Changes for Round 10 v Pies

[stevoswan]

On their hour of need, the MC seemed to have turned to this thread for guidance!
Great changes.....Thurlow a slight surprise but my guess is if he (or Melican) doesn't deliver in the next few matches, Gould will soon debut.

[TheBloods]

The treatment of Taylor and Gray is pretty puzzling. Our recycled recruits used to get a solid run in the seniors and a bit of faith shown in them even with a slow start.

Gray and Taylor are the first out every week

That's because they are not just having a slow start. They are regularly in our worst players in losing performances.

[TheBloods]

The optimist in me says Blakey is being managed with a whole lotta footy coming up.

The realist in me says we have a bye after the Pies match so anyone being omitted is being dropped.

[Mel_C]

We should look at resting players who have niggling injuries.

For what it's worth, we have a bye coming up but that's not a real bye because it's only a 7-day break. That bye only seems to exist so we can be switched from the "late" half of a round's fixture to the "early" half. When we play the Giants on August 13, Geelong play Port Adelaide the following day. We have not played either of these sides yet and I'm expecting our next two games in the next fixture block to be against at least one of these sides, possibly both. (I can't work out the Giant's likely next opponents though, they've already played both of these sides and both of the sides that play the following day, North and Brisbane.)

The reason why we have a bye is because we need to quarantine for 14 days in Perth. In that time we are allowed to play the other team that is in the hub (GWS) but we can't play either of the WA teams. So after the GWS game we will play Fremantle and GWS will play the Eagles. After that I'm not sure because we have already played the Eagles. We might stop over in Adelaide and play Port.

[dejavoodoo44]

Pleased that Wicks is making his debut. I'm sure that a whole lot of effort went into that, so hopefully he'll do enough to keep his spot. I'm also sure that he'll apply a fair amount of pressure on the Collingwood defence. Also pleased that Bell and Ling now seem just that little bit higher in the pecking order.

I hope that Thurlow has been in better form in the scratch match league, than he was in the NEAFL last year. I didn't think he was that bad in the seniors, so when he was dropped, I expected him to look a class above the lower level. Instead, he was quite anonymous.

Also quite pleased that Stephens is back so soon.

[waswan]

Happy with the changes, glad to see Stephens back.

Blakey will be back next game.
Interested to know the extend of Taylor and Gray contracts, surely they are club friendly.

Gray needs a run at it but is in the wrong team to survive as a small fwd.
Taylor is overweight, im more bullish on him going forward but needs a good preseason, should be floating thru the mids.

Thurlow is good for who he releases, dont mind him.

Good to see Wicks get a go and Melican is part of out best back 6, when fit, in my eyes.

Id say the next block of footy will be busier than this one to end the season quickly.
Its going to be more player management than best 22 til end of the season.

[Captain]

Excellent changes. Only slight negative would have preferred Gould over Thurlow.

Clarke adds nothing. When we are getting flogged a tagger isn’t going to help.

Excited to see Wicks play and am looking forward to seeing more of Stephens.

[Mark26]

Pleased that Wicks is making his debut. I'm sure that a whole lot of effort went into that, so hopefully he'll do enough to keep his spot. I'm also sure that he'll apply a fair amount of pressure on the Collingwood defence. Also pleased that Bell and Ling now seem just that little bit higher in the pecking order.

I hope that Thurlow has been in better form in the scratch match league, than he was in the NEAFL last year. I didn't think he was that bad in the seniors, so when he was dropped, I expected him to look a class above the lower level. Instead, he was quite anonymous.

Also quite pleased that Stephens is back so soon.

I have to share a funny story. After the horrific bushfire season we had recently, my hometown of Ulladulla was hit hard as did so many others. The Swans rocked up and I was at a meet and greet with a number of players including Hayward, Mills, Sinkers, Taylor, Gray, Oli, Barry, Colin, Harry C, Gouldy, Foot and Wicks.

I was making my way around the group, and spent quality time with each player as there really are not a whole lot of die-hard locals who bleed red and white. We're a growing bunch, but it will take time.

I got to ask some questions that are always a point of contention on here. To Mills, are you a defender or a mid? To Sinkers, do you perceive yourself as a tall forward or a ruckman? Hayward is so fun to be around, as is Harry C. Oli struggles with the questions at times.

Anyway, by the time I got to Wicks and Zac, it was obvious they were both a little over being the anonymous two who nobody recognised. Suffice to say when I used their names, the look of shock of Sam's face was gold. He said, "You know my name!" We talked about the NEAFL, their form and how I thought they were both close to cracking the seniors. Sam and Zac were smiling again and didn't want to let their only true fan go in the room. I had to say goodbye as I needed to get to Gould. He has huge hands by the way - as impressive as Barry's trunks for legs.

