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I know a lot of people on here are thinking the same, that we need more inside midfielders, but I see it differently. I think we still have an imbalance toward inside mids and need more outside run and skills in particular.
Our on ball brigade problems stem more from the lack of ruck dominance than the quality of our inside midfielders and unless Naismith gets up, that may hang around for a while. Even though I'm projecting Cameron as our #1 ruckman, along with a concomitant improvement in our stoppage play, I don't see Cameron as more than an average ruckman at stoppages. The advantage will be more his work around the ground while hopefully breaking even at stoppages. Kennedy, Parker, Hewett, Mills, Heeney and Dawson is a big (in body size) midfield, with some of the best ball winning capacity of any group in the league. In fact, I see more rotations forward for this group, especially for Kennedy, unless Naismith is our ruckman, in which case, I'd leave him as a prime stoppage mid.
What we don't have is the Dylan Shiel type inside midfielder who can break away from the stoppages with pace, but there aren't too many of those going around. Jones is probably closest of that type of player without showing he has the ability to play that role, though in fairness, he hasn't been given much opportunity.
There's no certain or immediate solution to this dilemma. Even if we manage to snap up pick 4 in the Hannebery trade and draft Bailey Smith, who can break from the packs with pace, it will still be a few years before he's likely to be a weapon. I slightly prefer Izak Rankine anyway if that trade comes to pass.
I would continue with the transition which is currently in play, improving our attack from defence and trying to move the ball through the middle with pace. We won't see the fruits of this until (or unless) Ling and Stoddart become a part of our senior side. Except for Franklin, our over 30 crew that will be moving on are on the slow side, but the replacements are all a lot quicker.
I see that Lloyd has is now been contracted for another 4 years, which I think is just fantastic. He is overseas on vacation, instead of spending time shopping himself around, which says to me that there wasn't much question about him signing on again.
The guys who are moving on, Hanners, Rohan and Newman, are good moves for all concerned. The new group of young players taking their places have a lot to prove, but for now I'm backing the plan and staying positive about future.
It's interesting that so many RWOers thought Lloyd was gone, when indications were that he was going to stay. I think it's turned out as expected, that we just needed to confirm the freeing up of salary cap space before we could commit to a long term deal, which was the reason for the holdout, not that he wanted to move clubs. Once again, the Swans don't lose a player they want to keep.
Our on ball brigade problems stem more from the lack of ruck dominance than the quality of our inside midfielders and unless Naismith gets up, that may hang around for a while. Even though I'm projecting Cameron as our #1 ruckman, along with a concomitant improvement in our stoppage play, I don't see Cameron as more than an average ruckman at stoppages. The advantage will be more his work around the ground while hopefully breaking even at stoppages. Kennedy, Parker, Hewett, Mills, Heeney and Dawson is a big (in body size) midfield, with some of the best ball winning capacity of any group in the league. In fact, I see more rotations forward for this group, especially for Kennedy, unless Naismith is our ruckman, in which case, I'd leave him as a prime stoppage mid.
What we don't have is the Dylan Shiel type inside midfielder who can break away from the stoppages with pace, but there aren't too many of those going around. Jones is probably closest of that type of player without showing he has the ability to play that role, though in fairness, he hasn't been given much opportunity.
There's no certain or immediate solution to this dilemma. Even if we manage to snap up pick 4 in the Hannebery trade and draft Bailey Smith, who can break from the packs with pace, it will still be a few years before he's likely to be a weapon. I slightly prefer Izak Rankine anyway if that trade comes to pass.
I would continue with the transition which is currently in play, improving our attack from defence and trying to move the ball through the middle with pace. We won't see the fruits of this until (or unless) Ling and Stoddart become a part of our senior side. Except for Franklin, our over 30 crew that will be moving on are on the slow side, but the replacements are all a lot quicker.
I see that Lloyd has is now been contracted for another 4 years, which I think is just fantastic. He is overseas on vacation, instead of spending time shopping himself around, which says to me that there wasn't much question about him signing on again.
The guys who are moving on, Hanners, Rohan and Newman, are good moves for all concerned. The new group of young players taking their places have a lot to prove, but for now I'm backing the plan and staying positive about future.
It's interesting that so many RWOers thought Lloyd was gone, when indications were that he was going to stay. I think it's turned out as expected, that we just needed to confirm the freeing up of salary cap space before we could commit to a long term deal, which was the reason for the holdout, not that he wanted to move clubs. Once again, the Swans don't lose a player they want to keep.
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