Sydney v Hawthorn

[liz]

The running out of legs concept doesn't cut it for me. Not after how they have played for most of the year. They just got it badly wrong in the mental preparation. The hardest thing to swallow is not that they were jumped early, maybe taken by surprise by the pressure the Hawks applied, but that they failed to give a yelp for the next 90 minutes.

[mcs]

The running out of legs concept doesn't cut it for me. Not after how they have played for most of the year. They just got it badly wrong in the mental preparation. The hardest thing to swallow is not that they were jumped early, maybe taken by surprise by the pressure the Hawks applied, but that they failed to give a yelp for the next 90 minutes.

That was the most disappointing factor liz. I can take losing a gf to a fantastic team like hawthorn are, but I couldnt believe the way we lost it, without ever giving a yelp or looking like getting on top. Such a poor effort for a grand final.

[Scottee]

Who swapped the StillNox with the NoDoze?

[stevoswan]

As a Swans fan for 54 years, I don't think I've been more embarrassed and disappointed after a loss, of all days, this one. Most disappointing was that we looked liked Richmond on a bad day. Not a yelp. We were out played, out coached, out grunted, out of touch, out of ideas and out of energy. To bring that on the biggest day of all is unacceptable. They looked like the Edelsten Millionaires of the Eighties, all class in the H & A, and no guts when it counted. Ironically, it was the Bondi Millionaire himself who set the "cultural' example to his team mates all day, and they let him down. I hope this team have it in them to do a Geelong post 2008 GF, and make a pact to never lose to Hawthorn again, but at this point I'm not sure they have it in them....My lasting memory from the 2012 GF was seeing a proud Bloods warrior in Bobby Skilton, adoringly admiring HIS club as they hoisted the CUP high, beaming from ear to ear. I wonder what he is feeling now. After the year he's had, he deserved better, we all did......Like everyone here, I will stick by my team, I love this club, but this current crop has lost my respect and confidence to a large extent, and 'culturally' needs to go back to square one.....can Stuey Maxfield work his magic again??? Go Swans in 2015. See you all next season...........

[stevoswan]

and more.

[Industrial Fan]

After the first 10 minutes we seemed to lose the run in our legs. Was it just because Hawthorn exerted a lot more pressure or could it have been that we had worked too hard on the track or not hard enough, had players who missed games leading up to the finals and were found out under ultimate pressure or the lack of a real hard preliminary final.

For me, I dont think it was a lack of effort. Just seemed like we had every player trying to get the ball back and not defending as a team. Look back at the Freo game, even moreso against Freo at the SCG earlier in the year. We were not only chasing down the player with the ball, but we didnt over commit to chasing the ball, we were sweating on their options and then forcing a turnover. I thought we had too many players sucked into the ball, who were then out of the contest when an easy kick / hand pass 15-20m away got them in the clear.

Its not that we didnt chase - we didnt chase with any plan or team defence.

Classic was when Jetta cut off Hill at the boundary when it looked like he would get away. Hill then cut back in and found a player about 15m clear. That happened time and time again.

An absolutely humiliating performance, and it seems a shame we made it that far. I'd rather we got knocked off by a dodgy umpiring call in the prelim than that.

Also, on the discussion of being top 4, that will depend on the damage that game does for mine. We dont need to improve to make the top 4, as we had so so many players down in the GF. But that sort of game leaves lots of questions with no answers. We had so many players off their game in round 18 but still only lost by 10.

[Industrial Fan]

Another thought. Why did we persist with a spare defender? Even worse, why was Jetta left down there as spare man? I've never seen a player look so lost as a loose man - he didnt know which way to go, or who to mark. For most of the second half we had 7 v 6 in our d50 and 4 v 5 in our f50. When we kicked it forward it was so predictable where it was going it was painful.

