Pre-season 2020

[liz]

Family ties could see another speed demon land at Swans - AFL.com.au

I didn't think U18 draftees were permitted to train at clubs ahead of the drafts, but maybe there's a different rule if players didn't score a draft combine invite. The younger Florent played in the Sandringham Dragons NAB League game against the Swans academy team because it happened while most of their first choice players were playing state level trial games. I can't say he stood out, but sounds like he's viewed as a late developer, maybe partly due to lack of opportunities.

[Markwebbos]

Sydney Swans forward Nick Blakey says Lance Franklin is a scary prospect for AFL rivals in 2020

Category: | Herald Sun

One week into pre-season and Sydney young gun Nick Blakey has seen enough of superstar forward Lance Franklin to issue a warning to the rest of the AFL.

“Scary” is Nick Blakey’s assessment of the impact Lance Franklin can have in 2020 — and that’s after barely a week on the training track. The bulk of the Swans’ senior squad is not due back until next Monday, but Franklin is already getting the kilometres into his legs, having reported back a fortnight early. For now, he is continuing to follow his individual training program but Blakey says a combination of hitting the ground running and a desire to put last year’s individual and team disappointments behind him, means Franklin has the bit between his teeth.

[Mark26]

Sydney Swans forward Nick Blakey says Lance Franklin is a scary prospect for AFL rivals in 2020

Category: | Herald Sun

One week into pre-season and Sydney young gun Nick Blakey has seen enough of superstar forward Lance Franklin to issue a warning to the rest of the AFL.

“Scary” is Nick Blakey’s assessment of the impact Lance Franklin can have in 2020 — and that’s after barely a week on the training track. The bulk of the Swans’ senior squad is not due back until next Monday, but Franklin is already getting the kilometres into his legs, having reported back a fortnight early. For now, he is continuing to follow his individual training program but Blakey says a combination of hitting the ground running and a desire to put last year’s individual and team disappointments behind him, means Franklin has the bit between his teeth.

Let's hope that Buddy stays on the track and is injury free for the year. It's early days, but I'm happy to be an optimist. Maybe I'm dreaming, but the thought of Buddy in beast mode has me excited!

[O'Reilly Boy]

How Goddard gets a gig in the HS is farcical. Ill tempered and selfish player and very ordinary analyst. Surely there's someone better but a number of Victorian nuffies will hang on every word,

I'm not so surprised by the analysis, given the turn-over our defence in recent years, and the lack of experience we now field in the back half. We have to admit that while Rampe is A Grade, Aliir is still emerging (50 career games; and was forced to spend time in the ruck), and Mellican (37 career games) had a rough season coming back from injury into a team that was under the hammer.

Reid and McCartin (34 games) have added a bit of size when needed, but not stability. Lloyd is solid, and we know that there are question marks over where Mills should be playing. O'Riordan is still in very early days (15 games), and Dawson is a cracker (25 games), for sure. I had been expecting Maibaum to step up into a KPD role, and he may still be redrafted, although picking up Brand may be a factor there (he seems to bring some great Hawthornesque kicking skills). Thurlow was not that impressive and I think will struggle to get a run.

At the same time, percentage does not lie: the defence held up amazingly last year, and there is every reason to expect that over the next couple of seasons they will gel into a very strong unit, particularly if Stoddard and Ling can find their way onto the HB flank to add some zip.

A back half with three mobile talls, Lloyd building into Macca's backfield general role, Dawson as Malceski-like distributor, and a quick flanker, given some solid time together, will quickly become a force to be reckoned with.

[stevoswan]

A bit of a look at pre season so far: Inside Sydney - Episode 1 - sydneyswans.com.au

Zac Foote features a bit, there's a bit of a chat with Sam Gray, there's dietician stuff and quite a bit of 'shirts off' footage Annie H!

[sprite]

I'm not so surprised by the analysis, given the turn-over our defence in recent years, and the lack of experience we now field in the back half. We have to admit that while Rampe is A Grade, Aliir is still emerging (50 career games; and was forced to spend time in the ruck), and Mellican (37 career games) had a rough season coming back from injury into a team that was under the hammer.