I'm stoked for Sam. Hope he crushes his first game and a few Pies with his hardness. Go Swans! We're building. We just have to be patient.

[rickmat]

Taylor, Gray, Clarke out is without any debate, Blakey does need a breather. But cannot understand Thurlow in as defies logic when they have recruited Gould, and he has real talent, why not play him. Melican has another chance but I'm not a fan as lacks key position size and defensive talent. What is happening with McLean, Brand, Warner, McInerney and Smartest????

[dejavoodoo44]

I have to share a funny story. After the horrific bushfire season we had recently, my hometown of Ulladulla was hit hard as did so many others. The Swans rocked up and I was at a meet and greet with a number of players including Hayward, Mills, Sinkers, Taylor, Gray, Oli, Barry, Colin, Harry C, Gouldy, Foot and Wicks.

I was making my way around the group, and spent quality time with each player as there really are not a whole lot of die-hard locals who bleed red and white. We're a growing bunch, but it will take time.

I got to ask some questions that are always a point of contention on here. To Mills, are you a defender or a mid? To Sinkers, do you perceive yourself as a tall forward or a ruckman? Hayward is so fun to be around, as is Harry C. Oli struggles with the questions at times.

Anyway, by the time I got to Wicks and Zac, it was obvious they were both a little over being the anonymous two who nobody recognised. Suffice to say when I used their names, the look of shock of Sam's face was gold. He said, "You know my name!" We talked about the NEAFL, their form and how I thought they were both close to cracking the seniors. Sam and Zac were smiling again and didn't want to let their only true fan go in the room. I had to say goodbye as I needed to get to Gould. He has huge hands by the way - as impressive as Barry's trunks for legs.

I'm stoked for Sam. Hope he crushes his first game and a few Pies with his hardness. Go Swans! We're building. We just have to be patient.

Good story. Shame it's not a normal season. You could have got on phone, with a, 'Wicksy, maaate, how about a couple of tickets?'.

[ugg]

Thurlows selection is a bit puzzling though. We’ve dropped a mid and three mid/forwards for one forward , one mid and two defenders. Mills obviously comes into the mids but I wonder what the other move is ?

Hayward played mostly in the backline last week. Think he goes forward again

[Ralph Dawg]

The selection of Wicks shows how unsettled we are with our small forwards. We've had Ronke, Gray, Squizzy and Warner all rotate through, with none really nailing the position. I think the biggest issue with all four has been their tackling, general hassle and overall hunger for the ball. Many times, it's just been way to easy for our opponents to exit out of defence. I'm hoping Sam can take this opportunity with both hands.

I've talked about the guys who can fill the void between our top guys and youngsters and maybe Thurlow could be one of these guys. Hasn't shown much in his time with us but happy to be surprised.

I used to be bullish about Melican. However the last 24 months has been disappointing. He just looks a bit undersized to match it with the key forwards, not quite mobile or skillful enough to match it with the mediums and smalls. Plus so many injuries. I realise KP players take time to develop and perhaps if he gets a good run, might come good. He did show alot of promise when he first hit the AFL.

[Velour&Ruffles]

Melican has another chance but I'm not a fan as lacks key position size and defensive talent.

Huh? Melican at 195cm and 98 kg is not size enough for a key defender? I hope you don't tell Dane Rampe (187 cm and 88 kg).

[707]

The treatment of Taylor and Gray is pretty puzzling. Our recycled recruits used to get a solid run in the seniors and a bit of faith shown in them even with a slow start.

Gray and Taylor are the first out every week

Because they're giving little and now we need to see how the young fringe players go at the level so out they go.

Happy with these changes, Thurlow needs to show something or he'll get delisted. We'll see more debutants this year.

Good luck to Wicks, has earned his chance.

[Blood Fever]

The selection of Wicks shows how unsettled we are with our small forwards. We've had Ronke, Gray, Squizzy and Warner all rotate through, with none really nailing the position. I think the biggest issue with all four has been their tackling, general hassle and overall hunger for the ball. Many times, it's just been way to easy for our opponents to exit out of defence. I'm hoping Sam can take this opportunity with both hands.

I've talked about the guys who can fill the void between our top guys and youngsters and maybe Thurlow could be one of these guys. Hasn't shown much in his time with us but happy to be surprised.

I used to be bullish about Melican. However the last 24 months has been disappointing. He just looks a bit undersized to match it with the key forwards, not quite mobile or skillful enough to match it with the mediums and smalls. Plus so many injuries. I realise KP players take time to develop and perhaps if he gets a good run, might come good. He did show alot of promise when he first hit the AFL.

Agree about Melican. When he first started, looked extremely promising. Has had a couple of bad injuries and has looked to have lost a yard of pace since then. Would be great if he got back to his best.