Solid but lacks pace.
15 Kieren Jack - played below form in prelim but will use it as motivation to continue toward elite status
16 Gary Rohan - needs to regain confidence. Still has genuine pace and kicks superbly. Struggles to win the footy and needs to be more involved for longer.
20 Sam Reid - really missed him last year. Will be really keen to see how he fits into planning and how he may work whether iup forward, in midfield or down back.
21 Ben McGlynn - really needs big year. Still best small forward on list but could be used more in midfield if rotation policy used. Lacks real pace and is sometimes exposed as a consequence.
23 Lance Franklin - do not understand why we needed him, much less for 9 years but I'm sure glad we no longer have the problem of manning up on him.
24 Dane Rampe - showed real promise as a defender, and continued to improve. Hope he can play a more attacking role this year as he is a natural forward.
25 Ted Richards - another outstanding year and clearly one of our key players. Should have more tall support this year with LRT back and maybe Sam Reid, as well.
26 Luke Parker - took a giant step last year adding marking and goal kicking to his already formidable ball winning and tackling skills.
30 Lewis Roberts-Thomson - his loss to side balance cannot be overestimated. His role defensively whether in attack or back is vital. May be his last year.
32 Lewis Jetta - whether injured or lacking drive, last year was a return to the bad old days. Poor conversion and lack of possessions notwithstanding he just didn't look as sharp or switched on. Looking for renewed spark.
33 Brandon Jack - showed enough to recommend patience with Jack jnr. Real pace and good ball sense. Will get another chance probably at Benny's expense.
34 Alex Johnson - has definitely gained weight during rehab but has resumed running and should be back to playing weight soon. Doubt about early availabilty probably April/May.
37 Adam Goodes - also slow to resume full training probably on limited schedule due to importance to team and physio's looking to nurse him through the season injury free.
38 Mike Pyke - with the loss of Mumford, he becomes vital to all planning. Unfortunately he has a history of injuries and is currently still in rehab squad.
39 Heath Grundy - the enigma that is Reg; reliable and honest, tough and quick versus slow delivery and poor decision making, inaccurate disposals and dumb free-kicks. You gotta love him.
40 Nick Smith - best small defender in team. Always gets the job done, rarely beaten.
41 Lloyd Perris (R) - great prospect will get early oppourtunities, very fit and finds the footy, could be very good.
46 Shane Biggs (R) - showed real poise under pressure and deserves more oppourtunities.

Of the remaining players, injuries and form will dictate those most likely to be given an oppourtunity, but IMHO those who should be tried first are:

10 Zak Jones - really good looking prospect. Very focussed in pre-season and has excellent skills. Small but tough. Could be good.
13 Toby Nankervis - has looked very likely on track. Good marking and positioning, kicks well for goal and has good instincts. Fitness may be an issue and with our wealth of talls may have limited oppourtunites.
17 Tommy Walsh - still in rehab group but looks super fit and very intense.
18 Jordan Lockyer - probably last chance. Has not come along as well as some others but doing better on track this pre-season.
19 Tom Derickx - probably first choice as back-up if either Tippett or Pyke goes down. Has looked impressive at training.
22 Dean Towers - will need to improve defensively but looks exciting and could be best long term project.
42 Xavier Richards (R) - liked his efforts in Magoos last year resolute, dependable and had good timing. Could be used more this year.

[DK_]

Nice assessment Graemed.

Don't think Naismith will get a gig? Also, I thought Jetta showed a fair bit in his last couple of games before injury and in the finals. He looked confident. He adds a lot to the team.

Any idea what Pyke's injury is? I haven't been able to find anything other than he's in the rehab group.

[liz]

Any idea what Pyke's injury is? I haven't been able to find anything other than he's in the rehab group.

It was reported a few weeks ago (in one of the various interview / articles on the state of the rehab group) that he had some kind of knee clean-up operation after the end of last season. It sounded like it was to address a problem he was carrying for at least the back end of last season, rather than something sustained post-season.

[Nico]

I heard on SEN this afternoon that Jetta has had an operatioon on his knee as recent as this week but should be right for round 1.

[DK_]

I heard on SEN this afternoon that Jetta has had an operatioon on his knee as recent as this week but should be right for round 1.

ITB release. I had one of them and was back running within days. It's no big deal.

[graemed]

He was training on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but had a pressure bandage around knee and while I was there on Friday was sitting against fence. When he was walking he was hobbling. Maliceski also sat out skills work with what looked like a corked thigh but it was being iced on the inner thigh so I'm not sure what it may have been.