2021 trading, drafting and list management: players and personnel

[Captain]

Happy to see George go. With JPK going around again + Parker, we need to give opportunities to our young midfielders so that we can push for our next premiership.

[caj23]

The lack of respect for Hewett and what he brings to the side is breathtaking

He's not a bonafide A grade star, you can't have 22 of them, but he has great footskills, is an effective tagger, and can win his own ball as a midfielder when given the chance.

He's being completely misutilised by Longmire in the backline this season, and hasn't ever had a great run on ball without the tagging role.

He may not be a shiny new draftee, but we are a stronger team with him in the 22 than outside of it

[707]

The lack of respect for Hewett and what he brings to the side is breathtaking

He's not a bonafide A grade star, you can't have 22 of them, but he has great footskills, is an effective tagger, and can win his own ball as a midfielder when given the chance.

He's being completely misutilised by Longmire in the backline this season, and hasn't ever had a great run on ball without the tagging role.

He may not be a shiny new draftee, but we are a stronger team with him in the 22 than outside of it

Agree, many on here underselling George, best 22 every week for mine.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

I think we would like George as a midfield tagger, but that would mean moving someone out of the midfield. Mills has effectively replaced George in the midfield. We are trying George as a defender, but he doesn't have anything close to Mills' ability as a defender. It's a bit of a dilemma with what to do with George, despite him being a very good players. There's a bit of a glut of inside mids in the AFL at the moment.

I see what you're saying, and I love the attempt by the Swans to have a more attacking midfield. But his non-use during games when things are going wrong is the big head scratcher for me.

[lwjoyner]

agree Georgie is a keep

[Markwebbos]

There are lots of possible explanations for Hewett being played in defence

1. Our midfield was too slow with him, JPK and Parker.
2. To make way for Mills who offers more.
3. To add maturity to our backline
4. To give development opportunities to Le Chad and RB
5. he has told them he’s going at the end of the year?

[caj23]

If we have to trade George becuase our salary cap is too tight ** that says two things to me:

1. We'll be hitting the draft again this year (which is fine with me), because we clearly can't afford to trade anyone in, so don't bother starting a trade thread this year; and

2. Our salary cap is still in a mess despite all of the players we have shed over the last few seasons. Whoever is in charge of it should be sacked as it's woeful mismanagement if we can't afford to pay a mid range player like Hewitt. Shedding middle aged best 22 players every season simply isn't a sustainable model for a successful football club, we will be stuck in mid table mediocrity for the forseeable future (at best).

** I don't think anyone outside of clubland would know if our cap is tight or not, my comments are based on reports that it is. I guess we'll see at the end of the season.

[TheBloods]

The lack of respect for Hewett and what he brings to the side is breathtaking

He's not a bonafide A grade star, you can't have 22 of them, but he has great footskills, is an effective tagger, and can win his own ball as a midfielder when given the chance.

He's being completely misutilised by Longmire in the backline this season, and hasn't ever had a great run on ball without the tagging role.

He may not be a shiny new draftee, but we are a stronger team with him in the 22 than outside of it

Whats the point if hes not in the midfield though

Even if he was theres nothing unique about him and if i had to choose between him and RB as a tagger i would take RB

[caj23]

Whats the point if hes not in the midfield though

Even if he was theres nothing unique about him and if i had to choose between him and RB as a tagger i would take RB

He should be in the midfield rotation

He’s a far superior tagger to RB, have you forgotten his job on Dusty earlier in the season?

I like RB but he’s not a tagger and was given a bath by Mitchell in that role last week

[TheBloods]

He should be in the midfield rotation

He’s a far superior tagger to RB, have you forgotten his job on Dusty earlier in the season?

I like RB but he’s not a tagger and was given a bath by Mitchell in that role last week

Superior but not by much, hes 25, Rowbottom is 20 , go with the youth and long term option

And wouldnt say RB was given a bath Mitchell had 21 touches to half time then Rowbottom went on him and he had 13 for the second half

[Ludwig]

I don't see why the confusion over Hewett. We effectively swapped Hewett and Mills. It was a benefit to our midfield, but not for our defense.We still need to keep the speed on the outside. Hewett is best 22, but it's hard to find a position that suits him in the current setup and meets the broader requirements of the team overall.

