2018 trading, drafting and list management: players and personnel

[goswannies]

Looks like we're letting Rohan go.

Swans speedster open to move to Victoria - Swans speedster open to move to Victoria - AFL.com.au.

SYDNEY speedster Gary Rohan is set to consider a move back to Victoria next season, but not until after the Swan's NEAFL Grand Final on Sunday.

AFL.com.au understands the former Geelong Falcon from Cobden is open to a move to be closer to family and friends, with Geelong and North Melbourne flagging early interest.

I thought Rohan was ineligible to play in the NEAFL GF? Not enough NEAFL games to qualify?

[aardvark]

I'd trade Reid for a bag of beans. Players who can't get on the ground regularly are a burden on the club.

[MattW]

I think the writing was on the wall for Gary when he didn't get back into the first's......as long as he's happy with whatever decision he makes but his future isn't at the Swans. It will actually be a relief for Swans fans from getting our hopes up and being constantly let down. I blame Lindsay Thomas.......

Yep, especially when he wasn't even an emergency.

[longmile]

I still think Hanneberry has it in him to come back into form. Everyone seems so keen to unload him all of a sudden. He had a @@@@ year, but a lot of champs do

[stevoswan]

I'd trade Reid for a bag of beans. Players who can't get on the ground regularly are a burden on the club.

We have a few 'burdens' on our list at the moment.....Reid, Hanners, Rohan. Move them on, clear cap space and aggressively recruit in a very targeted way. We should be ruthless in our pursuit of Gaff or Sheil, maybe McGovern (pity it's not the WC version) and anyone else who's available that will help us improve. I want to see big moves from the Swans and less loyalty to the 'established' stars on our list who are not delivering.

- - - Updated - - -

I still think Hanneberry has it in him to come back into form. Everyone seems so keen to unload him all of a sudden. He had a @@@@ year, but a lot of champs do

He's had a few '@@@@ years' now......and seems more prone to 'niggles' which severely curtail his output and effectiveness for long periods of the season. Sure I'll be pissed off if he leaves and returns to his former glory but I doubt it'll happen. He's still got a bit of currency and we should put practicality over loyalty and the 'chance' that he'll regain his past form.

[Ludwig]

State of Play - Part 3

The Forward Line

It's difficult to assess the state of play regarding our forward line at this time, given the rumours that we are after a key forward, mainly Moore and McGovern. I agree with what seems to be the majority view that it's hard to see the value of adding either, unless:

1. We have lost faith in Reid's ability to make a real contribution due to persistent injuries.
2. We are looking farther down the track to a post Franklin-Reid era.

Neither of these quite feels right. I don't know what's changed in our assessment of Reid since he was given a new contract, other than the fact that he's had some more soft tissue injuries. But this was already well known. And we just given the injury plagued Naismith a 3 year extension. Darcy Moore has shown to be quite injury prone himself, so it would seem a high risk acquisition if one were worried about injury prone players. There's not much to do but wait this one out and see what transpires.

Our forward line was under the gun all season.

1. Franklin either missed games or played injured most of the year.
2. Reid missed the season
3. Gary Rohan had yet another disappointing season.
4. We failed to ustilise Darcy Cameron in the ruck which would have allowed us to use Sinclair as an experienced replacement for Reid.
5. We found ourselves playing most of the season with a bunch of kids in the forward line, albeit kids that look to have bright futures, but still not the kind of forward line that's going to produce over a long season.

Franklin was once again an overutilised forward target which made it easy for opposition teams to form a strategy to counter our I50 attempts.

Unless we do, in fact, acquire another key forward, it looks that Reid simply comes into the forward line to replace Rohan, who now looks a likely trade out. There is also the likelihood that Nick Blakey will provide another tall forward option for us next season. So again, it's hard to support the acquisition of an expensive tall forward when we have 2 young talented prospects like Blakey and McCartin.

I don't think it's possible for a club to manage its salary cap if it acquires expensive quality players as insurance against other expensive quality players being injured. In the extreme, imagine acquiring Tom Lynch as a reserves backup in case Franklin is injured, just to make the point.

I think we should plan to play Franklin mostly on the wing, a la the last several years of Matthew Richardson, when he did so well in that position. I'm sure Franklin would make a big impact on our I50 count, and the quality of our I50s would also improve greatly.

