Intra-Club Clash

[spiffy-dude]

Buddy having a laugh over the KJ tackle: "McVeigh set me up!"
SwansTV: Franklin press conference - sydneyswans.com.au

Thanks for the reports people.

Kinda sick of the beards but damn it suits Lance a lot and makes him look even more imposing.

He does seem happy.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Liz provided a great review

I didnt notice Goodes, Hewett, The Tip,

Just a couple of other comments:

BACKS:

Laidler - has a very sharp kick and plays quite tall for a 190cm player but he certainly takes risks and got caught out a couple of times

Shaw - looked a slower version of himself but injected himself running out of the backline and still looked good despite getting caught from behind twice

Mal - a few times was stretching out his hammy early in the match but appeared to play on not running so much but directing kicks from deep.....didnt feature on the wing much

Ted - Still a champion and is all quality

Grundy - solid but still does the occasional mongrel kick to no one

Rampe - played very tight and wasnt played in a loose role at all but looked strong as 2013

Smithy - solid as always

Alir - hmmmm.....might have the longest handball as the club he quite often counter attacks with a 25 to 30m hand pass with ease ! He is raw but has plenty of potential and will learn so much against our rotating forward line

X - he is solid and i think in a couple of years like Alir could well be a change of the guard in our Snr backline

Matthew Dick - he is an interesting ball and all player.....very strong build med tall defender and in a run with role is a pretty good competitor.......the only role i could think of for him would be a Nick Smith role but he is not in the same league of composure as Smithy but he is a goer

Reid / LRT - played primarily up front and both looked solid

Locky - looked solid


FORWARDS:

Buddy - Lance is another level above the way he moves around the field.......the guy reminds me so much of Goodes at full flight with them both having such a great turn of speed and

Reid - looked sharp

Membrey - tried hard but i dont think he will be a 5 or 10 yr player......a bit slow and a real shame for such a good kick and mark and not tall enough to move to a CHB role

LRT - great to see our man back and he looked competitive

BJ - looked sharp and will be pushing the 22 and still on the up !

Rohan - his offensive pressure was very very good......lead well, not many kicks

Pykey - played alot up front and not so much ruck........was a strong presence as always and kicks dead straight !

Nankervis - a good pickup and not out of place......played alot upfront in first 3qtrs

Towers - looked very sharp


MIDFIELD:


Sam Naismith - the guy has so much dexterity and so much time with the ball when making decisions but he occasionally got caught holding the ball too long but sometimes due to not enough support......He is a serious emerging footballer and wins the tap almost every time. Very dominant for a young fella

Derrickx - strong competitor and good backup

Birdy - didnt stand out and looked a little off the pace but always plays a tight role so not easy to stand out when watching 40 something players and all Swans

KJack, Kennedy, Macca, Hannes - classy as always and dominant

Harry - looks a lot stronger and he and BJ will be knocking on the door for wing, HFF type roles every week of 2014 and beyond

McGlynn - he does some great things but is still a little see ball get ball without looking laterally when coming into to get the ball...........but overall when he broke from the pack he has some very nice passes happening and looked tireless

T.Mitchell and Parker - both were strong without setting the world on fire but a scrappy game over all so difficult to take much from the inside work. Interesting moment when Parker marked up on Hannes and they went for a contest and Hannes went down for a good 20 seconds and Parks kept running off after the ball.........Parks is also very good at reading the game and finding space in the midfield on the counter attack

Lloyd, Robinson, Swampy - solid but not standout except good to see that Swampy was running very hard to pick up his tagging role on some of our more experienced midfield

Perris - strong strong running and competing but can only kick the ball 35m which may hurt for the future

ROK - last not least but Rok looked a little of the pace

a couple of toppies with i thought player jersey 52 good some strong leading on the spread and very quick off HBF but couldnt kick

[Ludwig]

Buddy could take a few goalkicking lessons from a Collingwood player who kicked 5-0 in the first NAB Challenge match against Geelong today. Goes by the name of Jesse White. Tony A also looked okay for the pies in a hard fought and good quality game for this time of the season.

[Auntie.Gerald]

i didnt see much of the last qtr as i had to leave

Jetts and Jones i noticed come on in the last qtr as i was walking away

last reflection was that Alir did very well against good opposition

he has some great closing speed on the spoils and he could be one of the more exciting no 44 picks !

[Xie Shan]

Some photos from the day.

Dropbox - 2014 Intra Club

[Xie Shan]

Thanks for everyone who provided their observations on the match -- some perceptive minds on this forum!

I don't have too much to add to what has already been said other than that it was great to see Reid out there after injury wrecked his 2013. Buddy cruised, sure, but he doesn't need to get the ball much to show that he is a very, very good footballer.

I can't wait to see what the ruck whisperer (Taubert) can do with Naismith and Nankervis in the next couple of seasons.

[jono2707]

By the way the 2014 members hats are tops! I like 'em......

[Big Al]

Maybe it's just me but that's about as relaxed as I've seen Franklin in interviews. He's clearly enjoying the Sydney environment.

Thank you all for the updates. I'll be at Blacktown in 2 weeks for my my 1st "preseason hitout" so the intense training of barbecue sausages and 2012 GF replays goes on unabated .

[erica]

Did Goodes play?

[Primmy]

No Goodes, Tippet, but honestly there was a plethora of senior players on deck, more than usual for this game.

Do also love this year's cap. Its nearly all red. We the crowd will look awesome when on mass.

[Triple B]

Surprised Mitchell hasn't got more love from the critics. Just about BOG for mine...

[Reggi]

Watched the highlights on tbox. Towers looked good, looks to now have the size to play at the top level, and the game. Brandon also a lot bigger

[ugg]

Didn't think Towers grew at all. The ones that seemed bigger (or maybe 'fuller' as in filled out would be more appropriate) than last year were TMitchell, XRichards and BJack.

[royboy42]

Mitchell made it look easy, as he did last year. He has that extra second every time to dispose of the ball, so it disappoints to see his field kicking not as good as it should be.

Lance right when he said Macca set him up...he had to stand his ground and take the Kizza hit...and what a hit. I bet Garry Jack would have been proud..head on, ball and all. Not sure that it might have been a free in a more serious game tho...but terrific to watch.

Pikey great in ruck, and seems to have even broadened out a bit...huge man. A lot of crow still left for BTaylor to chew on.

Enjoyed seeing Reidy stretching out again..has that touch of class that sets the special ones apart. Still felt a shiver when he led with flat hands and ball bounced off them, only happened once but had a familiar ring.


Aliir 100% better under match conditions than I expected from seeing him running and in skills. Fitness is an issue, but only a kid..but the talent is certainly there.

Jack the younger gonna eventually at least the equal of #15..maybe sooner than the most optimistic of us expect.

LRT as if he was never away..apart from going all mosman conservative hair wise, he brought that comfortable feeling when he had the ball in his hands. All is good with the Swans when LRT flying.

Oh, and Joey Kennedy flashed in and out of the play, being brilliant when necessary. Going to be a terrific season from him.

And I agree that the '14 cap, mostly red, will look awesome en masse.

[liz]

I see that they've put the whole of the first quarter of the game up on the Swans' website. Presumably the other quarters will also be uploaded at some point. So those of you not able to make the game yesterday will be able to watch the whole thing, if you wish.