Pre-season 2020

[dimelb]

Thanks again. Actually, maybe they've started calling it Bus Stop Oval? Perhaps to distinguish it from the "proper" Lakeside? Maybe they'll come up with an altogether fresh name now that it's had a makeover. Time will tell.

I don't know about the club, but lots of the punters do already!

[Aaron]

I think it is called Tramway Oval now.

[bloodspirit]

Well, the team was there training this morning. All the kids plus... Buddy!

There were a few non-listed players in the mix including Hebron, Bartholomaeus and Aidyn Johnson. I didn't see Taylor or Gray or Brand yet. I suppose they'll turn up in two weeks with the rest of the main group.

The players ran a 2km time trial. Buddy didn't participate. They set off in three groups staggered maybe 15 seconds apart. One of the best performers was Michael Knoll! He started in the last group, with some other tall types but he left his group behind and had pretty much caught up to the group ahead of him by the end. Conversely, Amartey was slow and came last by a long margin. Sadly I was distracted as they finished and didn't see the finish of the 2km. But I made inquiries and gleaned that Dawson came first! That guy is a star. I reckon he's going to have an even bigger year this year than last and really announce himself to the competition. There's nothing he can't do: super kick, great mark, good tank, big body, play back, play forward, play on ball. Apart from Dawson, Clarke ran second (no surprises there) and, impressively, Zac Foot came third.

Barry O'Connor was there. He was struggling a little to keep up in the time trial. His cheek was going very red - might be a bit of a genetic thing more than suggesting he's not as fit as the rest.

I didn't watch everyone, or really closely, but the snippets I saw of Blakey impressed me - he seemed really switched on. Stoddart looked like he has bulked up a smidge but probably is still building. Hayward and Florent both look a fair bit more solid now they are in their 4th year.

Otherwise, I had a fantastic chat with Tom Harley where he was really forthcoming (and this is how I came to be distracted for the end of the time trial). We covered a few things not all of which I will put here but a few salient points:

* Taylor is going to play a fair bit in the midfield
* Gray and Ronke may be competing for one spot forward.
* The club definitely sees a future for Ronke (and I have previously noticed Horse include Ronke when talking about our group of promising young players).
* Taylor and Gray were recruited not so much for their role as small forwards (Harley says people sometimes tend to put too much emphasis on a player's role) as because they are good players who are a bit more seasoned (both about 100 games)
* Gray's recruitment spelled the end for Menzel - Gray just had better exposed form over the past few years, he's only missed 4 or 5 games in the past few seasons
* They don't see Foot so much as a small forward (like Ronke, Gray, Wicks, Hayward) but more playing a role a bit higher up the ground.
* If Tom Green is still on the board at pick 5 at the draft, we will bid on him. We expect GWS to match.
* We reckon there is a substantial difference between pick 5 and pick 9 (despite reports that after the top 2 it evens out) and that is why we were unwilling to give up pick 5. We are excited about the player we are going to get.
* We don't necessarily expect to play finals this year
* A little differently to the past, we are building our list organically and from within and by player retention rather than through big name recruits. We are optimistic that the current group will continue to improve until hopefully we contend for a flag.
* The club places a huge emphasis on keeping the players happy which is both about salary and welfare. A big part of welfare is keeping close to the parents. Currently John Longmire and Dennis Carroll are spending a week travelling all around Australia to visit the players' parents. Right now they're in Adelaide. (Hello Mr & Mrs Hayward, Mr & Mrs Hewett, Dawson etc.)
* The club tends to avoid commenting too much in the media and recognise they haven't been that open about what they do and they are looking to tweak this approach. Harley said the club is content with the trade period but concedes they lost 'the PR battle'.
* Harley thinks the younger players are happy to be more open with the media and the club is willing to be a bit more daring in this space while still protecting the players. Harley says the main ways he tries to communicate with fans are via 3 letters to members per year and 3 webinars (one of which is coming up later this week).
* Trade period is overhyped. The clubs that tend to "win" are the clubs near the bottom who have cap space, whereas the more successful clubs don't do too much (Richmond, Collingwood, Geelong; although West Coast did well to trade in Kelly).

All in all, I'm so glad I stopped by to check out training today.

[Blood Fever]

Great informative post BS. I'm glad you dropped by as well! Your post should be circulated to all Swan fans and will be referred back to many times during next season.

[jono2707]

Thanks BS - some super insights there, and so much more valuable than the constant streams of misinformation, suppositions and fantasies masquerading as facts that we've had to endure over the last month or two.

[gumby_bolts]

Watch out Adam Curley. Great post BS!

[Mark26]

A huge thanks BS for your detailed post. No doubt I'll reread it several times. Exciting times ahead for our club!

[Markwebbos]

Thanks BS that one was even more informative than the one in the trading thread.

Especially interested in what he said about building the list.

I can’t wait to hear what he had to say to you about Joe Daniher!

[magic.merkin]

Ta, did he have any word/reasoning on Cody's delisting?

[Aprilbr]

The press conference from Gardiner suggested that pick 5 may have been informally offered to Essendon if it would get the Daniher deal done but they said no and wanted a young Swans star. This comment seems to conflict a little with what Tom said to you. I might ask the question in the webinar with Tom on Thursday to get to the bottom of what actually was offered.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

[Markwebbos]

Did Buddy have more groin surgery? The Hun seems to think so

Category: | Herald Sun

"Lance Franklin, fresh from off-season groin surgery, surprised the Swans’ kids by hitting the track with them today. Buddy looked athletic and agile, the Swans posting an impressive video on Twitter."

Sydney Swans on Twitter: ".@Buddy_Franklin ???????? #ProudlySydney… "

[bloodspirit]

Just to answer posters questions re my chat with TH

RE: JD

I didn't press him. He only commented that Damien Barrett's most recent article on the topic was pretty close to the truth (but still not 100% e.g. embellishment about JD wearing a hoodie and cap). He expressed sympathy for JD this season. I didn't ask whether we'd chase him again in a year.

RE: Cody Hirst

Didn't come up.

Re Pick 5

He clearly said to me they were never considering trading it at all. He was pretty decisive on this point.

[707]

Fantastic post Bloodspirit, many thanks.

Great effort by Dawson who isn't a noted runner to beat Clarke who is a running machine. Added another string to his bow after such an exciting break through season. I know running power doesn't make a quality footballer out of you but if you've got all the other attributes and can also run all day, yes please.

Buddy, just such a professional turning up on day one with the kids. Fingers crossed he has an uninterupted preseason, could be back to his sublime best.

Disappointing by Amartey if his last placing is indicative of coming back unfit, a bloke hanging onto a rookie spot by his fingernails needs to tick every box.

Who will pick 5 be?

[O'Reilly Boy]

Thanks so much for this report. Just amazing. You've given us some terrific insights and context. I'm particularly interest in Harley's observation that there is sometimes too much focus on a player's role: the eternal tension between 'structure' and 'putting the best 22 on the field'. Anyway, your post is more nourishing and satisfying, and does more to whet the appetite for 2020, than all the breathless blatherings of the AFL media machine over the past couple of months..
Did you let on to TH that you are a key informant for RedandWhiteOnline?

[bloodspirit]

Did you let on to TH that you are a key informant for RedandWhiteOnline?

Not explicitly. I made reference to talking to other fans and I shared with him "our" views about some issues. Naturally, I was selective with whose views I represented!