Match Day Rnd. 6. Carlton V Sydney. MCG 14.10 pm.

[Jonesy94]

Heeney admitted this morning that he's noticed that 'it's dead quiet' compared to last year and 'a really weird vibe' on the ground. Could be imagining it, but seemed a little bit of tension as Hannebery sought to mop it up.

AFL Game Day on Twitter: "?It?s dead quiet - it?s a weird vibe at the moment.?

@IHeeney says the young @sydneyswans must find their voice! https://t.co/F9P0qsGXcz"

Kennedy has never been a big onfield talker, but reckon Rampe and McVeigh are.

They do look like a lost ship out at sea with no one steering. For all the "McHacks" references on BF IMHO he is invaluable to the side in the way he points and organises us down back. And Jack was a talker as well always organising at stoppages.

[Jonesy94]

Some teams have almost abandoned handballs (takes too long) in favour of slapping , pushing or knocking the ball to their team mate .

It would be nice if the AFL would acknowledge it. Then we can move on and coaches can once again get down to creating even more complex game plans for the AFL to stifle with more rule changes.

[chalbilto]

I am trying to find a reason for the pile of garbage we served up yesterday compared to the great game in Darwin the previous night. Our fitness and conditioning just does not seem to be right. The players look general slow and tired with a few exceptions like Heeney who has just had a decent rest. Perhaps the mantra of "we must work harder" is getting to them. I think we must work smarter not harder. Are they training too hard and are just tired when it comes to the game. In Darwin Towers was named as our best after a week off though I would disagree that he was our best but he did put in with a considerable amount of enthusiasm. I would seriously consider giving the players the week off at training just to freshen them up for the Brisbane game. Maybe just a light session of kicking the ball around to sharpen up the kicking skills but no heavy training.

Another point is that teams that make the finals are also penalised further by the bye before the finals. It gives teams who have no chance of making the finals to pack their stars in ice, send them off for surgery etc. and have an extra week to recover. Richmond, Port, Melbourne, Freo and Saints have probably benefited most from the bye and I think it is another small factor that has helped to even up the competition. Has not hurt GWS too much with their team of first round draft picks but the Hawks and Swans are really struggling and could not get a fit team on the park by the start of the JLT series.

We we will have this luxury this year so bring on 2018.

[Billericay]

Heeney admitted this morning that he's noticed that 'it's dead quiet' compared to last year and 'a really weird vibe' on the ground. Could be imagining it, but seemed a little bit of tension as Hannebery sought to mop it up.

AFL Game Day on Twitter: "?It?s dead quiet - it?s a weird vibe at the moment.?

@IHeeney says the young @sydneyswans must find their voice! https://t.co/F9P0qsGXcz"

Kennedy has never been a big onfield talker, but reckon Rampe and McVeigh are.

Thanks for posting that clip. Good, if very disappointing, to hear Hanners admit the Swans "voice" and pressure has been below par and can be fixed by effort. What does this say about Joey's captaincy? Is it his "fault" or would this have happened under the old regime (not that either were playing). Swans leadership group is Kennedy, Parker, Hanners, Rampe, Smith, Grundy, Jack and McVeigh. Three of these haven't been playing and the other five are those that have stood out by how out of form they are.

It's pretty damning when a second year player in Mills pulls the players aside rather than one of the leadership group.

Kennedy seems to be struggling with the responsibility of captaincy.

Got to be a huge week inside the club this week.

[S.S. Bleeder]

Heeney admitted this morning that he's noticed that 'it's dead quiet' compared to last year and 'a really weird vibe' on the ground. Could be imagining it, but seemed a little bit of tension as Hannebery sought to mop it up.

AFL Game Day on Twitter: "?It?s dead quiet - it?s a weird vibe at the moment.?

@IHeeney says the young @sydneyswans must find their voice! https://t.co/F9P0qsGXcz"

Kennedy has never been a big onfield talker, but reckon Rampe and McVeigh are.

It's probably hard for Kennedy to do much talking as he's too busy getting the ball.