Reid and McCartin (34 games) have added a bit of size when needed, but not stability. Lloyd is solid, and we know that there are question marks over where Mills should be playing. O'Riordan is still in very early days (15 games), and Dawson is a cracker (25 games), for sure. I had been expecting Maibaum to step up into a KPD role, and he may still be redrafted, although picking up Brand may be a factor there (he seems to bring some great Hawthornesque kicking skills). Thurlow was not that impressive and I think will struggle to get a run.

At the same time, percentage does not lie: the defence held up amazingly last year, and there is every reason to expect that over the next couple of seasons they will gel into a very strong unit, particularly if Stoddard and Ling can find their way onto the HB flank to add some zip.

A back half with three mobile talls, Lloyd building into Macca's backfield general role, Dawson as Malceski-like distributor, and a quick flanker, given some solid time together, will quickly become a force to be reckoned with.

Agree with most of this analysis.

Where I differ is in who is the person for Macca's role, Mills is the one I see being developed here. He may have been a high performing mid in junior days, he is like JPK in that he is one paced and we don't need any more of those types in the mid field where everyone is screaming for more pace. He has the ability to read the play and put himself into the contest like Macca. His only downside seems to be the lack of awareness on the odd occasion where he get run down from behind. His upside is that he can deliver the ball well and is strong overhead.
As for Lloyd, he will continue to the wide receiver, picking up soft possessions. He fails in the ability to get the hard ball and be accountable. is upside is that he can deliver the ball well and over a distance.

[dazedjosh]

I'm with you on this one. I think Mills is perfect in the McVeigh role as a sort of "defensive midfielder". The mistakes Mills makes are generally ones that young players make from time to time. His natural ability in play to control the game and dictate the pace of play from half back is pretty clear and I think Lloyd is a natural assistant to him.
I think Mills played as a lock down small in 2019 to improve his defensive skills with a view to moving him into that McVeigh role so that he would get a better understanding of how the back 6 need to work as a unit. I don't think he'll be a lockdown small for the rest of his career. I think that role will be open to some of our fringe guys like Thurlow or COR who could use the opportunity to lock down a starting spot in our lineup for the next few years. COR's run off halfback might be more valuable than his defensive nous, so I think Thurlow might be the prime candidate to take over the Nick Smith role.

[stevoswan]

I see Goddard rates our defence as 16th best in the league. Love to see Rampe and friends make him look like the goose he is in 2020!

Goddard possesses that aggressive personality type that you don't want to be on the wrong side of.....he holds grudges. His grudge with us is our last kick victory over them in 2017 that was largely his fault. Accept responsibility Brendon and move on.....you're bias is obvious.

[dazedjosh]

I think most pundits will rate our various lines pretty low before the start of the season. We've lost a lot of big names and we don't share much with the press. On paper, most of the names don't jump out at anyone. I think by the end of the 2020 season, those ratings will have changed as I think we're shaping up for a Brisbane Lions style jump thanks to our kids, but right now, I can understand why a lot of people are rating us lower than we think we deserve.

It will just make it all the sweeter when play Finals next year.

[Markwebbos]

I think most pundits will rate our various lines pretty low before the start of the season. We've lost a lot of big names and we don't share much with the press. On paper, most of the names don't jump out at anyone. I think by the end of the 2020 season, those ratings will have changed as I think we're shaping up for a Brisbane Lions style jump thanks to our kids, but right now, I can understand why a lot of people are rating us lower than we think we deserve.

It will just make it all the sweeter when play Finals next year.

Brisbane's jump was also off the back of the acquisition of Lyons and Neale. I think we'll miss again in 2020

[Ralph Dawg]

I watched the video the club released yesterday which outlines the start of the preseason. Zac Foote features prominently and looks absolutely ripped. He made the comment to the dietician that he hasn't been drinking in the off season and his overall demeanour is of a young guy who wants to make an impact this year.

