Rnd 3 Match Day Thread Swans V GWS at the SCG 4.35pm.

[Triple B]

I'm pretty sure I heard an announcer at the ground say it .... shocked me a bit.

100% correct. It was the ground announcer, I think when revving the crowd up at 3/4 time. Given the Swans were very vocal against the name a few years back, I thought it very strange he used it.

Still reckon they should have gone with 'Sydney Smackdown IX'.....

[Mug Punter]

and PS, Parker and Hannebery are getting all the plaudits, but Kieran Jack has been outstanding so far this season, back to his 2013 dominance.

I agree, I thought maybe his best days were behind him but he's is tearing it up

[111431]

and PS, Parker and Hannebery are getting all the plaudits, but Kieran Jack has been outstanding so far this season, back to his 2013 dominance.

agree 100% - Kizza making a very big difference

[liz]

agree 100% - Kizza making a very big difference

I think that, at the moment, he's benefitting from less opposition attention than he copped two or three years ago. I think many coaches identified him as being a key to the Swans midfield clicking, and he found himself heavily attended to. A general demise in tagging, the fact he's been a little under the radar for the last couple of seasons, and the ongoing improvement of Hanners, Parker and now Mitchell, means he's being allowed to do his thing far more. And his thing is very important because it complements what our other mids do. I think he'll start getting more closely checked as the season progresses. It won't be lost on the opposition the way he can weave and duck his way through traffic, nor the fact that although he's as prone to the fast aimless kicks forward as the rest of our midfielders (largely due to game plan), his kicks tend to be a little more penetrating than most of the rest of our midfield. That means that if a forward is able to find some space, they are a little easier to lead to than the high, loopy kicks of Mitchell and Hanners.

[Beerman]

Hunger = younger. Except you cant edit posts on a phone to correct it.

"potential to improve in the next 3 to 4 years is all that matters" is why you compare ages/games in the first place.

You would think so, but the worrying thing is that improvement seems to be coming very, very slowly.

Last year was the year they were tipped to make finals. It didn't happen and I can't really see it happening this year. Sure they've had some key injuries and suspensions (Mummy, Cameron) but there has also been some mismanagement (McCarthy).

I'm not sure if it's a coaching problem or what, or if these things just take longer than people think.

[Beerman]

Interesting and accurate assessment of Luke Parker in the 'Sliding Doors' article on afl.com.au by Damien Barrett( of all people, he's usually a bit of a Vic-knob), "If........Parker played for, say, Collingwood ............. he'd be lauded as a Selwood rolled into a Mitchell rolled into a Dangerfield rolled into a Swan-type of player. Pound for pound, could make a case that he is the most complete midfielder in the comp." Nice......and true.

Nearly true. None of those players can take a mark like Parker.

[emoji3]

[Beerman]

Missed 7's Game Day wrap of our game, I'm sure it was brief, but did catch Nine's Footy Show, which summed up the game in about two minutes. It was pathetic! They did have a shortish interview with Hanners a bit later though, but overall, the Vic channels just don't care too much about anything north of the Vic border (or are too embarrassed to admit they're yet again wrong about us!).

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Last weekend had:

- a routine win by the favourite (Sydney) over a mid-table team (GWS)

- a six-goal comeback that turned into a 40 goal shootout decided in the last five seconds and featured a career-best performance by a 412-gamer and one of the best ruck battles in recent years.

- an enthralling contest between the most exciting team in the comp and the established great - a likely grand final preview - that was decided in in the last minute when one of the competitions most loved players went down with a career-ending knee injury.

- the continued implosion of three of the biggest clubs in the land, two of whom were tipped to be strong finalists contention, and one is under huge pressure to be.

It was a great weekend for football, but if I were a journalist, I know which game I wouldn't be writing about.

As for being wrong about us? We're playing well but we were widely tipped to be 5-8 and I don't see much to challenge that yet. Beating weak teams doesn't make us top 4 material. The next two weeks will tell us much more.

[Triple B]

Nearly true. None of those players can take a mark like Parker.