[annew]

Thanks for posting that clip. Good, if very disappointing, to hear Hanners admit the Swans "voice" and pressure has been below par and can be fixed by effort. What does this say about Joey's captaincy? Is it his "fault" or would this have happened under the old regime (not that either were playing). Swans leadership group is Kennedy, Parker, Hanners, Rampe, Smith, Grundy, Jack and McVeigh. Three of these haven't been playing and the other five are those that have stood out by how out of form they are.

It's pretty damning when a second year player in Mills pulls the players aside rather than one of the leadership group.

Kennedy seems to be struggling with the responsibility of captaincy.

Got to be a huge week inside the club this week.

Don't like to hear comments about Kennedy struggling with captaincy, give him a chance we are without a lot of our usual experienced players so captaining a team of youngsters infinitely morevdifficult than an experienced team. McVeigh does give a lot of direction as did Goodes when in the team.

[troyjones2525]

I find it extremely disappointing that sides like Collingwood and I'll even use Hawthorn as an example last week are able to lift and put in a big performance when they have looked down and out and had extreme pressure put on them by the football media!

North also managed to lift for their first win this week under extreme pressure as favorites against a struggling side yet we dish up that rubbish yesterday against a side who were also embarrassed during the week by the football media for their poor performances.

Something is extremely wrong inside the club for so many to be so horribly out of form.

We have been extremely fortunate over the past 20 years or so having a side that usually finds a way to win even often against the odds and most experts expectations. But this year something stinks, big changes may need to be made at the end of the season as this group (coaches and many senior players) may have had great success, but the game has seemed to have moved on and left us behind unfortunately!

Interested to hear what others on here think?

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[dimelb]

I find it extremely disappointing that sides like Collingwood and I'll even use Hawthorn as an example last week are able to lift and put in a big performance when they have looked down and out and had extreme pressure put on them by the football media!

North also managed to lift for their first win this week under extreme pressure as favorites against a struggling side yet we dish up that rubbish yesterday against a side who were also embarrassed during the week by the football media for their poor performances.

Something is extremely wrong inside the club for so many to be so horribly out of form.

We have been extremely fortunate over the past 20 years or so having a side that usually finds a way to win even often against the odds and most experts expectations. But this year something stinks, big changes may need to be made at the end of the season as this group (coaches and many senior players) may have had great success, but the game has seemed to have moved on and left us behind unfortunately!

Interested to hear what others on here think?

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I think you are underestimating the effect of injuries. If you could take the lowest-rated four out and put in four from Naismith, Rampe, K Jack, Tippett, Johnson, McVeigh - the team would be transformed.

[Agent 86]

?i don't think theres one single code in the world that engages in rule manipulating each year thus to engineer the way the game is played.

Nice analysis btw.

The above is spot on. Far too much tweaking of the rules goes on. The third man up rule debacle. Ridiculous intentional out of bounds decisions. Rushed behinds confusion. Knee contact rule (cost us 12 points in Collingwood game as Hanna should have had an easy kick at goal when Pendlebury nearly kicked his head in - but got a free kick that lead to a goal).

Anyway, whatever, it's gonna be a long year for us. As Horse might say, let's control what we can control? we'll come back and win a few games. 20-odd years since we've been in this territory (despite AFL efforts to bring us down before this).


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[Merdo5555]

The current problems are much deeper than just injuries. When so many players are woefully out of form there is something going on. It's normal for one or two to be out of form but at the moment no-one is playing well. There is clearly a problem whether it's internal strife, poor coaching, or a misalignment of the stars I don't see us winning more than 2 or 3 games this year on current form.

The clear rules trend has been to eliminate stoppages and focus on skills. This has been happening for years yet we haven't adjusted our game style or been stocking up on skill players. What is the coaching staff doing?

The buck stops with the coach.

Injuries don't explain the abysmal 0-6 start. We have good enough players to have won 2 or 3 so far.

Sorry to say but this is a time to renew and refresh, the team has been hearing the same voices for too long. Not just the senior coach but the whole panel needs to go.

The most successful manager of the recent era, Alex Ferguson, changed his Assistants every 2 or 3 years and stepped away from being so hands on. This allowed for the players to hear a new voice before they became bored or simply immune to what was being said. By accident Hawthorn had this happen during their glory years as other clubs recruited their assistants.