It's not unusual to find good players without a spot in the side for a lot of teams. It often happens that good players get left out for a while for the sake of team balance. It's not a poor reflection of Hewett as a player. It's just circumstantial.

[liz]

I don't see why the confusion over Hewett. We effectively swapped Hewett and Mills. It was a benefit to our midfield, but not for our defense.We still need to keep the speed on the outside. Hewett is best 22, but it's hard to find a position that suits him in the current setup and meets the broader requirements of the team overall.

It's not unusual to find good players without a spot in the side for a lot of teams. It often happens that good players get left out for a while for the sake of team balance. It's not a poor reflection of Hewett as a player. It's just circumstantial.

They could look to play Hewett in the forward line. That's where he started out, playing a role not that different to Wicks's role this season. Given Wicks is out this weekend, he's as good a replacement as any.

Or play him in the middle - where he's proven to be a good ball winner as well as a good defensive player - and move Parker forward (more, maybe not entirely). Parker's had a couple of very good games this year but hasn't been consistent, which makes me wonder if he's carrying some injury that's affecting his ability to get to as many contests as we need our midfielders to get to.

It was very obvious watching at the ground against the Hawks just how little run the Swans had in their legs. There were far more Hawks at every contest, and when they won the ball, they spread more effectively too. Maybe it was just the cumulative effect of two six days breaks against a much fresher team, but I think there were signs of a lack of run during parts of the St Kilda and Carlton games too.

[AB Swannie]

If reports are correct that we have 22 players out of contract then it is near impossible that we have salary cap problems. It just means we have a lot of list management decisons - spend our money on retaining the current list or use it elsewhere. From the list I have found on footywire, most of the players out of contract would not be demanding huge money. here are some of my thoughts:

1. Luke Parker - Is still a gun but his big contract deals are behind him. Same or less money for 3 years.
2. Jordan Dawson - number 1 priority. The only one on this list that would be demanding a big pay rise.
3. George Hewitt - Is currently being overpaid given that he has been classified as a restricted free agent. He's not in the top 10 players at the club and so will be offered less money to stay. I hope he does.
4. Sam Reid - Big contract finishes and may be on 1 year contracts on much less money from now on.
5. Hayden McLean, Joel Amartey, Sam Wicks - will demand a pay rise but not anything crazy. They'd all still be paid below AFL average.
6. Dylan Stephens - Tricky one. Hasn't progressed this year. Likely to stay on a bit more money for 2 years.
7. Cal Sinclair - Offered 1 year contracts to provide depth and mentoring to young talls. Pay him like GWS will do with Mummy as a playing ruck coach on near minimum wage.
8. Will Gould - Worth persisting for another year or two but not breaking the bank.
9. Unless I've missed someone, the rest are either keep for depth on low wages or delist. These players include Ling, Gray, Clarke, Ronke, O'Riordan

[longmile]

They could look to play Hewett in the forward line. That's where he started out, playing a role not that different to Wicks's role this season. Given Wicks is out this weekend, he's as good a replacement as any.

Or play him in the middle - where he's proven to be a good ball winner as well as a good defensive player - and move Parker forward (more, maybe not entirely). Parker's had a couple of very good games this year but hasn't been consistent, which makes me wonder if he's carrying some injury that's affecting his ability to get to as many contests as we need our midfielders to get to.

It was very obvious watching at the ground against the Hawks just how little run the Swans had in their legs. There were far more Hawks at every contest, and when they won the ball, they spread more effectively too. Maybe it was just the cumulative effect of two six days breaks against a much fresher team, but I think there were signs of a lack of run during parts of the St Kilda and Carlton games too.

Agree with this change this week - Hewett for Wicks and Hewett and Parker to swap between midfield and forward line

Wicks needs to regain a little bit of form as well, a quick spell in the 2s could help

[Markwebbos]

Surely Gulden comes back this week if fit? In place of Wicks.

If Heeney and Hayward were fitter they could rotate with Parker, Kennedy etc to make our midfield more dynamic

I don’t see why the rotation couldn’t include one player on the HBF to
Include Llloouyddd, Ollie, Dawson, George, Campbell etc

Still think this year has been planned as a year of “development” so happy to experiment with players in new roles.

Very exited to see if Blakey can make it as a line breaker off the HBF