[crackedactor]

As crazy as it seems that is what my wife reckons. Some spiking must have occurred with sleeping tablets! My wife does not follow football so she has little knowledge but she said it was such a contrast to this week compared to last week, it is hard to believe. She said every single one of the Hawthorn players looked faster than every single one of the Sydney swans players, even the big tall guys (talking about Hale and Mcevoy).

[Zlatorog]

Hawthorn has implemented the same game strategy as in R18 when the kicked 9 unanswered goal after half time. My question in another thread was, have we learned anything from that loss? Obviously not. Laidler was dropped after that game (obviously he was chosen as a scape goat), but most likely they dropped the wrong person. I blame mostly this debacle on our coaches team for so poorly prepared our guys for GF.

[Cardinal]

Well if the lads have the virus I'm currently afflicted with then the game would have made a lot more sense.

Just saw Breust cop a knee to the head on the replay. Thought he went in head first yesterday and still think the same today

[rojo]

Stevoswan more or less said what I have been thinking. Buddy was the only one who played like a 'Blood'. Who were our equivalents to Hodge, Mitchell and Lewis? Macca, Benny and Jack. It really was these mid-leaders who failed to stand up and lead the way.

We have the players, the real question is what underlies such a 'soft and insipid' performance, primarily by our much vaunted midfield. Before the game commentators were saying the game was going to be won or lost in the midfield and boy were they right. I agree with the observation that Hanners, and I would include Macca and Jack, has not had a great season overall. Kennedy, Parkes and Benny have provided the grunt and spark for much of the year. What happened to Benny yesterday????? Yes, a phone call to Stewie Maxfield or maybe Kirky is needed.

Interesting that we are prepared to let Mal go when all the player ratings for yesterday rate him as our only backman who can hold his head high - despite his errant kicking.

[ScottH]

Towards the end of the 1st term Goodes was the only swans in the F50 and had 4 Hawks around him, and the ball still went the hawks way.
Where were the 3 loose swans?

[Industrial Fan]

Stevoswan more or less said what I have been thinking. Buddy was the only one who played like a 'Blood'. Who were our equivalents to Hodge, Mitchell and Lewis? Macca, Benny and Jack. It really was these mid-leaders who failed to stand up and lead the way.

We have the players, the real question is what underlies such a 'soft and insipid' performance, primarily by our much vaunted midfield. Before the game commentators were saying the game was going to be won or lost in the midfield and boy were they right. I agree with the observation that Hanners, and I would include Macca and Jack, has not had a great season overall. Kennedy, Parkes and Benny have provided the grunt and spark for much of the year. What happened to Benny yesterday????? Yes, a phone call to Stewie Maxfield or maybe Kirky is needed.

Interesting that we are prepared to let Mal go when all the player ratings for yesterday rate him as our only backman who can hold his head high - despite his errant kicking.

Might have just been my crap seats - but I thought Nick Smith was good. His opponents seemed anonymous while he was on them.

[swannymum]

Well that was a disappointing day.
I hope they realise they effort I went through to get there and back.

Yep, agree with you there. I feel like I made more of an effort than the team. Recently retired and a Victorian, and with limited funds have been caravanning and was in SA when we got into the final. Left the caravan at Bordertown, drove to Ballarat to stay Friday and Saturday and it was a hell of a long drive back. Feel gutted and thoroughly p@@@d off. Will take some time to get over it as I expected them to come back at some stage. Hawthorn wasn't that good, we were that bad. And I dislike the Hawks supporters around me, booing Goodesy and Franklin.

[liz]

And I dislike the Hawks supporters around me, booing Goodesy and Franklin.

The thread can never have enough of comments about how floggish some Hawks fans are. As much as I hold their club in the highest regard, so many of their supporters are dreadful. Who, in their right minds, when their team is 60 points up in the final quarter of a grand final, takes the time to boo opposition players who have done nothing other than run out in a different colour Guernsey? As Stella said pre-game, who in their right minds does that anyway? But when you're in the process of watching a sublime performance by your team? There's got to be something wrong with these people, hasn't there?