Round 5: NT Thunder v Sydney Swans Reserves @ TIO Stadium

[ugg]

Many years now. The Thunder's stream is easily the best because they also broadcast it on TV during the week.

[rb4x]

Do we have an attendance figure for the game? The far side of the ground was empty except for four or five kids kicking a football around.

[Cosmic Wizard]

Hey, any comments on Edwards?

Did he play?

I understand the gamble around drafting him as a rookie, but if you couldn't get a game with the Dons with 10 players out, there something a miss!

[MattW]

Hey, any comments on Edwards?

Did he play?

I understand the gamble around drafting him as a rookie, but if you couldn't get a game with the Dons with 10 players out, there something a miss!

Didn't play the second half; shoulder injury, I think.

[Scottee]

Absolute cracker of a game and congratulations to the team for their first ever win in the Territory. Lots of the Swans players got better as the game went on - Murray, for example, had a good second half after a quiet first half. I thought Cameron, Florent, AA and Dawson were the best four quarter players, though AA was quieter in the second half and Florent got better the longer the game went. Maibaum did very well to close JR out of the game after half-time, and Pink got reward late for his efforts all game long.

And I notice even the commentators (themselves somewhat partisan, understandably) were getting a little embarrassed by some clear free kicks that didn't go the way of the Swans.

You took the words out of my mouth Liz, absolute craker of a game as you said. Loved the professional coverage with several cameras and instant replays. A great effort to win our first game up there and a tribute not just to the senior players but the top ups too, who played with passion and apparently, to instructions without a number of the ressies stalwarts.

Very impressed with Dawson's energy around the ball and Aliir's constant rebounding. Cameron encouraging but hard to judge given the quality of the opposition rucks. Toby is impressive but needs a couple of seasons. Maibuam solid against the comps best FF. Murray continues to improve and is the type of player we need. Florent seems to be finding his form and clearly showed his class.Edwards was very good at the clearances until injured and may have a role there.Towers showed a bit more heart than recently and did some good things. Leonardis OK coming back from injury but will need to do more.

The only downside is the kicking of Fisher who seems to want to take on the mantle of the new BJ. Towers kicking was also a bit off but he otherwise played pretty well.

All in all a great win played with a lot of heart by the boys.

[ugg]

Dawson added to the end of the best players list

D. Towers, T. Pink, O. Florent, A. Aliir, H. MacDonald, J. Dawson

[Ludwig]

It's always a good victory if you can beat the Thunder in Darwin.

Agree with Liz' assessment of the game as well. I thought O'Riordan also showed a lot and had a good game. There were some ball handling and kicking errors that may have been due to the wet conditions. Dawson made some beautiful kicks, but flubbed a few as well; he seemed to get plenty of the ball. I will be interested to see the stats for the game.

Aliir is from another planet. We should use him like Geelong use Blicavs, a midfielder who pinch hits in the ruck. Aliir would be so hard to match up on if we let him loose in the middle of the ground. He's got great vision. Finds targets quickly and hits them. If we use him as a key defender, teams will find a way to isolate him and nullify his influence. He's still raw, but is a special talent who should be involved in the play as much as possible. More exciting than Cyril.

[liz]

The only downside is the kicking of Fisher who seems to want to take on the mantle of the new BJ.

Fisher's game was a bit of an anomaly in two ways - he was probably the only player out there for the Swans who had, I thought, a poor game. But he's been good so far this year, so the game was very much out of character with the small sample we have for him thus far.

[bloodspirit]

Only just got round to watching this. Great game! Great, gritty win!

I thought all of our listed players (and the whole team) played well, especially considering we only had 11 listed players out there in the end.

In particular I thought:

* Cameron had an excellent game. Endured well. Rucked solo and outplayed his opponent. Scored goals. Got back in defence. Provided a marking outlet.
* Aliir did very well in his loose, sweeping, intercepting role in the backline and launched some vigorous counterattacks.
* Towers played well, especially third quarter
* Pink continues to impress me. He can kick, he can mark, he thinks well, he works really hard and he seems pretty fit considering he is a first year big man. I really like his attitude and work ethic. Here's hoping he can one day be a success for us at AFL level. Good recruiting!
* Olly very classy and polished.

Also impressed by the top ups and the quality of the coverage. I preferred those commentators to the ones covering the Bulldogs-Giants game even if less polished. All in all a really enjoyable game to watch and good achievement to notch up a victory in the territory with a very young side missing a lot of listed players. Kudos to Shawry. Kudos also to our list management and recruiting staff. We've made some good calls in the last couple of years like Aliir, Pink, Murray - none of whom were much heralded but all of whom are proving to be astute selections.

Our team will be much stronger too, once we get the likes of Ronke, Fox, Foote and some other senior listed players back in there.

I wasn't able to keep up with the top up players but glad to see them doing so well. Are they all from our academy? Bodes well.

