Match Day Rnd. 3 Sydney V Collingwood. 7.50pm SCG

[Boddo]

I've said it other threads that the game is changing as the afl want a more free flowing higher scoring game. For that you need elite kicking and apart from say Franklin & Mills we don't have it. We desperately miss Rampe off HB & Heeney rotating through the midfield.

[Mug Punter]

Apart from an appalling first quarter I thought we played as well as could be expected with 6 and possibly 7 of our best 22 out and we would have won had we put in 4 quarters.

Random Comments

* Haywood and Florent looking good, this experience will stand them in good stead.
* Lloyd twice that I saw pulled back from putting his body on the line, a very very bad look
* Had the Sam Reid of R1 or R2 turned up we would have won, know he is human and has off days but we needed him on last night
* Sinclair is average at best
* Newman and Fox very good squad players or better
* Foote is not AFL standard

How deep in the brown stuff is Towers now, he is now effectively not in our best 30. It's hard to see how he can come back now except through extreme hard work which I am not sure he is capable of.

I'll reserve judgement until the turn but if we go 0-5, as is highly likely then sneaking into the 8 will be a good result but to be honest I'm starting to think this will be the year we all feared at the start of 2016

[stevoswan]

Don't know what game the Age was watching to have Luke Parker as the only Swan in the votes. Did I miss something ?

You missed nothing! I think the Age has just been exposed as being lazy Vic based journo's like the 'Hun'.....

[MattW]

I agree that aliir looked like that last night. My observation about him is that his first instinct is to feign a side step or handball and then straighten up and run. This has been particularly effective because most defenders when under pressure look to handball backwards to someone under less pressure.

My fear is that teams will work out aliir very quickly and he Will end up being tackled because the opposition stop falling for his tactics.

Time will tell. He does look elctrifying when he plays on

This occurred to me, but I don't think this is his only trick; if the opposition adapts, then he will too.

[stevoswan]

I agree that aliir looked like that last night. My observation about him is that his first instinct is to feign a side step or handball and then straighten up and run. This has been particularly effective because most defenders when under pressure look to handball backwards to someone under less pressure.

My fear is that teams will work out aliir very quickly and he Will end up being tackled because the opposition stop falling for his tactics.

Time will tell. He does look elctrifying when he plays on

Fear not, as he will also improve as shown by his superb vision and poise on our half forward flank to get through traffic and suddenly be on his own heading towards goal in the third quarter. That was sheer class and just shows how well he is developing.....

[Vonsteinman]

The ump behind Jones called play on the one he was looking at did nothing.

But clearly demonstrates the afl rule of the week concept. No 50m penalties paid for encroaching on the mark or going with the exclusion zone. I prefer less umpiring than more as the game flows better but those two rules will make a comeback at some point this season out of the blue.

As in the ump closer to Pies' goal and in middle of ground? If so, that's who I mean. On the replay he signals play on clearly but not until after Jones is being held. When the signal is made, Jones is thrown to ground.

[stevoswan]

As in the ump closer to Pies' goal and in middle of ground? If so, that's who I mean. On the replay he signals play on clearly but not until after Jones is being held. When the signal is made, Jones is thrown to ground.

It was as bad as when Goodsey shaped to handball a few years back and was called to play on, got caught and the ball was turned over (also against Collingwood I think). He did not move off his line! I don't think Jones moved off his line either, he shaped to give it off and the ump's jumped on an opportunity to give the ball back to the Magpies......it was a set up by the 'flouro scum'! Should have been a 50m penalty to Jones.....and on that issue, I no longer respect Cameron Ling as an 'impartial observer' of the game anymore. He actually @@@@s me greatly........

[rojo]

What I think is that he absolutely reeked in the 2016 Grand Final (and the 2014 Grand Final for that matter) and he has stunk it up so far this season. I don't care about the stats - he had zero impact on the game tonight. And there was one point where he looked to be running towards a ball in open space in slow motion. Something is not right with him. I don't know if it is in his body or in his mind but at the moment he is a pale shadow of the warrior we'd grown used to.

The other big worry is Jack. His ball-handling has been atrocious all year.

I'd like to focus on a few positives tonight (particularly Newman and Heywood), but it is hard not to resent how two dreadful efforts from senior players (Jack's fluffed sitter of a chest mark, Reid's ludicrous brain-fart handball) basically cost us the match. Correct even just one of those two moments and we win. I just hope the young players don't try to learn very much from the senior guys.

IF ONLY! Plenty of teams come back from being 20 or more points down in a game, and we hit the front in the last quarter, which despite all the various 'failings' mentioned on this thread, was commendable and had us fans on the edge of our seats. In those last few minutes was where we lost the game. Furious endeavour but little composure, like we go into panic mode. The whole team becomes Towers-like. Last night unfortunately there was no hero for us, instead a few 'villians'. The Magpies had the hero.

[Hotpotato]

Missing the composure of McVeigh , however AA has a head for it .

[Nico]

I agree with this. Too passive, only delivers decisively when not under pressure, which is rarely because he's quite slow.

Also as a forward he rarely finds space for a lead. I am not questioning his courage but he just doesn't make the play; reactive footballer perhaps and slow.

[Nico]

21years old and played less than 30 games. ????

Agreed, but he doesn't look like going to the next level. If he is playing as a defensive forward he is doing a lousy job.

[juliec]

I just hope 3 losing Grand Finals hasn't killed our spirit, I say let's not give up on our Swans, we are always at our best when we seem down and out????

[Mel_C]

I've noticed this season that Jack goes to ground very easily in a one on one contest. Perhaps loss of strength due to his hip injury?

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[Gary]

Agree that Lloyd and Hewitt are overrated (by being in the team) the Lloyd skills are patchy, pace is moderate, disposal mixed and capacity to break tackles lacking, Hewitt just mostly invisible / problematic / rarely punishes anybody but us, Foote marginal, Jack over the hill, Naismith better than Nankervis?, Parker much less effective / injured?, nobody who really breaks a pack like say the Port midfielders ... except Buddy occasionally. Oh well it is only football.

[Beerman]

It was as bad as when Goodsey shaped to handball a few years back and was called to play on, got caught and the ball was turned over (also against Collingwood I think). He did not move off his line! I don't think Jones moved off his line either, he shaped to give it off and the ump's jumped on an opportunity to give the ball back to the Magpies......it was a set up by the 'flouro scum'! Should have been a 50m penalty to Jones.....and on that issue, I no longer respect Cameron Ling as an 'impartial observer' of the game anymore. He actually @@@@s me greatly........

There is a big difference between Jones' play and the Goodes incident against Hawthorn. Goodes was *clearly* not off his line, whereas Jones clearly took a couple of steps. It feels like a very harsh call, but really Jones didn't give the ump any choice. He marks, then stops - that's prior opportunity already, and then plays on. Only possibility is that the Collingwood player went before the play on call, but I think what happened is that the Collingwood player was looking for the call, and saw it, whereas Jones was looking for a team-mate and didn't hear it.