23/2/2018 - Inter-Club practice match VS GWS @ Henson Park

[mariachi]

The whole affair was quite shambolic. They ran out of sausages before quarter time, the beer queue was nearly out to Illawarra Road, there were several dog fights, and multiple children kicking footies willy-nilly. And to cap it off a major power outage meant that the scoreboard went down and the floodlights weren?t working so they could not play the final quarter. All in all, great fun! There was three goal breeze to the southern end. The game was a bit scrappy, and nobody really stood out for me, except for one burst down the eastern wing by Aliir which led to a set shot. Hopefully that promises a return to 2016 form for him. Some of the kids looked okay and the usual suspects played with their accustomed touch.

[liz]

It was scrappy but I suspect rust and the wind were to blame for that.

Lloyd and Hewett were both very busy, with Lloyd mostly using the ball well and Hewett sometimes well.

I agree with deja that it was great to see Rohan out there and looking in pretty good nick. I hadn't expected to see him. I love how he knows he can get away from players with a step or two burst and I thought he was pretty creative today.

Florent looked good in patches, especially in the first quarter. Aliir did some great stuff and some not so great stuff but he looked far closer to the 2016 model than the 2017 model.

[dejavoodoo44]

It was scrappy but I suspect rust and the wind were to blame for that.

Lloyd and Hewett were both very busy, with Lloyd mostly using the ball well and Hewett sometimes well.

I agree with deja that it was great to see Rohan out there and looking in pretty good nick. I hadn't expected to see him. I love how he knows he can get away from players with a step or two burst and I thought he was pretty creative today.

Florent looked good in patches, especially in the first quarter. Aliir did some great stuff and some not so great stuff but he looked far closer to the 2016 model than the 2017 model.

Yes, I forgot to mention Aliir. I did think that some of our better passages of play, did start with his rapid decision making and ball movement from the back half. And while he did make a couple of errors, I don't really have a problem with that. I tend to think that, the more he sticks to taking the game on in an innovative manner, the more adept he will become at rapidly choosing the best option.

[bodgie]

I was lucky enough to have a private entrance from my sons house which backs onto the oval. Had some nice cold long necks and a crisp chardy as the sun went down and the oval settled into near darkness.

The wind was very strong at times and was probably an old fashioned 5 goals worth for much of the 2nd Q (we were opposite the main stand). A few high kicks almost drifted backward!

Sinclair looked raring to go. Naismith good in the first half. Florent looked useful although perhaps he stood out because I was trying to work out who 53 was. Allir was a mixture of promising brilliance and embarrassing stuff ups. I noticed Rose a lot. Running near the ball but rarely getting it. Mexican, Newman, Towers, Hewett all seemed solid enough but I always mix them up. The boys were super pleased when Stoddart kicked his goal. Fox seemed useful enough.

It was great to be able to hear the players talking to each other. Rampe directing traffic: 'Lloydy! Keep moving!' Lloyd just stayed where he was.

[CureTheSane]

Only saw the first quarter, but from what I saw the team looked pretty switched on and applying more pressure than usual.
Skills overall looked on point.
I got a really good feeling about Buddy, Sinclair and Allir. Think they will all have a great year.

[mattybloods]

Probably as a Foote-note.

Nice

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[MattW]

I was lucky enough to have a private entrance from my sons house which backs onto the oval. Had some nice cold long necks and a crisp chardy as the sun went down and the oval settled into near darkness.

The wind was very strong at times and was probably an old fashioned 5 goals worth for much of the 2nd Q (we were opposite the main stand). A few high kicks almost drifted backward!

Sinclair looked raring to go. Naismith good in the first half. Florent looked useful although perhaps he stood out because I was trying to work out who 53 was. Allir was a mixture of promising brilliance and embarrassing stuff ups. I noticed Rose a lot. Running near the ball but rarely getting it. Mexican, Newman, Towers, Hewett all seemed solid enough but I always mix them up. The boys were super pleased when Stoddart kicked his goal. Fox seemed useful enough.

It was great to be able to hear the players talking to each other. Rampe directing traffic: 'Lloydy! Keep moving!' Lloyd just stayed where he was.

Well told, bodgie.

[AB Swannie]

As a teacher, I see these kids every day who do all the work in class, do extra study, ask for feedback, help around the school and are generally nice kids. You really want these kids to do well but when it comes to the crunch in the HSC, they get only average results. I reckon Jordan Foote is this kid at the Swans. He seems like he tries his guts out but when it comes to the crunch he just doesn't cut it. I will be very surprised/worried if he plays any senior footy this year.