[barracuda]

Only just got round to watching this. Great game! Great, gritty win!

I thought all of our listed players (and the whole team) played well, especially considering we only had 11 listed players out there in the end.

In particular I thought:

* Cameron had an excellent game. Endured well. Rucked solo and outplayed his opponent. Scored goals. Got back in defence. Provided a marking outlet.
* Aliir did very well in his loose, sweeping, intercepting role in the backline and launched some vigorous counterattacks.
* Towers played well, especially third quarter
* Pink continues to impress me. He can kick, he can mark, he thinks well, he works really hard and he seems pretty fit considering he is a first year big man. I really like his attitude and work ethic. Here's hoping he can one day be a success for us at AFL level. Good recruiting!
* Olly very classy and polished.

Also impressed by the top ups and the quality of the coverage. I preferred those commentators to the ones covering the Bulldogs-Giants game even if less polished. All in all a really enjoyable game to watch and good achievement to notch up a victory in the territory with a very young side missing a lot of listed players. Kudos to Shawry. Kudos also to our list management and recruiting staff. We've made some good calls in the last couple of years like Aliir, Pink, Murray - none of whom were much heralded but all of whom are proving to be astute selections.

Our team will be much stronger too, once we get the likes of Ronke, Fox, Foote and some other senior listed players back in there.

I wasn't able to keep up with the top up players but glad to see them doing so well. Are they all from our academy? Bodes well.

Hi Top ups were all Academy. Most were from what is called the NDS or NEAFL Development Squad. These are 19 year olds who were not drafted but have potential. They did pre season with the seniors and top up NEAFL. There were a couple of under 18 Academy players Dylan Smith, the blond number 50 something, and Sean Harlen who I think was 57 or 54. These guys missed out on a spot in the under 18 Championship Game against Brisbane Lions on the Saturday and so got a Neafl run. Both did well with Sean kicking 2 goals.

[liz]

Hi Top ups were all Academy. Most were from what is called the NDS or NEAFL Development Squad. These are 19 year olds who were not drafted but have potential. They did pre season with the seniors and top up NEAFL. There were a couple of under 18 Academy players Dylan Smith, the blond number 50 something, and Sean Harlen who I think was 57 or 54. These guys missed out on a spot in the under 18 Championship Game against Brisbane Lions on the Saturday and so got a Neafl run. Both did well with Sean kicking 2 goals.

Hey Barra

What can you tell us about Smith? I've seen him play a couple of NEAFL games this season and each time he's caught my attention. He's not dominated but he's just done a couple of things each game that suggest he has AFL-transferrable traits. On your run-down of players you provided in the U18 thread, you listed him as still U17. If he is that young, it makes the things he's done at NEAFL level even more noteworthy.

Why is he being played at NEAFL and not at U18 level? NEAFL is a significant step up in terms of tempo and physicality, so it would seem to make sense to play the older boys at NEAFL, rather than an U17. Has he had a run at all during the U18 academy series?

[barracuda]

Hey Barra

What can you tell us about Smith? I've seen him play a couple of NEAFL games this season and each time he's caught my attention. He's not dominated but he's just done a couple of things each game that suggest he has AFL-transferrable traits. On your run-down of players you provided in the U18 thread, you listed him as still U17. If he is that young, it makes the things he's done at NEAFL level even more noteworthy.

Why is he being played at NEAFL and not at U18 level? NEAFL is a significant step up in terms of tempo and physicality, so it would seem to make sense to play the older boys at NEAFL, rather than an U17. Has he had a run at all during the U18 academy series?

Hi Liz,

Dylan is under 18s. I have liked his Neafl work as well. He certainly has a go and doesn't shy away. His hands are also pretty quick and clean. Dylan played a couple of Under 18 championship games but lost his spot in the side for the last couple. The under 18 championship games are the priority for the swans at this time of year and so the older guys will play that. Players that miss out on the under 18 games will get a run in the NEAFL if there are spots.

Personally I thought Dylan played ok in the championship team. But I am just a Dad! The coach, Jarrod Crouch and Chris Smith know these kids inside out and so they know what they are doing when they pick the side. I also think they have been keeping the side very settled. There have not been many changes during the comp, which makes sense as they have been winning.

I certainly loved watching Dylan and some of the others who missed out on the champs having a real crack at NEAFL. I also like that the Academy arranges for them to play NEAFL given they would be a bit disappointed.

[Pmcc2911]

I understand Dylan comes from the Central Coast and plays with North Shore U/19's.
I am pretty sure that in last years 19's GF, Dylan marked Blakey. Blakey kicked a couple in the first half but Dylan finished on top of him in the second half, probably that extra year of age (16yo vs 17yo), made the difference.
Will be interesting to see if they match up this year at all.

[ugg]

[magic.merkin]

Our team will be much stronger too, once we get the likes of Ronke, Fox, Foote and some other senior listed players back in there.

What's the go here? Injured?