Round 7 Vs Gold Coast Sun

[Ludwig]

It's not that they were off. Florent was poor after a hot start to the year, but Rowbottom was still impressive.

They just can not and will not have big impact on games. Rowbum just can't find the footy, is nearly up to 20 games and has only had one big-possession game. For an inside mid, the writing is on the wall, while Florent can't be relied on to deliver consistently.

It will be fun to look back on this post in a couple of years.

[TheBloods]

Re Rowbottom - How long did it take K Jack to start racking up big possession tallies ? JPK ? Parker ? Even ball magnet Tom Mitchell took a while to get going. He’s a second year player, in a young struggling side.Might be a different story if he was playing in a team that was going very well and had a decent tap ruckman.

There are enough good signs to suggest he’ll be a very good player for us. Let’s revisit this 2 season from now and see how your assessment of the kid holds up hey ?

Re Ollie: had a good year last year , started the season on fire, and has fallen away badly. Poor patch of form, not lack of talent. Maybe needs a spell on a back flank or something, seemed to work for Hayward. Maybe even chuck him forward ( worked for Allir! )


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Rowbottom will be a player for us, but he will not be a big contributor. He'll likely follow Hewett's trajectory, minus the tagging. If he were ever going to be dominant, we'd have seen glimpses of domination, even in his first 20 games.

[bloodspirit]

I'm not expecting them to be superstars, just that they will be part of our midfield for a long time to come. And they are both solid, good players I'll be glad to have. Who knows if they can become more than that? Not me.

As for Rowbottom, I'm delighted with what he's shown so far. Has more than lived up to my hopes and expectations compared to when we drafted him.

[bloodspirit]

While we don't have the quantity of elite young players that some clubs do, I'm pretty optimistic about our future thanks to our developing talent. We have drafted well in recent years and I'd rather have our list than some others e.g. Hawthorn. Clarko has confidence in their list but time will tell which drafting strategy works out.

Zak Jones has been a costly loss. Will be devastating if we lose Papley. Really hope we can persuade him to stay a one club player.

[TheBloods]

I'm not expecting them to be superstars, just that they will be part of our midfield for a long time to come. And they are both solid, good players I'll be glad to have. Who knows if they can become more than that? Not me.

As for Rowbottom, I'm delighted with what he's shown so far. Has more than lived up to my hopes and expectations compared to when we drafted him.

I like your optimism bloodspirit, but we need a superstar in our midfield for the future. Think Bont, Dangerfield, Neale, Tim Kelly, Dusty.. how will we ever be a contender with just good, solid players?? Need a superstar and I don't see one among our next generation. It's a concern .

[bloodspirit]

I like your optimism bloodspirit, but we need a superstar in our midfield for the future. Think Bont, Dangerfield, Neale, Tim Kelly, Dusty.. how will we ever be a contender with just good, solid players?? Need a superstar and I don't see one among our next generation. It's a concern .

I agree it would be great to have a superstar. But how to get one? Let's make our draft picks this year count. I have faith in our recruiters. Montgomery (is that his name? I'm having a premature senior's moment. The guy we got from the Bulldogs. I have a feeling that's not it.) has a good track record with high draft picks, better than KB even. Together I'm backing them in.

[Melbourne_Blood]

I agree it would be great to have a superstar. But how to get one? Let's make our draft picks this year count. I have faith in our recruiters. Montgomery (is that his name? I'm having a premature senior's moment. The guy we got from the Bulldogs. I have a feeling that's not it.) has a good track record with high draft picks, better than KB even. Together I'm backing them in.

Simon Dalrymple


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[TheBloods]

I agree it would be great to have a superstar. But how to get one? Let's make our draft picks this year count. I have faith in our recruiters. Montgomery (is that his name? I'm having a premature senior's moment. The guy we got from the Bulldogs. I have a feeling that's not it.) has a good track record with high draft picks, better than KB even. Together I'm backing them in.

He drafted Rowbottom and Warner.

[Ralph Dawg]

I like your optimism bloodspirit, but we need a superstar in our midfield for the future. Think Bont, Dangerfield, Neale, Tim Kelly, Dusty.. how will we ever be a contender with just good, solid players?? Need a superstar and I don't see one among our next generation. It's a concern .

I totally agree and don't see any of our young midfielders becoming an elite mid. Once JPK retires, it will be Parks and a big gap to the next best. That's why Heeney and Mills need to be moved into the midfield. Mills provide the toughness in tight that JPK provides and Heeney to provide the burst of brilliance from the stoppages. They are both excellent in their current roles but to win a flag, you need a dominant midfield. Perhaps Campbell and Gulden might become elite mids in time?

[TheBloods]

I totally agree and don't see any of our young midfielders becoming an elite mid. Once JPK retires, it will be Parks and a big gap to the next best. That's why Heeney and Mills need to be moved into the midfield. Mills provide the toughness in tight that JPK provides and Heeney to provide the burst of brilliance from the stoppages. They are both excellent in their current roles but to win a flag, you need a dominant midfield. Perhaps Campbell and Gulden might become elite mids in time?

Campbell and Gulden are dwarves aren't they ? If Rowbottom as a big bodied mid can't star as a midfielder I doubt they will. Perhaps Stephen will go inside and the two academy boys can take a wing each. Could Dyl be our glimmer of hope?