[O'Reilly Boy]

Now, I'm a glass half full kind of person, so I tend to see the good things. And last night I saw lots of good things.

The wind was a big factor, which may not have been obvious on the stream. Kicks were either holding up or carrying an extra few metres, which made it difficult for defenders. I thought that this provided a great opportunity to see how Aliir is going as KPD, and he impressed me, particularly when he struggled to get position (because of the wind), he was able to outbody opponents and spoil, and generally looked confident one out. Has that great ability, too, to attack the ball and play on, which he was also able to check on a couple of occasions. Very good signs, I reckon.

Overall, there was a level of early season messiness, but I actually thought that the skills were pretty good: having been to the past three or four intraclub days at Henson, this was the most impressive performance of the lot. Handskills in particular seemed strong. My impression was that the team is moving the ball well out of defence, playing quite direct, rather than down the lines. Not so much switching across the backline, although on a handful of handover transitions players found themselves loose along a wing and we seemed pretty efficient delivering to them.

GWS played a good second quarter, dominating the clearances and making good use of the breeze (which was worth three or four goals, I think), but we tightened up on them in the guts after half time.

Rampe was outstanding, marshalling the defenders. Can't see any shift into the midfield for him; he uses at least 60% of his energy directing traffic from FB. The others must be getting sick of the sound of his voice. I know I was.
Mellican and Smith solid. The defensive unit, even without Grundy, McVeigh and Mills, was well-organised and executing cleanly.
Fox was sharp off HB flank.
Kizza was lively in traffic and tackled well.
Papley was everywhere. He has some motor. I'm not surprised that he suffered from compartmentalitis: he looks like a sock stuffed with macadamia nuts.
Rohan looked very good, playing both forward and back. Strong chasing and tackling pressure. One of the few players to earn a round of applause from the crowd after one series of second and third efforts.
Sinclair is increasingly a key figure in the team, clearly loved by his team-mates and having a good dig both in the middle and in front of goal.
McCartin confirmed my earlier impressions. Every bit the footballer. Terrific build and getting plenty of the ball. Fits right in, and I reckon will get a game earlier rather than later.
Hewett impressed: strong through the hips and nice hands.
Lloyd looked very, very smooth.
Harry Marsh looked nippy and composed. We could do a lot worse than him as a depth defender.
Cunningham is interesting. I rate him morehighly than Nico does. I thought that he put himself in good places and broke lines a bit.
It was terrific seeing Stoddard kick his goal. He only came on late, having spent the first half looking like a caged tiger in the back of the players' box, but looked useful playing off a wing and providing a bit of zip in that link role out of traffic. It was great seeing him and McCartin buddying up in the huddle just before play got underway: what a moment for the young ones.
Kennedy and Parker were machines, playing a lot of minutes and in the thick of it. Good signs for them.
Reid contested well and clunked a couple. Buddy was Buddy, and took one great contested mark above shoulder level. Played more or less the entire first half.
Towers started well and then seemed to fade out of the game a bit.
Rose seemed composed and did little things well. Good second efforts to recover plays that broke down a bit.
Loeb ran Naismith around a bit, pulling him up the ground and exposing him a bit.
Quiet evenings from Newman and O'Riordan.
Florent, demoted to #53, looked a bit fumbly, but was well up on his toes and looking likely.
Foote . . . meh. A role player looking for a role. Robinson, too, did not stand out, although I do think that there is upside for him. Clearly Horse rates both of them, and they strike me as being a bit in the Craig Bird mold: a bit workmanlike, and perhaps a bit sacrificial

Overall, I loved the evening, in all its shambolicness. The scoreboard packed up, along with the lights I think just before half-time. The food stalls ran out of food. Several times I thought that the big planes surging out of the ground behind the southern hill weren't going to make it. At half time, even as the announcer requested that no-one go on the field, dozens of kids were streaming over the fence. There were about six announcements 'reminding' them to get off, all to no avail. The teams didn't leave the ground, having their half-time meetings out in front of us as the kids kick-to-kicked around them. Dogs streamed across the hill. The game was cut short because of the lights, the players shook hands, unwound strapping, the kids streamed onto the ground, and suddenly everyone was back in position and the game restarted. Poor Settlefield came up the race just in front of us in a world of pain and grief. No-one deserves that. Schneider is coaching for GWS (Didn't know that ?and I see that Aamon B and Jason Saddington are also involved).