There should come a time when either Cameron or Naismith become our prime ruckman, which moves Sinclair to a backup role in both the ruck and forward. So we can look at our key forward list for the next couple of season as:

1. Franklin
2. Reid
3. McCartin
4. Sinclair
5. Blakey
6. Amartey

It seems a good combination of experienced high end talent and excellent young prospects. It's not a list calling out for another big name.

I also see us using a greater variety of forward options next year. Depending on how our ruck situation goes, we could see Kennedy playing a lot more forward, especially if we fail to equalise the hitout count. Dawson is another option providing a tallish strong marking forward who can kick a long goal.

Forwards and midfielders are more closely linked and more often rotated than they have been in the past and the we can't assess the forward mix in the same light of a previous era. Hayward, Papley and Ronke spend more time running through the midfield than hanging out in the forward line, and form an important part of the transition from turnovers and applying pressure around the ground.

I've noticed how much better other teams are at sticking tackles than we have become of late and this is due in part to the level of youth in the current side. I think this should improve as they mature.

Our starting forwards may not look that much different next year than the one just past, except that Reid comes in to replace Rohan. Similar personnel, but a change in how we line up. A lot will fall on the shoulders of Sam Reid and for our young supporting cast to make another jump in performance next year. The potential is good, but a lot can go wrong.

More to come in Part 4: The Midfield

[KTigers]

Man, people here are very harsh about Sam Reid. Maybe some of the love for Alex Johnson & acceptance of his injuries could
be sent onto Sam. Sure, he has a bad run lately but he played 20 or so games in 2017, same in 2015, 2014, 2012 & 2011.
He played 10 games in 2013. When he is fit he always gives 100% and he is not on crazy money. I think a fit Buddy & Reid
McCartin in the forward line with all the midgets running around them can get us scoring goals again.

[Ludwig]

I'd trade Reid for a bag of beans. Players who can't get on the ground regularly are a burden on the club.

It's unrealistic to talk about trading Reid. If he's not worth a bag of beans to us, then why would another club want him. It's not like they don't know he's been injured. He's contracted until 2021 on what I imagine is fairly good coin. His wife's family is from Sydney. It's hard to see a way he leaves the club.

Reid's ability or inability to contribute next year will have a big say in how our year goes. It's going to be hard to share the forward target load without Reid in the side, as has been the case this year.

[AB Swannie]

Man, people here are very harsh about Sam Reid. Maybe some of the love for Alex Johnson & acceptance of his injuries could be sent onto Sam.

Completely agree with this. Why does AJ get the love and support but Sam is happy to be “sold for a bag of beans.” Injuries are @@@@ for us as supporters. Imagine how bad it is for the player.

[aardvark]

Completely agree with this. Why does AJ get the love and support but Sam is happy to be “sold for a bag of beans.” Injuries are @@@@ for us as supporters. Imagine how bad it is for the player.

I know it's harsh but AJ costs us next to nothing and is arguably worth the speculation. Reid takes up a decent chunk of our cap which could be better used for someone more reliable. I know it won't happen.

[stevoswan]

I thought Rohan was ineligible to play in the NEAFL GF? Not enough NEAFL games to qualify?

This from the above quoted link: Swans speedster open to move to Victoria - AFL.com.au

"But Rohan will be ineligible to play in the Grand Final, because he's played too many AFL games and the season is over for the senior team."

[Markwebbos]

This from the above quoted link: Swans speedster open to move to Victoria - AFL.com.au

"But Rohan will be ineligible to play in the Grand Final, because he's played too many AFL games and the season is over for the senior team."

Which implies exit interviews, delistings and requests for trade won't happen until after the NEAFL grand final. I guess that's for those that are playing in the GF but may not be at the Swans next year.

[KTigers]

Completely agree with this. Why does AJ get the love and support but Sam is happy to be “sold for a bag of beans.” Injuries are @@@@ for us as supporters. Imagine how bad it is for the player.

Indeed. I gave myself the morning off yesterday to stay home & watch the US Open Mens Final. In his victory speech Djokovic went out of
his way to make a special mention of Del Potro's four years of being basically out of the game due to his persistent wrist problems and how
difficult that had been for Del Potro. It was very classy and quite a contrast to the Womens Final. Anyway, it reminded me of how down
some AFL players have said they have got being injured for long periods in what should be the prime of their career.