[bloodspirit]

I totally agree and don't see any of our young midfielders becoming an elite mid. Once JPK retires, it will be Parks and a big gap to the next best. That's why Heeney and Mills need to be moved into the midfield. Mills provide the toughness in tight that JPK provides and Heeney to provide the burst of brilliance from the stoppages. They are both excellent in their current roles but to win a flag, you need a dominant midfield. Perhaps Campbell and Gulden might become elite mids in time?

Maybe you've solved the problem right there. Once their successors in attack and defence are groomed, maybe they'll move into the midfield and be our superstars? Although can't see them ever reaching levels of Dusty/Nat/Bont etc.

Not every team has a superstar, not even every flag winner. We didn't (in '05 or '12). Debatable even whether the Hawks did. Mitchell comes close. Lewis was not. Hodge, for mine, was a more of a super captain and just a very good player. (I'd put Parker on the same level as a player.) Rioli no better than Papley.

I think our list can be good enough. We've had a superstar the past seven seasons and it didn't net us a flag. Some even say our superstar cost us success.

[Markwebbos]

I think it’s insane to judge any player after 20 games. Or to expect them all to be another Matt Rowell / Sam Walsh. I see that Sam Walsh had come in for criticism over his poor disposal recently.

If you look at the players who won / did not win the Rising Star, there are plenty of players who took more than 20 games to blossom or who were something of a false dawn, Lewis Taylor being one of them.

Not sure what’s going on with Ollie, is it possible he’s now being tagged?

I understand everyone’s concern re: our midfield as it’s a major weakness and no signs of a solution (other than that bloke playing in defence).

We’ve been incredibly lucky in turning up elite midfielders from relatively low draft picks or cheapish players from other clubs (Hanners, Parker, JPK, Jack etc) I don’t know if our struggles recently reflect some or all of drafting, development / coaching, game plan, age profile, ruck “troubles” or the fact we are losing and used to win?

There were more than a few games in 2016 when our midfield was down, with the exception of Tom Mitchell ... and the problem has persisted but become more noticeable since then.

[dimelb]

I don't understand the criticism of Rowbottom. I see him as vigorous, a fast mover, strong (and will get stronger) and determined. Finesse may not be obvious, although I have occasionally asked myself 'How did he do that?' I'm glad we got him.

[Aprilbr]

Interesting to read the various insights into our midfield. In 2016 we had one of the best midfields in the game but then we lost Mitchell, and Hanners fell off a cliff due to injury. The rest got a little older.

When I watch the current batch I see a lot of promise but inconsistency which tends to be a trait of youth. I also still feel we are striving for a game plan and team structure that suits our list. Tactics seem to change from week to week and some players like Allir and Haywood are being tried in unfamiliar positions. The spate of injuries in the past two seasons has meant that we have struggled to put anything like our best team on the park to enable us to get some momentum.

I feel that our drafting and trading since 2016 has been a mixed bag. Some gems in there but some duds or ones unlikely to ever make it. The 2017 Draft now looks like it was a shocker for us. Ling went No. 14 and we all know about his issues. The only one out of that group who looks like a win is McCartin. 2018 was better with Blakey and Rowbottom wins although I think Blakey needs a rest as he is really struggling. 2019 is too early to tell but I love the look of Stephens who is a classy mover. The experienced players that we have drafted in recent years have tended to be fringe players elsewhere and it shows. Out of that lot Clarke is serviceable but that's about it. Gray is very disappointing although I haven't given up on Taylor and Brand just yet.

Yesterday we played some guys who are probably not quite ready for the big league such as Warner and Thomas. In past times when we had a stronger more mature list they would have spent the season the NEAFL learning the Swans way. We don't have that luxury these days.

In sum, I think that 2020 like 2019 is a re-build year. We are likely to have a very early draft pick again and will hopefully pick up a couple of academy stars in addition. While I would love to keep Papley, I suspect that he will again asked to be traded to a Melbourne Club. If this happens he would be worth a top 10 draft pick in return. So we should boost our list considerably with young talent at year's end. Priorities will be midfield, ruck and a future key forward.


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[TheBloods]

I think it’s insane to judge any player after 20 games. Or to expect them all to be another Matt Rowell / Sam Walsh. I see that Sam Walsh had come in for criticism over his poor disposal recently.

If you look at the players who won / did not win the Rising Star, there are plenty of players who took more than 20 games to blossom or who were something of a false dawn, Lewis Taylor being one of them.

Not sure what’s going on with Ollie, is it possible he’s now being tagged?

I understand everyone’s concern re: our midfield as it’s a major weakness and no signs of a solution (other than that bloke playing in defence).

We’ve been incredibly lucky in turning up elite midfielders from relatively low draft picks or cheapish players from other clubs (Hanners, Parker, JPK, Jack etc) I don’t know if our struggles recently reflect some or all of drafting, development / coaching, game plan, age profile, ruck “troubles” or the fact we are losing and used to win?

There were more than a few games in 2016 when our midfield was down, with the exception of Tom Mitchell ... and the problem has persisted but become more noticeable since then.

It is not just Rowell and Walsh. There are many other kids in other teams finding the ball a lot easier than Rowbottom. When he has the ball he's great , plays like a 200 gamer. But a 15-20 possession inside midfielder will not have a big impact on the game. Wasn't he averaging 30 odd touches and a goal in the twos ?? He's averaging about half of that so he hasn't found the step up in intensity easy by the looks of it. That's a worry.

Florent was just lazy yesterday but plays with belief. Perhaps complacency got the better of him?? Had a hot start to the year so thought he could just turn up and his form would follow. Part of the learning curve for young Ollie. At least he can find the football .