[Billericay]

The current problems are much deeper than just injuries. When so many players are woefully out of form there is something going on. It's normal for one or two to be out of form but at the moment no-one is playing well. There is clearly a problem whether it's internal strife, poor coaching, or a misalignment of the stars I don't see us winning more than 2 or 3 games this year on current form... Sorry to say but this is a time to renew and refresh, the team has been hearing the same voices for too long. Not just the senior coach but the whole panel needs to go.

For the sake of argument, lets accept your claim that the problem is fundamentally with our game plan and/or coaches and not with our players. What can we do about it this year?

[Agent 86]

I find it extremely disappointing that sides like Collingwood and I'll even use Hawthorn as an example last week are able to lift and put in a big performance when they have looked down and out and had extreme pressure put on them by the football media!

North also managed to lift for their first win this week under extreme pressure as favorites against a struggling side yet we dish up that rubbish yesterday against a side who were also embarrassed during the week by the football media for their poor performances.

Something is extremely wrong inside the club for so many to be so horribly out of form.

We have been extremely fortunate over the past 20 years or so having a side that usually finds a way to win even often against the odds and most experts expectations. But this year something stinks, big changes may need to be made at the end of the season as this group (coaches and many senior players) may have had great success, but the game has seemed to have moved on and left us behind unfortunately!

Interested to hear what others on here think?

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

I was surprised that the Pies won, but that just shows they're still a good side & even if you're on top of the ladder, if you don't turn up, you are going to struggle.

Hawks were always a chance to beat WCE in Melb (anyone is a chance to beat them away).

North are not a bad side & Gold Coast is not exactly a major scalp. Some talent in GC, but you'd hate to be a supporter.

Carlton nearly beat us at the SCG last year, so yesterday should not really be a surprise. Carlton have some pretty good talent, btw, and if they get a sniff, then they're a chance. At the same time, they'll lay down like dogs if you get on top early. We had that chance - but blew it & they grew with confidence as we choked up.

Also, the AFL has been on a long-term crusade to punish success and reward failure - that's finally catching up with us.

All is not lost - all sides have a slump - just how you get through it is the most important part.

One thing I will say? SCG crowds are amongst the most boring in world sport. Important that supporters get out there and make some serious noise.

[ernie koala]

The clear rules trend has been to eliminate stoppages and focus on skills. This has been happening for years yet we haven't adjusted our game style or been stocking up on skill players. What is the coaching staff doing?

The buck stops with the coach.

Given we have played in 3 grandfinals in the last 5 years....Won the minor premiership last year and just got pipped in the GF....These facts tell me our game style etc have been just fine.

I actually agree ,it's probably about time Horse moved on...But not because he's been left behind, he clearly hasn't....

But because he has been coaching at the Swans for 15 seasons now, he and the Swans are overdue for some change.

[Merdo5555]

Give Longmire the rest of the year to change the game plan and work out what players should be kept. If we don't win a couple more by the middle of the season and continue to perform so badly then I would be looking at a new coach now. I'm giving him a chance but patience is running thin. Losing is okay, abysmal performances like Saturday are not.

If we don't see a new style and attitude by the end of the year then Longmire is gone.

Irrespective of Longmire we need new Assistants. I wouldn't mind even bringing some in now, we need to shake up the current lethargy. Our coaching group has been in cruise mode for too long they are all too comfortable. Look at the Tigers, some new blood in the box has led to dramatically better performances.

If Ross Lyon can change game plans within weeks then Longmire can too. If he can't then he is a dinosaur and we know what happened to them!

[Merdo5555]

"Given we have played in 3 grandfinals in the last 5 years....Won the minor premiership last year and just got pipped in the GF....These facts tell me our game style etc have been just fine."

We won the first one by a fingers width, got smashed in the second one and lost the 3rd (blaming the umpires is all fine and good but in the end we lost). Minor premierships are meaningless the real deal is in premierships. If Alistair Clarkson was coaching us I think we would have won all of them and maybe another one. Horse has never been a great innovator and the reality is if your standing still you get overtaken.