[emoji3]

You need to watch more of Dangerfield if you think he's not capable of taking a mark like Parker...

[barry]

As for being wrong about us? We're playing well but we were widely tipped to be 5-8 and I don't see much to challenge that yet. Beating weak teams doesn't make us top 4 material. The next two weeks will tell us much more.

If you worked through the draw before the start of the season, even if you had us finishing 7th or 8th, you would have pencilled the first three games in as wins.

Adelaide were expected to be 9th to 10th, but probably judged as a 50/50 game due to travel. A loss would see us "being on track" for that 8th spot. A win means we are drifting toward 6th.

[Ludwig]

Last year we played poorly in many games that we won. We got by a few by determination alone. We were lucky to beat an Essendon side that barely trained. The sides we whacked. like PA and GC turned out to have very poor years. There weren't many turnarounds in form last year, except perhaps for Collingwood and Freo on the downside. WB were an early surprise, they beat us at the SCG playing the kind of footy they are playing this year, and continued their good form the rest of the season.

Our early form has taken everyone by surprise, albeit our opening win against Collingwood is looking to be one against a poor side that was jut pumped up by the Melbourne media pundits. The thing to like about the Swans is not so much that we are on top of the table, but that we are moving the ball so well and doing it every quarter. We are not having lapses. And furthermore, we've been doing it with a bevy of inexperience players.

The Swans have been a consistent team over the years and I am taking our early form a good sign for the year. I've definitely changed my outlook base on these 1st 3 games. Of course, we have to go on with it and continue to produce on the field. We have another opportunity this week.

[crackedactor]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Last weekend had:

- a routine win by the favourite (Sydney) over a mid-table team (GWS)

- a six-goal comeback that turned into a 40 goal shootout decided in the last five seconds and featured a career-best performance by a 412-gamer and one of the best ruck battles in recent years.

- an enthralling contest between the most exciting team in the comp and the established great - a likely grand final preview - that was decided in in the last minute when one of the competitions most loved players went down with a career-ending knee injury.

- the continued implosion of three of the biggest clubs in the land, two of whom were tipped to be strong finalists contention, and one is under huge pressure to be.

It was a great weekend for football, but if I were a journalist, I know which game I wouldn't be writing about.

As for being wrong about us? We're playing well but we were widely tipped to be 5-8 and I don't see much to challenge that yet. Beating weak teams doesn't make us top 4 material. The next two weeks will tell us much more.

Amazed that someone call say Saturday's win was routine?? Even the normally biased Melbourne papers commented on how the game was full on pressure from start to finish. GWS are a good side and will play in finals this year. They will be top 4 in 2017.

[snajik]

Amazed that someone call say Saturday's win was routine?? Even the normally biased Melbourne papers commented on how the game was full on pressure from start to finish. GWS are a good side and will play in finals this year. They will be top 4 in 2017.

I agree. I'd be very surprised if the Giants don't make the finals. There wasn't an awful lot in that game and they could just as easily knock us over out at Homebush. Not a routine win by any stretch. This weekend will be a big test. More to worry about than playing the WC dirtbags at home in R5.

[Beerman]

Amazed that someone call say Saturday's win was routine?? Even the normally biased Melbourne papers commented on how the game was full on pressure from start to finish. GWS are a good side and will play in finals this year. They will be top 4 in 2017.

By routine I mean that most people expected us to win by 2-4 goals and we did.

It was by no means easy and it was a good game, but you can't pretend that it had the drama of some of the other matches.

The games the media will write about are when we play other teams we are competing against for a top 4 spot - Hawthorn, Bulldogs and Eagles and even North & Adelaide. (Fox called Swans v Crows the game of the round this week, for example).

[CureTheSane]

I wish I could watch games like that and be thinking "this is pretty routine" lol

[Levii3]

Just watched it again did anyone else see this disrespectful sign (Sydney created not Relocated) in the gws section after Stevie J kicked the goal in the fourth.. For a team that has done jack all in the comp or for football in NSW they are incredibly arrogant
GWS Sign.jpg