2018 trading, drafting and list management: players and personnel

[Mountain Man]

Reflecting on the loss (and it seemed terrible at the ground), I am not sure the biggest reason is the performance of the forwards or the midfield.

I thought we were just too poor at getting any momentum from the back line. I thought Jones tried to run; Lloyd and McVeigh did have the ball a lot and disposed pretty well; Rampe has a long boot - BUT we never made clear progress to a clean forward entry. So many long kicks along the boundary and while Sinclair and McCartin tried hard on their marks, we were generally out-muscled and and failed to get the clearance. Either of a fit Franklin or a Reid might have helped, but again their marks would not have enabled a quick forward entry (pass to who?).

The return of Smith and Mills, IMHO, will not be the answer to speedy exits from the back 50. I remain unsure that Grundy or McVeigh will improve/change what I see as the major weakness. If Lloyd re-signs, again no change.

[Captain]

We don't need wholesale changes, but some tweaking.

From the team that played Saturday:

In: Smith, Naismith, Reid, Mills (play midfield), Melican
Out: Jack (too slow/old), Hanners (traded), Newman (depth player), Robinson (traded, delisted or depth), McCartin (depth player whilst he develops on the reserves), Grundy (back up defender)

Blakey will be good but can't put expectations on a first year kid.

We are still a gun midfielder short and need to trade hard to get one. The cash from Tippett and Hanners should mean we get someone within the cap.

[Ludwig]

State of Play - Part 1

Now that the season's over, there's going to be a lot of analysis about what went wrong and how to fix it.

Let's not delude ourselves about where we are in relation to the competition. We've rolled past our best period, which ended in 2016, and are now in a state of rebuilding on the run. Hawthorn, West Coast and Geelong are in a similar boat, but have approached their rebuilds differently than we have. West Coast managed to stave off the worst of their rebuild, despite key injuries at times, with some stellar performances from their star players.

During these times a club needs to have a good run with injury and form from its 25+ demographic, as Richmond have done so successfully. The Swans have had an unfortunate fall off in this group, for various reasons, already discussed at much length. This group is just not good enough, or to be more precise, deep enough, to do it. It's the under 25 group that's going to have to take us to the next premiership. We can never be sure if our players in this demographic will develop to their full potential, but it looks to be a group with a fair chance of doing it. Heeney, Mills, Hewett, Jones, Cunningham, Lloyd (hopefully staying), Aliir, Melican, O'Riordan, Dawson, Papley, Florent, Hayward, Ronke, Cameron, McCartin, Ling, Stoddart. There you go; that's 18 players close in age that we will be relying on to to take us to the Promised Land. And I'll throw in a few extras like Maibaum, Amartey and Blakey.

We've got 5 players in the older demographic, Franklin, Kennedy, Rampe, Reid and Parker, that need to play at a high level over the next several years to usher in the younger core group.

There's enough talent there to be more than competitive over the next few years, but we can't have too many soldiers go down. Realistically, we are few years away from having a deep enough group of quality experienced players to be one of the top 4 sides.

There are some player movements to play out in the coming weeks that will impact how we move forward from here, like potential trades of Hannebery and Rohan, and whether we trade in anyone of significance. But in the end the table has already been set and moving a few chairs around won't change the big picture.

More to come.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Generally u defend one end in AFL or soccer

Ie GWS prefer to get forward and lock it in our defensive arc

We generally prefer to stack our defensive arc and break from there which was a real “pagans paddock” style of footy

I think it is obvious we have not had the speed to counter punch from our backline ..... not many teams have a backline as slow as ours ie Smith, macca, Newman, Grundy, Lloyd is quite slow compared to other top6 teams

So we play to our strength but our strength is not as strong as the balance and flexibility of other teams in the top8

[rickmat]

Ludwig, you are making a lot of sense and I like the fact that you have nominated some of the Under 25 depth that we do have, just needs to be given the chance to be nurtured and given the opportunity. Look forward to Part 2

[Bloody Hell]

We've got 5 players in the older demographic, Franklin, Kennedy, Rampe, Reid and Parker, that need to play at a high level over the next several years to usher in the younger core group.

Parker's 25. Reid's 26.

[Ludwig]

Parker's 25. Reid's 26.

I split the age demographic between under 25 and 25 +, so they both fit in the older group. They both have birthdays before year end.

I thought about having Sinclair in that group as well, given his excellent year, but I feel he will lose the top ruck spot to either Cameron or Naismith, and will end up being a backup player, albeit a pretty handy one.

[ernie koala]

IMO, we need to get busy at the trade table this year....

We have plenty of defenders coming through...Both small and tall.

We have a good bunch of young small forwards. But we desperately need a medium sized lead up forward, in the O'keefe mould, who can take a mark.

Our midfield needs another inside hard nut ball winner, to take the pressure off Kenedy and Parker.

We need at least one new mid that has pace and kicking skill...

Off loading Hannebery is a must and to a lesser extent Rohan.

If Lloyd decides to chase the money, so be it, he's replaceable. We've drafted a number of small defenders lately and have resigned McVeigh. Then there's Mills to come back also.

Reid is a real worry, a couple of games in the last 2 years, he can't be relied on. To that point Moore can't be relied on either, so he's not the answer.

This is going to be a really interesting trade period for the Swans.....I hope.

[waswan]

would only move hannas if it means getting a high end player in
i wonder if grundy or smith get pushed to find 2yr deals elsewhere

[waswan]

Talk of scully being getable, id take him in good health exactly what we need

[Markwebbos]

Talk of scully being getable, id take him in good health exactly what we need

@@@@ yeah

[robamiee]

Terry Wallace reckoned we are going hard at both Moore and Mitch McGoven

[Muttley]

Terry Wallace reckoned we are going hard at both Moore and Mitch McGoven

Worries me that we are focusing on fortifying defence.
The reason our defence is so under pressure is the midfield is getting pantsed most weeks.
It is like buying more sandbags in a flood.
We need to go to the source and stop the flood there. It is too late when you are sandbagging.
It is the old finger in the dike allegory.

[robamiee]

Doesnt McGoven (adelaides) play forward

[liz]

Doesnt McGoven (adelaides) play forward

He does. And so did Moore until this season.

If there is any truth in the suggestion we are trying hard for both, my guess is that it would be with the expectation of getting just one.