Match Thread : Swans v Freo , R5 , 2014

[Doctor]

Play of the night: Craig Bird's spoil that turned a certain goal to them to one to us via B Jack

This

[R-1]

Maybe just usual blaming, but the umpires did seem out to get us tonight

The umpiring was a complete crapshoot and the worst I've seen this year in any game.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Gee Danyle Pearce is great to watch

he was put under massive pressure tonight and he can still turn on a dime and nail the most creative passes

very hard to contain and we did well tonight - he had similar stats to KJ in the low 20s but off HBF primarily which is a little easier for passing and setting up play

[bodgie]

Well they certainly turned out to play today and it was truly enjoyable especially in the first half. The umpiring was entirely random.

[Industrial Fan]

Thought Cunningham had a great game on Hill. Derrickx needs to go. Nat Fyfe is irrepressible.

Great intensity, especially in the 2nd Qtr. Best game I've seen Rampe play.

[Nico]

I thought Jetta was outstanding all game. I reckon he has been in our best so far this season. He was always making space on his own today and his passing was sublime. can't agree with Ludwig on Lloyd. He was only on for the last quarter and was instrumental in a couple of scores and his fierce tackling was sheeer deperation. Nice pass to Franklin also.

Craig Bird should never be out of the side and how good was Smith's blanketing of Ballantyne.

[Auntie.Gerald]

agree Nico - re Lloyd he had a real dig and looked very composed

I thought he only made one error in the kicking department and his tackle pressure and fight for the ball was very good

the set up to Buddy from outside 50m into a crowded 50m arc was gold.......very composed, good vision and a well weighted kick

[liz]

I think you'd be hard pressed to criticise any of our guys after that game. Even those who didn't record high stats played their role. Brandon Jack, for example, was running, chasing and harassing in the forward line and that pressure made a big difference to Freo's ability to rebound. Even Derrickx did his bit - just being a battering ram against Sandi for most of the night, which allowed Pyke to play more minutes up forward than he has been doing, and made our overall forward structure look better. Yes, he was smashed statistics wise, but still made a contribution.

Agree with those who have highlighted Rampe's effort. Right from the get go he was attacking the contests with gusto and epitomised the spirit the team brought into the game.

Early on, the team looked like they were fired up to attack the ball but those skill errors were undoing all their hard work. I feared heads would start to drop as they didn't get reward for effort. McGlynn's first quarter summed it all up. He was like a terrier but was guilty of some really poor skill errors too. But never stopped working, and finally the ball started running for him.

Kudos, too, to Shaw for such a composed and productive game after the shambles of last week. Showed he's not quite ready to be put out to pasture yet.

[MightyBloods]

Any idea when the ANZ deal ends?
What other team is forced to play at a "home" ground that has such a bad record for them

Some Melbourne based clubs would argue Etihad Stadium.

[wolftone57]

We were always gonna be smashed in hit outs. Good news is nanko played really well in ressies. Derickx still has to watch out

Agree here As Toby can also take a big grab and kick a goal, point or out of bounds LOL

[wolftone57]

Great to see Rampe taking it to another level this year. Best game he's had, and did it in big pressure situation.

Some of the intensity and tackling that was absent this year has returned. So we know we can do it. If you give 100%, you don't have to be perfect.

We looked really tired at the end. Luckily they were too.

BJ and Lloyd each had one good play on the the night, which was a bit disappointing. BJ didn't seem to get involved enough and Lloyd seemed off the pace of the game even though he was the one that was fresh. He looked far from the confident player he is in the reserves; hope it was just nerves.

Shaw looked rejuvenated, so I'l have to stop calling for his omission.

Looking forward to Tippo's return and forming a new partnership with Buddy. Hope it all clicks by round 8.

He kicked three in the first half of the Twos and if he had have played the whole match, with the amount of ball we had in the second half, he would have kicked 10.

[wolftone57]

Credit where credits due to Horse and the coaching team for seriously outcoaching Lyon. All our blokes dug in today. Benny, Buddy, Teddy, Smithy, Shawy, Jetts, and how can I forget JPK who was absolutely immense around the clearances.

Onwards and upwards now please boys. Melbourne and Brisbane next two rounds. Will set us up nicely for Hawthorn the week after Brisbane. IF we beat Melbourne and Brisbane we will sit 4-3 going into the Hawks match. If it was at the SCG i'd pencil it in for a win, but at ANZ I reckon there hard running will have the wood on us.

Benny McGlinn talked about total honesty in Monday's team meeting and I think it was not just about the players being honest with each other. I think the coaches might just have got a serve too. Because the game plan was so different to anything wee have been trying to play this season. It reminded me of the Adelaide & Collingwood matches last year. Full of hard running, great passing and if as pass didn't come off someone following up and tackling. This is Swans footy. This is what the coaches were not getting us to play and I think the honesty went both ways on Monday.

- - - Updated - - -

Any idea when the ANZ deal ends?
What other team is forced to play at a "home" ground that has such a bad record for them

Western Bullies Etihad LOL

[Doctor]

Gee Danyle Pearce is great to watch

he was put under massive pressure tonight and he can still turn on a dime and nail the most creative passes

very hard to contain and we did well tonight - he had similar stats to KJ in the low 20s but off HBF primarily which is a little easier for passing and setting up play

Well said AG. I'm glad we won but I still enjoy admiring good play from opposition players. My 14yo son's a big admirer of Nate Fyfe, so he got to enjoy his team having a great win while getting to admire Fyfe's work up close and see how he plays and what he does. My 8yo daughter came along to boo Ryan Crowley, so she was happy too!

[wolftone57]

I liked Jetts today, his run was magic and mostly his delivery was gold. I thought Benny was going to go down for the 'I Stuffed It Up' Award but after 6 out of 7 he came good and started to get a bit composed.

Lloyd played really well when he came on, his work at one centre bounce led to a goal and his pass to Buddy was just sensational. His first kick was not so good but he is used to having a stay at home FF in the Twos.

Birdie you little bewty. He was great today and I am glad he is back. I like Birdie as he has the skills that are just so hard to develop, they are natural. Some of his decision making and disposals today were just wonderful. What he lacked in pace he made up for in determination.

Teddy was magic. Except for the times when he got let down by some loose play Upfield he was very good. Even Reg was good. Shaw was serviceable too but his first quarter was a bit wasteful just like Benny.

BJ tackled, ran and swept the spoils pretty well. didn't get enough possession though. Thought Towers was a bit further ahead of him and Towers was dominant in the Twos.

Laids was good, very solid and Rampe was ramped! Bloody good game from both.

Derrickx played a role in difficult circumstances tonight but I would still like to see him do more around the ground and while resting. Seems slow. Toby was good in the Twos even if he had the yips in front of goal.

[Meg]

Even Derrickx did his bit - just being a battering ram against Sandi for most of the night, which allowed Pyke to play more minutes up forward than he has been doing, and made our overall forward structure look better. Yes, he was smashed statistics wise, but still made a contribution.

I totally agree with this. I noticed we dipped a bit when Derrickx was taken down into the rooms to get his head wound attended to, which meant Pyke had to leave the forward line to ruck for a longish period. While Derrickx probably won't hold a spot in the seniors over the course of the season, he was valuable tonight. I thought his contribution allowed us to get a glimpse of how formidable our forward structure might become if we got all our players back fit.