Not making any wild predictions as his first year was very up and down but I hope he plays well enough to get some senior game time this year. Certainly if attitude is anything to go by, he's a chance.

[dazedjosh]

Yeah he seemed to put up some decent season numbers in the NEAFL, but they definitely fluctuated a fair bit. Zac FOOT | Players | Season | NEAFL

If he could produce consistently this year it would be great to see him get his debut.

[Ludwig]

I'm with you on this one. I think Mills is perfect in the McVeigh role as a sort of "defensive midfielder". The mistakes Mills makes are generally ones that young players make from time to time. His natural ability in play to control the game and dictate the pace of play from half back is pretty clear and I think Lloyd is a natural assistant to him.
I think Mills played as a lock down small in 2019 to improve his defensive skills with a view to moving him into that McVeigh role so that he would get a better understanding of how the back 6 need to work as a unit. I don't think he'll be a lockdown small for the rest of his career. I think that role will be open to some of our fringe guys like Thurlow or COR who could use the opportunity to lock down a starting spot in our lineup for the next few years. COR's run off halfback might be more valuable than his defensive nous, so I think Thurlow might be the prime candidate to take over the Nick Smith role.

Early in his career there was talk about Nick Smith moving into the midfield. He came to be a great lock down defender simply by the passage of time and the sacrifice of his natural game, until he became too good to replace in that lock down role.

It's not clear if we have anyone on our list who fits that Nick Smith role. We may not even use that lock down specialist in the current generation of the team. Fox played quite will through the final weeks of the season as small defender and although most of us think of him as a fringe player, he could find a spot in defence. Right now, it seems like O'Riordan might be given that role. We have a lot of outside speedy players coming through, like Stoddart and Ling, who might be good matchups for opposition small forwards, yet also have the pace and kicking power to provide rebound out of defence.

Thurlow was my big disappointment from last year and I've lost a lot of hope that he could come in a play an important part as a 3rd tall defender. He has the height, pace and skill to play that role, but his form was quite poor last year. I don't know what to expect from him in 2020.

I think Mills is a good footballer and would be a good player anywhere he plays. I've been a big proponent of moving him to the midfield for the past 2 years and have been disappointed that this move has yet to materialize. If it came down to who should play defence between Dawson and Mills, I would prefer Dawson as a defender and Mills as a midfielder.

As with any young team, there's a lot of uncertainty for a lot of spots in the side. In defence, I think we have Rampe, Aliir and COR as the foundation and probably Lloyd. We will need another key defender, with Melican and Brand likely to vie for a spot. The last spot could go to anyone, with McCartin, Thurlow, Dawson and Mills all in contention. With the addition of Gray and Taylor, Cunningham will be back in the frame for a small defender, along with both Stoddart and Ling, who I believe we will need in a side that hopes to compete for a premiership.

[dazedjosh]

He came to be a great lock down defender simply by the passage of time and the sacrifice of his natural game, until he became too good to replace in that lock down role.

That's a really good summary of the sort of player that is required for that lockdown role. Somebody who is willing to sacrifice and be anonymous for the good of the team. Now that you mention Fox and Cunningham, I think they would be great fits as they strike me as those sorts of players.

[Markwebbos]

An update on who's injured and who's' flying in preseason

Category: | Herald Sun

The Swans’ senior players will hit the club’s Lakeside Oval training track on November 18, joining the youngsters who have already got a fortnight’s work under their belts.

Superstar forward LANCE FRANKLIN also reported for training two weeks early. Tomorrow will also be the official start of their Sydney journey for new boys LEWIS TAYLOR, SAM GRAY and KAIDEN BRAND, although all three have already been spotted getting some work under their belts with their new teammates...

On the injury front, CALLUM SINCLAIR twice dislocated his shoulder during a July clash which ended his season. He has had a shoulder reconstruction. The off-season also saw SAM REID scheduled for a knee arthroscope and LUKE PARKER had a knee clean-up. All are expected back on Monday although it is expected they will be eased into training.