Sydney V Collingwood Match Day Thread
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All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001) -
Sadly there only seem to be two or three other recent posts in this thread expressing this perspective. I might have quoted Faunca8 or Mug Punter, as they say much the same. I'm in the same camp as the three of you. No team can win the premiership every year (and think how boring it would be if your team did). This year was already looking highly unlikely for us, and with injuries to the likes of Parker, Laidler and maybe Heeney and Rohan, it would take a miracle from here. But for me, footy is as much about enjoying the small things along the way.
Sure, yesterday's game wasn't always pretty and it was frustrating to watch at times. But the guys dug in hard to extract a win in a game they could easily have given up. I think Mitchell's been one of our best over the last month or so, and yesterday it continued. He, along with Kennedy, shows a desire to really win the ball out of a contest and dish it out. For all our supposed midfield strength, I think we've been lacking in that area for a while, so to watch Mitchell graduate from a young player to a core player has been exciting. Similarly, Jack showed why the coaches have been giving him opportunities here and there. He's been showing that kind of aggression in the reserves this year. Even when the team was getting thumped by the likes of GWS, his tackles were sticking and his endeavour never wavered. When you look back to his game when he arrived at the club - a skinny kid who looked like he'd never laid a tackle in his life - it's been an impressive development curve.
I'm reading Vonnegut's "Timequake" at the moment. It's an odd book - billed as a novel but really more like a scrapbook of reflections on life. On paragraph goes as follows:
Surely beating Collingwood - however it is achieved - has to count as one of the great small things in life, regardless of how it fits into any bigger picture?All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)Comment
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I just watched Bullies annihilate Dees. Someone, I just can't remember who, said last week when I mentioned our list would be better with Biggs that he was not good enough. Well he has just played a great game in a side that is far better than ours mate. We don't have enough depth this bloke says and then when you bring up blokes like Biggs and Everett, who are both playing pretty good footy due to playing with us, he poo poo's them. Interesting. Depth is a problem because we lost too many players in the in-between age group. Too many players who were on the cusp of great footy. Getting Bud & Tip did hurt that proposition but so did bad list management. we de-listed Biggs and several others who were better than some on the list at the moment. The other problem is we have plenty of good very young players but they are not quite ready for the big time and these second tier players like Biggs would have made a huge difference this year.
Add to that proposition the fact that too many of the reserves players who have played well this year are Rookies;Newman, Perris (since his return), Foote, Naismith (when he's been fit). I would have de-listed Marsh and taken him in the Rookie draft allowing Newman to get a spot on the Senior list. I think the managing of our list after 2012 has been pretty ordinary. We have taken some players in the Draft that have been ordinary and then we have let players go who could have been very good players because we decided that two stars were worth a premiership. I do notice we are yet to get a premiership out of them and are not likely to get one in the near future. I say that because there are several emerging teams, Bullies, GWS, Saints (still early but going in the right direction), Suns (if they can keep a team on the park), Crows, Eagles. We on the other hand have not been able to trade and made bad list decisions. We have a few good prospects but need a long term plan that doesn't include Goodes, Teddy, Shaw, Macca, Benny, Reg or Pykie as all these players are now in the over 30 category.
We also need to look at some of the list decisions we made and admit we made mistakes. big tom is just not up to AFL standard, nice guy but is not good enough. Marsh (unless he plays soon) won't ever play a game for us otherwise he would have already played in the three years he has been here. Towers too has probably been another failure. He has such talent but just doesn't seem to bring it at AFL level. I'm not sure about McLaren, he is young for a big man and not fully developed yet. At 198cm he is a big lad but needs to take a leaf out of Sam Naismith's book and get a bit of mongrel. I would like to see him for another yaer and see how he goes. A full pre-season can do wonders.
Injuries have killed us. Naismith got injured at the most inopportune time, he was on the cusp of senior selectrion. Pykie was having soft tissue probs and not really playing well at all and unfortunately Big Sam got injured. He is still carrying a groin injury but hopefully will be back for finals footy. Benny has been injured on and off all season and most of last as well. Now poor Lukie goes down in a sickening injury. Perris and Newman have had setbacks so we only got to see thenm after the mid break. Rooster and Isaac have had long stints out. Pykie has been in and out all season. Tip and Bud have also spent time out and Bud, Benny & Lukie will probably not play GWS. We know Lukie won't. Add to all this AJ and the probs he has been going through.