So, roll on the season. We have a useful-looking group, with some quality cattle to come back. I hope that Hannebery's body isn't too broken. I forget how young he is, really, and how much football he's played.

[rojo]

Thanks ORB. Really appreciate your report and observations. Oh to be reminded of 'grass-roots-like' footy. Did the live stream come back online I wonder!! I suspect not!

[longmile]

I was lucky enough to have a private entrance from my sons house which backs onto the oval. Had some nice cold long necks and a crisp chardy as the sun went down and the oval settled into near darkness.

The wind was very strong at times and was probably an old fashioned 5 goals worth for much of the 2nd Q (we were opposite the main stand). A few high kicks almost drifted backward!

Sinclair looked raring to go. Naismith good in the first half. Florent looked useful although perhaps he stood out because I was trying to work out who 53 was. Allir was a mixture of promising brilliance and embarrassing stuff ups. I noticed Rose a lot. Running near the ball but rarely getting it. Mexican, Newman, Towers, Hewett all seemed solid enough but I always mix them up. The boys were super pleased when Stoddart kicked his goal. Fox seemed useful enough.

It was great to be able to hear the players talking to each other. Rampe directing traffic: 'Lloydy! Keep moving!' Lloyd just stayed where he was.

Sounds like a beautiful evening Bodgie

[liz]

For those who couldn't get to Henson Park, or watch the stream live, the Swans now have each quarter up on their website, including the mysterious fourth period that was played almost as an afterthought. Mind you, the video for that is just a blank screen. Not sure if that reflects the fact they played the game in the dark, that they didn't actually record it, or that it is just a temporary technical glitch. Hopefully the last.

[TheMase]

For those who couldn't get to Henson Park, or watch the stream live, the Swans now have each quarter up on their website, including the mysterious fourth period that was played almost as an afterthought. Mind you, the video for that is just a blank screen. Not sure if that reflects the fact they played the game in the dark, that they didn't actually record it, or that it is just a temporary technical glitch. Hopefully the last.

I had the same problem with the Swans site Liz. I watched the 4th quarter on the GWS website, though it was largely uneventful (no goals scored).

[Scottee]

I just want to say that I thought Ryley looked a very likely type.I am on the bandwagon.

Also Ben Ronke showed great skill with his dribble goal, which seemed very deliberate. I will be keeping an eye on him too.Could be a real surprise packet, especially now that he has bulked up a bit.

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[Ludwig]

We've only had a small slice of competitive footy to go on, but it's all looking very good a month out from the season's start.

1. Rampe is looking very sharp. I hope we do give him a bit more freedom to operate off the halfback line.
2. Sam Reid is looking fit and sharp, as is Rohan, who played very aggressively all game. He can be a real weapon when he attacks the player with ball coming at such pace.
3. Both Lloyd and Hewett coming off excellent seasons looking to take it to another level this year. Hewett has been a real workhorse showing up all over the ground.
4. Despite missing many targets by foot, Cunningham seems intent on fixing his weaknesses of lack of involvement and physicality. He's made a point of being in a lot of the play, using his pace and tacking well.
5. Towers also looks intent on holding his spot in the side with a more physical and active game.
6. Melican was very solid, picking up from where he left off last year.
7. If Aliir can keep his error rate down, he can be a game changer with the ability to break the game open.
8. Naismith seems fit and doing well in the ruck.
9. McCartin looks to be a great 2nd round pick. He was far from unnoticed and could have easily gone earlier. It's hard to find top quality key forwards with pace and endurance. He could well be one of the big finds in the draft.
10. The little we saw of Stoddart was quite encouraging. Runs hard and kicks well. Looks like the high draft pick he was expected to be. Nice get at pick 53.
11. I don't know what Ling's injury is, but the word from Hanners is that he was looking sharp before the injury.
12. So this just might be yet another solid draft for us.
13. We were missing half of our usual midfield and it was hardly noticeable. Heeney, Mills, Jones and Hanners still to come.

Our skills were off, but that's normal for this time of year. Nonetheless, we looked fit and ready to play. We don't seem to have too many injuries and the ones we do have don't sound too serious, although I wouldn't mind getting some news on Dawson and Ling. Dawson would be one we would expect to seriously challenge for a senior spot this season given that he was our best reserves player last year.


PS: I agree with The Runner and Liz on the current game. I've watched a number of those classic finals from the 70s and even the best games looked drab compared to the modern game.