[mcs]

The Forward Line

It's difficult to assess the state of play regarding our forward line at this time, given the rumours that we are after a key forward, mainly Moore and McGovern. I agree with what seems to be the majority view that it's hard to see the value of adding either, unless:

1. We have lost faith in Reid's ability to make a real contribution due to persistent injuries.
2. We are looking farther down the track to a post Franklin-Reid era.

Neither of these quite feels right. I don't know what's changed in our assessment of Reid since he was given a new contract, other than the fact that he's had some more soft tissue injuries. But this was already well known. And we just given the injury plagued Naismith a 3 year extension. Darcy Moore has shown to be quite injury prone himself, so it would seem a high risk acquisition if one were worried about injury prone players. There's not much to do but wait this one out and see what transpires.

Our forward line was under the gun all season.

1. Franklin either missed games or played injured most of the year.
2. Reid missed the season
3. Gary Rohan had yet another disappointing season.
4. We failed to ustilise Darcy Cameron in the ruck which would have allowed us to use Sinclair as an experienced replacement for Reid.
5. We found ourselves playing most of the season with a bunch of kids in the forward line, albeit kids that look to have bright futures, but still not the kind of forward line that's going to produce over a long season.

Franklin was once again an overutilised forward target which made it easy for opposition teams to form a strategy to counter our I50 attempts.

Unless we do, in fact, acquire another key forward, it looks that Reid simply comes into the forward line to replace Rohan, who now looks a likely trade out. There is also the likelihood that Nick Blakey will provide another tall forward option for us next season. So again, it's hard to support the acquisition of an expensive tall forward when we have 2 young talented prospects like Blakey and McCartin.

I don't think it's possible for a club to manage its salary cap if it acquires expensive quality players as insurance against other expensive quality players being injured. In the extreme, imagine acquiring Tom Lynch as a reserves backup in case Franklin is injured, just to make the point.

I think we should plan to play Franklin mostly on the wing, a la the last several years of Matthew Richardson, when he did so well in that position. I'm sure Franklin would make a big impact on our I50 count, and the quality of our I50s would also improve greatly.

There should come a time when either Cameron or Naismith become our prime ruckman, which moves Sinclair to a backup role in both the ruck and forward. So we can look at our key forward list for the next couple of season as:

1. Franklin
2. Reid
3. McCartin
4. Sinclair
5. Blakey
6. Amartey

It seems a good combination of experienced high end talent and excellent young prospects. It's not a list calling out for another big name.

I also see us using a greater variety of forward options next year. Depending on how our ruck situation goes, we could see Kennedy playing a lot more forward, especially if we fail to equalise the hitout count. Dawson is another option providing a tallish strong marking forward who can kick a long goal.

Forwards and midfielders are more closely linked and more often rotated than they have been in the past and the we can't assess the forward mix in the same light of a previous era. Hayward, Papley and Ronke spend more time running through the midfield than hanging out in the forward line, and form an important part of the transition from turnovers and applying pressure around the ground.

I've noticed how much better other teams are at sticking tackles than we have become of late and this is due in part to the level of youth in the current side. I think this should improve as they mature.

Our starting forwards may not look that much different next year than the one just past, except that Reid comes in to replace Rohan. Similar personnel, but a change in how we line up. A lot will fall on the shoulders of Sam Reid and for our young supporting cast to make another jump in performance next year. The potential is good, but a lot can go wrong.

More to come in Part 4: The Midfield

Really good summary. I think the point about Papley, Hayward and ronke spending more time in midfield is an interesting one. I think it's a negative overall to be perfectly honest - I felt far too often they were drawn there not because they are amazing in there, but because we were trying to plug the holes. Yes they have some versatility, but in particular Paps and Ronke are far more useful as forwards then midfielders at this stage.

Too often what them being drawn into the midfield meant was that our forward line basically became Buddy and that was it. We need far better structures up forward - especially if our tactics are to remain primarily to bomb it anywhere then look for shorter options.

[barry]

I still think Hanneberry has it in him to come back into form. Everyone seems so keen to unload him all of a sudden. He had a @@@@ year, but a lot of champs do

The game has passed him by. He was good in the highly contested style, but now there is more emphasis on foot skills.