#AFL Rd19 Bombers v Swans, Docklands, 27 July 2018

[Markwebbos]

We follow a team so we have bias because that is the team we watch the most and we do t tend to watch opposition teams week in week out

I’m interested in which playersfrom the bombers team would u like to have at the Swans

There are some seriously exciting players in the bombers team

Yes if ever a team was going to make a young Swans team look slow and old it’s the Bombers.

I’d love to have some of these at the Swans:

Hurley
Hooker
McKenna
Saad
McGrath
Heppell
Smith
Tippinwuti (apologies re: spelling)
Orazio
Merrett
Bellchambers
Daniher

That’s off the top of my head!

[TopEndSwan]

Jones has been offered two weeks for rough conduct against Kyle Langford. Damn. He's been given a fine for the incident before the start of the game.

Who comes in for him?

[Markwebbos]

Stoddart? Too soon for Rohan

It’s possible Jack or McVeigh may return. So could be some shuffling of the deck chairs

[MattW]

Stoddart? Too soon for Rohan

It’s possible Jack or McVeigh may return. So could be some shuffling of the deck chairs

I don't think Stoddart has played a full reserves game for several weeks. Marsh is a likely candidate. Might be a bit of shuffling in the backline. O'Riordan played low minutes and was rested forward. Grundy was 'crook' according to Longmire.

I'm still hopeful Johnno gets a game. Might give us a boost. Certainly, we're in need of leaders like him.

Separately, I've been really disappointed in Jones this season. He hasn't developed the mental side of his game as much as I thought. He still cracks under pressure, with anger or errors. He's exactly the age group we need to take more responsibility, but he hasn't.

[Blue Sun]

Just watching the Richmond and Collingwood game, and it’s clear that the Swans are umpired to a completely different set of rules. Riewoldt was allowed to man handle his opponent, push and throw him around with no free. If that was Buddy or Rampe, there would have been an immediate whistle.

I really wish the Swans coaching staff would put together a compilation of incorrect calls that go against us. Extreme one-sided umpiring can absolutely determine the result of matches. I’m not saying that was the case last night, but it certainly didn’t help.

[giant]

It's hard to estimate the impact that 2 consecutive 6 day breaks had on top of a long injury list, but it did expose that some of our younger players are not well drilled at playing at this level and hang on to the ball too long, can't stick or break out of tackles and often kick or tap the ball on blindly.

It also exposed the poor physical presence of a range of players.

I'm hoping for the best, but we do look finished for the season.

We are we need to get cracking and find a really good strong quick midfielder or 2 because Hayward and Florent may not develop in that role.

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All good points. We might complain about the free kick count, but one of the reasons was they stuck their tackles, we didn't do ours. Where is our Jemaine Jones (the Cats player who came in and had 13 tackles against us the other day)?

[Sandrevan]

I have cooled down after last night. I can't see us winning another game for 2018. To be honest, I wasn't expecting a win but was a bit hopeful at 3/4 time. For any team to be defending so desperately for much of the game I think the players are just physically and mentally worn out. If you cannot get the ball past the centre square because you keep turning it over you're never going to be in a winning position. Since the bye, our opponents have had a flood of F50 entries but kicked poorly. The score lines (with the exception of last night) haven't been that bad but only because of poor conversion. In some ways these results make us look 'competitive' but a closer look at other stats make us look very ordinary.
The Swans heavy contested style of play is exhausting and easy to pick apart. We need to take the game on, move the ball quickly. Richmond are doing that to great effect - they never hesitate, they just keep the ball moving forward and they are always moving - looking for space. We always hesitate with ball in hand; too many times we were caught for HTB when there was a clear opportunity to dispose of the ball. When we take a mark in the back half of the ground we stop and wait - this simply lets the opposition get organised.

The era of the old swans game plan is over. I don't want us to make the finals this year. If we do, the club will say our game plan is still ok. The only way we'll get a new game plan is to miss the finals and shock the club into a bit of self reflection. It worked really well for Richmond and Collingwood.


We might be accused of tanking but we need to play fit players. May I suggest we rotate players so they can be rested eg JPK and Parker. However, Longmire will never do this. We're cooked for 2018 so lets be a bit kind to our sore and injured players.

[chalbilto]

Jones has been offered two weeks for rough conduct against Kyle Langford. Damn. He's been given a fine for the incident before the start of the game.

Who comes in for him?

He certainly deserved 2 weeks. I hope that he thinks long and hard about his reckless actions and gets the angry ant out of his repertoire as well as his brain fades.

[AB Swannie]

Is there a missed tackle or broken tackle statistic available anywhere?

