Tweet
Yes the Giants were weak but they have put up reasonable performances lately. I think the score line is definitely more a reflection of the tough professional brand of football that Shaw has drilled into this side. They kept up the intensity for all four quarters despite the game well and truly being over second quarter. You could hear and I mean literally hear the messages from the bench and the players coming on to keep up the standards.
And I'm glad they did his and crushed the Giants as a payback for a similar score line that the Giants had in their favour two years ago when we were the ones playing with a depleted team
Tippett started slow despite starting in the ruck and sharing ruck duties with Cameron about 55-45. Cameron hurt his shoulder early second quarter which meant more ruck time for Tippett. Pink was trialled as his understudy but couldn't get anywhere near the taps against Simpson.
So they moved Aliir into ruck-forward and Pink into Aliir's defensive spot. And while Aliir wasn't amazing at the tapwork aspect of rucking he was electric in open play. There's a touch of the Leo Barrys about it, i.e. I'm excited and scared at the same time because I have no idea what he's doing and most of the time I'm sure he has no idea either.
Tippett Aliir ruck time split closer to 70-30 and this allowed Tippett to get into game with his ruckwork and then later on as a full forward. He was very much the primary focus at this point and even when the Giants started double teaming late on the Swans still kicked it in his direction. Kicked all 3 goals in the third quarter all from set shots.
Florent tasked with tagging Mzungu and followed him everywhere including synchronising their bench time together. Mzungu finished with 19 (he had 30+ last week) so it was a reasonable job made better by his contribution on the offensive end particularly the last quarter. He is a very classy user of the ball. One of the criticisms on him at the moment is his slight build and while this is true I think he is quite strong for his size. Mzungu is a mature experienced AFL player and Ollie had no significant issues tackling or being tackled by Mzungu.
Rohan started as midfielder/half forward and struggled to find touches early on. The move to full forward really sparked his game into life. With plenty of space to work in, his strong leads at great pace caused poor Tim Mohr issues and he was unselfish many times handing the ball off instead of having a shot at goal himself. Hurt himself in the third quarter when he ran at full speed trying to smother a desperate Giant clearing kick right on the goalline. Stayed down for a couple of minutes but played the rest of the game out.
Laidler was excellent today. Theoretically playing in defence but because of the Swans dominance in field position it's better described as a kick behind play around the center of the ground. He collected many intercept possessions due to his excellent reading of the play as he was not afraid to run off his opponent to affect the spoil. His ball use particularly his kicking was spot on today
Dawson kicked 4 goals should have been 5 but missed the easiest of the lot 25m set shot dead in front. Played mostly midfield and is very strong through the core broke many tackles. Played forward near the end when Shaw started shuffling the pieces on the chessboard
Edwards started midfield and finished as a halfback flanker after doing a role swap with O'Riordan for the final quarter. His pace, run and carry really opens up opportunities going forward and his end product, at least today, was good. Murray the other player who provides run off half back although his bouncing let him down today. However his kicking is a real weapon, it has penetration and he generally chooses the right option
Jack had another solid game and he must be praised for better ball use today. Perhaps it was a result of more time resulting from less pressure but he generally lowered his eyes and tried to kick to his teammates' advantage instead of bombing blindly away like he usually does.
Fisher a real accumulator of the footy. Didn't notice him too much in the midfield but has a real eye for goal and is a composed finisher in the forward fifty.
Rose was a peripheral figure for much of the game as most of the Swans attacks were centred on Tippett or Rohan. He looked frustrated at times and gave away a 50m penalty for a late push on a giant who had completed the mark
Foote off a wing, with Fox on the other. Foote first, attack on the ball was strong which reminded me of his strong form last year. Played a part of the game in defence which seems to be an area the coaches are exploring for him. Fox's main strength is his tackling and in and under work so it was a little strange to see him on the wing where he racked up plenty of touches mainly because he had no opponent. He isn't quick and his disposal is average at best so I can't see him continuing on the wing.
Talia and Maibaum mostly untroubled in defence. Talia the more offensive minded of the two, prepared to run to provide an option when we have the ball.
Leonardis again playing forward but didn't impress me too much in this role. There's not enough tricks in his bag to make him stand out as a forward, I feel he isn't very good in close and would be better in an outside role. Could be treading water until the end of the year where he is a candidate for delistment
Pink as mentioned previously moved into defence in the second half and did okay. What really stands out about his game at the moment is his defensive pressure and chasing at speed. In particular there was one passage of play in the middle of the ground where he made third, fourth, fifth efforts and eventually caused the turnover. Longmire seating nearby was quite happy with Pink then.
Finally the new cult hero Ronke. Started on the pine. Came on about 12min into the game. Both goals came from open play where he picked up ground balls before snapping bending kicks between the big sticks. Played as a small forward. Will have to see more of him before making a more concrete judgment but in the short passages today I gathered that he isn't a great kick but but tackles well and is a hard nut. Faded as the game went on and in the last quarter had his right ankle and right hip or buttock iced.
At the start of the second half, before the ball was bounced the umpires called for a head count and worked out the Giants had 19 on the field. Their score was reset (they only had 4 behinds anyway) and the Swans got a 50m penalty. Weird that the NEAFL still has this incredibly harsh penalty when the AFL has done away with it.