We need to be able to trade and draft effectively.
I say all this because it was evident on Friday night that we have some huge problems. It has been evident all season but too many of us have been like the Ostrich, hiding our heads in the sand. The coaching or lack of good coaching was also evident. Again we panicked under pressure. Again we bombed into the forward line to nobody in particular or to a player outnumbered by the opposition. Again we used the panic kick out of defence. again we gave ghe ball up so easily. We even managed to kick to a Collingwood player 10 metres out from goal, astounding. The concentration lapses are getting tiresome. The lack of strategies to combat opposition and to rev our players up is just frustrating. The lack of desire from our players is appalling. The lack of basic skills is also appalling.
I think the club really has to look at the coaching panel as well. Maybe some of them have been here too long and need to be moved on and we introduce some odf the Hawks style coaches into our coaching panel. At least then we will be on the right track with some coaches oin there that are flexible.
We showed Friday night against a young developing side, we are not good enough for finals footy. This young side almost beat us and they have been slaughtered by most of the top eight. That says a lot.
As regards your list management comments: as disappointed as I was to see him go, Biggs may well have left to pursue first team opportunities that he was not going to get here and we might have been doing the right thing by and up and coming young player and not holding him back. If we de-list Marsh this year and he gets picked up (as many of our discards do) and goes on to hold down a spot in someone's best 22 then I can easily imagine you criticising that decision too. As for choosing Newman to join our rookie list - I think you have to hold that up as a good drafting decision not a bad one, if you rate him that well. All the other 17 clubs didn't take him in the ND, nor before us in the rookie draft. If he has turned out to be good then that suggests our recruiters and list managers have done well (once again). Everyone likes Perris but he is only a couple of games back after a long injury and has been unavailable most of the season - so has made no difference that he was on the rookie list. I'm not sure that they're quite the same kind of player but I can see him threatening Lloyd's spot next year if not this unless Lloydy picks up his form again.
Entirely agree with you about what a pity it has been not to have Naismith available at the time of Pyke's injury travails.All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)Comment
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This just on afl.com.au; Hope Swan Parker may return this season - AFL.com.au. No significant ankle damage, plate inserted during surgery on Sunday, and predicted to miss 4-5 weeks. Could be back during the finals! Great news!Comment
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And the SMH site:
Luke Parker is still a chance to play again this season after avoiding major damage to his ankle. The reigning Swans best and fairest winner had surgery to insert plates into his lower right leg on Sunday but rather than being ruled out for the season he now faces four to five weeks on the sidelines.
Read more: Sydney Swans' Luke Parker could make finals after ankle surgery
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook
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I had a spiral fracture of the fibula years ago. A plate and six screws later, I was back out drinking within a week of having it done. (Albeit I had to wait a month for the swelling in my ankle to go down before they could operate. Yes, it was an alcohol-related injury).Wild speculation, unsubstantiated rumours, silly jokes and opposition delight in another's failures is what makes an internet forum fun.
Blessed are the cracked for they are the ones who let in the light.Comment
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I had a spiral fracture of the fibula years ago. A plate and six screws later, I was back out drinking within a week of having it done. (Albeit I had to wait a month for the swelling in my ankle to go down before they could operate. Yes, it was an alcohol-related injury).Comment
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I had a spiral fracture of the fibula years ago. A plate and six screws later, I was back out drinking within a week of having it done. (Albeit I had to wait a month for the swelling in my ankle to go down before they could operate. Yes, it was an alcohol-related injury).If you've never jumped from one couch to the other to save yourself from lava then you didn't have a childhoodComment
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We may be onto an important medical discovery here.Comment
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The blackness and swelling the next day were pretty severe. The doctor thought it was funny.
A month on pethidene waiting for the swelling to go down. Oh bring back the 90s.Wild speculation, unsubstantiated rumours, silly jokes and opposition delight in another's failures is what makes an internet forum fun.
Blessed are the cracked for they are the ones who let in the light.Comment
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That could be it. I was horribly sober, train lurched, I fell face down stairs with my foot stuck on stair tread (thank god I was wearing trousers) and stopped the train at St Leonards so they could get me out. Hate trains.....If you've never jumped from one couch to the other to save yourself from lava then you didn't have a childhoodComment
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Wild speculation, unsubstantiated rumours, silly jokes and opposition delight in another's failures is what makes an internet forum fun.
Blessed are the cracked for they are the ones who let in the light.Comment
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