[Blood Fever]

Jones has been offered two weeks for rough conduct against Kyle Langford. Damn. He's been given a fine for the incident before the start of the game.

Who comes in for him?

Harsh penalty even if he goes over the top too often. Walker got one week for a worse hit against Toohey.

[stevoswan]

Just watching the Richmond and Collingwood game, and it’s clear that the Swans are umpired to a completely different set of rules. Riewoldt was allowed to man handle his opponent, push and throw him around with no free. If that was Buddy or Rampe, there would have been an immediate whistle.

I really wish the Swans coaching staff would put together a compilation of incorrect calls that go against us. Extreme one-sided umpiring can absolutely determine the result of matches. I’m not saying that was the case last night, but it certainly didn’t help.

We have any momentum we have built up in a game taken from us so many times it is ridiculous. Energy sapping and mentally exhausting....it has a huge bearing on the result. I think it is safe to say if we were umpired strictly 50/50 with no bias, we would have won far more games, ended up higher on the ladder in a number of recent seasons and also have another premiership to our name.

If we don't think that the players know this by now and that it is affecting them mentally and in turn physically...... I think we are deluding ourselves. What can the club do about it? Probably not much....I think they are fully aware of the leagues attitude towards us and feel powerless. Maybe a very strategic and private approach to the league, backed up with well compiled video evidence is needed. I believe that evidence brief would be very comprehensive....there's so much of it available. The Buddy treatment alone would make a very thick dossier. I don't think the club can sit back and do nothing any longer.....we seem to have had our 'papers stamped' and the club, the players and our fans shouldn't have to put up with it anymore.

- - - Updated - - -

Harsh penalty even if he goes over the top too often. Walker got one week for a worse hit against Toohey.

'Tex' Walker v Zac Jones.....you do the math.

[Scottee]

Yep. The double six-day break on top of too many weeks with an over-representation of young players in the team. Key experienced players - Jack, Hannebery and Grundy - have hit the wall. McVeigh has missed games. Reid and Melican have missed the season. Mills has missed most of it.

With those important players out or dropping off, we've left too much to guys who are still young or not quite good enough. Yep, Tommy McCartin needs a break. Florent and Hayward are showing strain and their form has dipped quite a bit. O'Riordan hasn't quite looked up to it the last fortnight. Fox and Newman are not best 22 (although weren't the worst tonight).

The load is also affecting our remaining older players. Buddy is playing injured and needs a break. Joey and Parker look beaten up. Rampe and Smith are being beaten more often than not.

So our confidence is down and we are not playing well as a team. We're also not going hard at it. Minus 52 possessions and minus 18 tackles tonight. Only 3 forward 50 tackles (they had 20). No pressure, outrun. Conceding free men everywhere, carved up on the break, stodgy moving forward.

I can't see where the relief comes either. It looks a long final month.

I think you hit the nail on the head with the forward 50 tackles. Can't win matches that way.

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[Duck boy]

While we aren't playing good right now, we are still top 8 just outside the four. We managed to turn it around from worse than this last year. We got some injures, and our kicking in the forward half has been ordinary all year, but I'll back the players to tutn it around. A few of those fringe players like Fox Newman and Towers are out of form, but we know how well they can play if they can find a bit of form add in the progress of young guys like Dawson, Ronke, O'Roidan and Allir, I think there's alot reasons to think we can make a good run at. Not sure we can drop too many as we've only half dozen odd players in the 2s.

[crackedactor]

Just watching the Richmond and Collingwood game, and it’s clear that the Swans are umpired to a completely different set of rules. Riewoldt was allowed to man handle his opponent, push and throw him around with no free. If that was Buddy or Rampe, there would have been an immediate whistle.

I really wish the Swans coaching staff would put together a compilation of incorrect calls that go against us. Extreme one-sided umpiring can absolutely determine the result of matches. I’m not saying that was the case last night, but it certainly didn’t help.

Coaching staff have already approached the AFL and they suggested a conspiracy issue is involved with the Swans. Of course It gets laughedoff by the Bias press. Yes Riewoldt does it, showing greatstrength. Rampe, Grundy does it it's interference

[Nico]

Amazing comment by the Horse. I really believe that is a big minus for the swans. He his the best forward of the last 20 years. And Horse stuffs him up ?? WTF is going on in our club.

This is Buddy's last top earning year (according to Liam Pickering). Maybe there is something in his contract that says he must play a certain number of games. Also they may have to massage the salary cap regards players on a base plus match payments. With players on set contracts sitting on the sidelines we might be very tight on the cap.