Swans 6.1 10.6 18.15 28.17 (185)
Giants 0.0 0.0 1.0 2.2 (14)
Goals: Wicks 4 Dawson 4 Fisher 4 Edwards 3 Tippett 3 Ronke 2 Florent 2 Rohan 2 Jack Laidler Carr Foote
Best: Laidler Florent Dawson Jack Fisher Tippett
And I'm glad they did his and crushed the Giants as a payback for a similar score line that the Giants had in their favour two years ago when we were the ones playing with a depleted team
Tippett started slow despite starting in the ruck and sharing ruck duties with Cameron about 55-45. Cameron hurt his shoulder early second quarter which meant more ruck time for Tippett. Pink was trialled as his understudy but couldn't get anywhere near the taps against Simpson.
So they moved Aliir into ruck-forward and Pink into Aliir's defensive spot. And while Aliir wasn't amazing at the tapwork aspect of rucking he was electric in open play. There's a touch of the Leo Barrys about it, i.e. I'm excited and scared at the same time because I have no idea what he's doing and most of the time I'm sure he has no idea either.
Tippett Aliir ruck time split closer to 70-30 and this allowed Tippett to get into game with his ruckwork and then later on as a full forward. He was very much the primary focus at this point and even when the Giants started double teaming late on the Swans still kicked it in his direction. Kicked all 3 goals in the third quarter all from set shots.
Florent tasked with tagging Mzungu and followed him everywhere including synchronising their bench time together. Mzungu finished with 19 (he had 30+ last week) so it was a reasonable job made better by his contribution on the offensive end particularly the last quarter. He is a very classy user of the ball. One of the criticisms on him at the moment is his slight build and while this is true I think he is quite strong for his size. Mzungu is a mature experienced AFL player and Ollie had no significant issues tackling or being tackled by Mzungu.
Rohan started as midfielder/half forward and struggled to find touches early on. The move to full forward really sparked his game into life. With plenty of space to work in, his strong leads at great pace caused poor Tim Mohr issues and he was unselfish many times handing the ball off instead of having a shot at goal himself. Hurt himself in the third quarter when he ran at full speed trying to smother a desperate Giant clearing kick right on the goalline. Stayed down for a couple of minutes but played the rest of the game out.
Laidler was excellent today. Theoretically playing in defence but because of the Swans dominance in field position it's better described as a kick behind play around the center of the ground. He collected many intercept possessions due to his excellent reading of the play as he was not afraid to run off his opponent to affect the spoil. His ball use particularly his kicking was spot on today
Dawson kicked 4 goals should have been 5 but missed the easiest of the lot 25m set shot dead in front. Played mostly midfield and is very strong through the core broke many tackles. Played forward near the end when Shaw started shuffling the pieces on the chessboard
Edwards started midfield and finished as a halfback flanker after doing a role swap with O'Riordan for the final quarter. His pace, run and carry really opens up opportunities going forward and his end product, at least today, was good. Murray the other player who provides run off half back although his bouncing let him down today. However his kicking is a real weapon, it has penetration and he generally chooses the right option
Jack had another solid game and he must be praised for better ball use today. Perhaps it was a result of more time resulting from less pressure but he generally lowered his eyes and tried to kick to his teammates' advantage instead of bombing blindly away like he usually does.
Fisher a real accumulator of the footy. Didn't notice him too much in the midfield but has a real eye for goal and is a composed finisher in the forward fifty.
Rose was a peripheral figure for much of the game as most of the Swans attacks were centred on Tippett or Rohan. He looked frustrated at times and gave away a 50m penalty for a late push on a giant who had completed the mark
Foote off a wing, with Fox on the other. Foote first, attack on the ball was strong which reminded me of his strong form last year. Played a part of the game in defence which seems to be an area the coaches are exploring for him. Fox's main strength is his tackling and in and under work so it was a little strange to see him on the wing where he racked up plenty of touches mainly because he had no opponent. He isn't quick and his disposal is average at best so I can't see him continuing on the wing.
Talia and Maibaum mostly untroubled in defence. Talia the more offensive minded of the two, prepared to run to provide an option when we have the ball.
Leonardis again playing forward but didn't impress me too much in this role. There's not enough tricks in his bag to make him stand out as a forward, I feel he isn't very good in close and would be better in an outside role. Could be treading water until the end of the year where he is a candidate for delistment
Pink as mentioned previously moved into defence in the second half and did okay. What really stands out about his game at the moment is his defensive pressure and chasing at speed. In particular there was one passage of play in the middle of the ground where he made third, fourth, fifth efforts and eventually caused the turnover. Longmire seating nearby was quite happy with Pink then.
Finally the new cult hero Ronke. Started on the pine. Came on about 12min into the game. Both goals came from open play where he picked up ground balls before snapping bending kicks between the big sticks. Played as a small forward. Will have to see more of him before making a more concrete judgment but in the short passages today I gathered that he isn't a great kick but but tackles well and is a hard nut. Faded as the game went on and in the last quarter had his right ankle and right hip or buttock iced.
At the start of the second half, before the ball was bounced the umpires called for a head count and worked out the Giants had 19 on the field. Their score was reset (they only had 4 behinds anyway) and the Swans got a 50m penalty. Weird that the NEAFL still has this incredibly harsh penalty when the AFL has done away with it.
Swans 6.1 10.6 18.15 28.17 (185)
Giants 0.0 0.0 1.0 2.2 (14)
Goals: Wicks 4 Dawson 4 Fisher 4 Edwards 3 Tippett 3 Ronke 2 Florent 2 Rohan 2 Jack Laidler Carr Foote
Best: Laidler Florent Dawson Jack Fisher Tippett
Comment