Round 1 Match Day Thread. Sydney V Collingwood SCG.

[stellation]

Sorry to rain on the love parade, but are we really that good and Collingwood that bad??

Some teams this round have put in shockers, notably Freo, really surprise on how bad they went.

Let wait until we play the Hawkes, our nemesis in round 9 to see if we are really good.

Good signs though, great rookies, but we need to keep playing them and not some of the age hacks we have in our squad.

On present reading, Beeny and Richards should not be allowed back: they are the past, not the future.

I think the result had far more to do with us being really that good than it did with Collingwood being that bad (yes, they were pretty bad).

[Melbourne_Blood]

Certainly didn't expect that after what I saw from us in the nab. Were they deliberately butchering the ball in the nab? Amazing turn around. What a game from Kieran! Where have those performances been the last few years ( he hasn't been bad but hasn't had that sort of influence on a match for s long time). Very pleasing game to watch, hope to see many more performances like that this season!

[Industrial Fan]

Maybe Jack is injury free for the first time in a while? Struggled last year and was BOG for mine.

Like others really happy with Hewitt and a bit more measured on Papley. Great game but can that continue? May also turn out to be the new Schneiderman.

[liz]

Didn't Jack finish 3rd or 4th in last year's B&F? He was pretty good on Saturday but, for me, he was pretty good for most of last year. His rib injury hampered him in 2014 but he was still a reasonable contributor. He's been a long time favourite of mine, so my views are probably coloured. But I think he is now one of the more underrated players in the competition, except probably not by opposition coaches. His zip in the midfield is really important, given most of our other onballers aren't blessed with pace. When he's on, the Swans generally look a better side.

[mcs]

Maybe Jack is injury free for the first time in a while? Struggled last year and was BOG for mine.

Like others really happy with Hewitt and a bit more measured on Papley. Great game but can that continue? May also turn out to be the new Schneiderman.

No doubt Papley will be inconsistent in his first year, and need to be managed, with appropriate breaks given to him. What is exciting is there is real competition up forward for a small forward role for the first time in a long time. I strongly doubt McGlynn will continue to be used as a midfielder (where I think he is not particularly suited anyway), Rose had another excellent game for the Ressies on the weekend according to ugg, and Papley has started his career as best as one could hope. What Saturday night showed is that we look an entirely different team when we have a forward line that doesn't just revolve around the big bodies, but smaller forward that can kick goals, be a nuisance, bring pressure and present alternative options. I have little doubt that a lot of that comes down to the influence of one B Kirk on our structures - if our forward line functions like that more often, then we will play some mightily good football this year.

I also think we are going to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the lower rotation limit this season, on the basis we have several midfielders who are quite dangerous in the forward line as well.

It was great to see KJ back to his best. He is every bit a barometer on our team as Hanners is - its rare that KJ plays really well, and as a whole we don't play well.

[Blue Sun]

The Swans play their best footy when they harass and pressure the ball carrier in groups; manic pressure. Thats what we saw on Saturday, if the Swans can make that happen in most matches this year, they will be difficult to beat. Of course the SCG lends itself well to that kind of game style, it will be interesting to see if the boys can pull it off at the MCG against a quality outfit like the Hawks.

As was mentioned earlier, I wonder if the return of Kirk has had anything to do with it?

[wolftone57]

There are some who are saying 'Don't feel bullish about this game, it's only round one'. I say to them we can feel excited if we want and we want! The press has all been about Collingwood and excuses, excuses, excuses. In footy there are no excuses, if you use excuses you end up on the bottom of the ladder. Better to say 'we were beaten by a much better side on the day and we'll work on our deficiencies' than 'we were ambushed by the drugs scandal' 'we ghad injuries' and 'this whole week has upset the boys'. They are crap excuses for what happened. The reality is more disturbing for Collingwood, maybe some of their so called 'talented' juniors are not as talented as they thought? Maybe their backs are inept? maybe their mids and forwards don't put on pressure enough to stem the flow of goals? Maybe they fold under pressure (we know about that one we have been accused of it often enough)?

Collingwood should ask the hard questions instead of making excuses. If their coach is going to be a sook instead of facing some realities then they are doomed. They were annihilated by a much better team on the day. They didn't win even one indicator. They were made to look inept by a very well drilled side with a brand new game plan and intense pressure. The Swans younger brigade made their Collingwood counterparts look like they were still playing under 19's. The swans young players played their role to perfection and the new leading passing game was almost perfect. The hunt in packs and keep the ball moving at all costs showed just how inept Collingwood were. If they got the ball they were hunted down and if they were trying to tackle they were surrounded by Swans who blocked, gave options and if the ball spilled cleaned it up. The Collingwood players were bamboozled by the quick ball movement. They were way behind the pace and had no answer to Parker, Kizza, Mitchell and Lloydy (I love this kid, so wonderful I think he is just starting to come into his own). They were murdered in the ruck, that will teach Buckley for leaving his best ruckman out, what an idiot.

They had no answer to our forwards, who continually created space, took great marks and were so cohesive as to have the Collingwood backmen constantly looking over their shoulder.

In reality Buckley and therefore his players had no answer to the swans game plan and the intensity of the Swans players.

[wolftone57]

George is just a vert good all-round footballer isn't he? Just looks the full package, he has a good mark, can tackle and has good skills. He has a good engine and a big body that he is growing into. What I really liked was that he just looked very very settled as an AFL footballer on his debut, very very composed.

I can see him becoming a very good player for us. and he looks like a really good kid

George comes from the club that produced Darren Jarman, Andrew Jarman, Barry Robran (the best player to ever play Aussie Rules as anointed by Alex Jesuelenko, a bit like Buddy but played centre), Brenton Phillips, Tony Antrobus, Josh Francou, Ben hart, Ben & Nick Holland, Ben Hudson and Mark Jamar. It's interesting that North and Glenelg just get to the top of the SANFL ladder and then the AFL scouts come along and next year they are decimated and bottom. Both clubs produce great players as they have very good junior programs. Same with Port & Central Districts except they manage to keep a little up the ladder (except when Port didn't have all the Port AFL players to choose from).

How terrible of me I forgot to mention Michael Parsons

[wolftone57]

Maybe Jack is injury free for the first time in a while? Struggled last year and was BOG for mine.

Like others really happy with Hewitt and a bit more measured on Papley. Great game but can that continue? May also turn out to be the new Schneiderman.

From the style I'd say more Nick Davis and you can see Davis has been working with him and the other small/medium forwards on kicking off a step, ball drop and kicking immediately only using one hand to balance.

[Xie Shan]

Leaving aside the quality of the opposition for a minute, you really couldn't ask for a better start to the season from our team. Wasn't quite sure what to expect on Saturday given the new faces, it was a very pleasant surprise!! Of course I do realise it is only Round 1.

[Primmy]

Wish they had given Sinclair another number, he and Tippett are close in size and shape with an 8 on their back and my eyesight not being as it was I thought I wasn't sighting him at all. Replay shows a very different scenario. Both he and Talia have played seniors before with vastly different clubs, so even as experienced players their 'muscle memory' will be different and will take a little time to adjust, the kids just head first in and at it with no past to speak of. Give the other two a bit of time, they will be fine. Both did a lot of work, at least that cannot be disputed.

As for should we get excited? Well some of those chains of handballs were amazing and take care of lack of run we are perceived to have. I am more in awe of the awareness of where they were all on the ground. Collingwood didn't play particularly well. Swans didn't let them. That's the difference.

Welcome back Kirky.....

[liz]

Wish they had given Sinclair another number, he and Tippett are close in size and shape with an 8 on their back and my eyesight not being as it was I thought I wasn't sighting him at all.

I had similar thoughts about Papley vs Lloyd, though in their case, as rookies originally, I guess it makes sense they were given numbers in the 40s. But with both being similar height and build (at least from the stands) and with a leading four on their backs, it was sometimes hard to tell them apart.

[Meg]

And speaking of player numbers - I am grumpy about the update to the AFL club apps which means it is no longer possible to view players by number order. The update has made a whole range of statistics by player available which I think is great. But in doing that it's lost the player number order. I've always used my phone to quickly check on a player I don't recognise (usually from the opposing team) but now I have to read down the whole list to try to find the player number. And with my head down looking at my phone, miss some key action!

Hmmm, perhaps a ploy to try to get me to buy the printed AFL Record?

[ugg]

Get the Footy Live app.

[The Big Cat]

Barry Robran (the best player to ever play Aussie Rules as anointed by Alex Jesuelenko, a bit like Buddy but played centre)

Didn't play one VFL game! So ineligible to be considered among the greats. Never tested in the long Melbourne seasons. Looked good in few exhibition state games but so did Diamond Jim Tilbrook.