Changes for Round 9 vs Collingwood.

[longmile]

It’s been mentioned a few times in RWO that his pressure rating from his last game was low - only 7 pressure acts. The club hasn’t said this is the area but it makes sense.

That's fair

I wonder what Lloyd's would of been though too

[SwanSand]

You bet i would. Said several weeks ago that my opinions of him would be tame compared to what he would cop from JL. Needs to pull his finger out if hes ever gonna be anything more than just a decent mid and he wont get there by being coddled.

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wTF did Blakey do to earn a game can someone explain it to me ?

What rock are you living under? Just like JL would talk to Rowbottom he must have thought that Blakey is good enough to come in.
Atleast he has done more than sitting on the computer typing rude comments about young individuals trying to do their best.

[AB Swannie]

That's fair

I wonder what Lloyd's would of been though too

Lloyd averages 14.3 pressure acts this year plus gets the ball at least twice as much.

I’m a big fan of Stephens and think he’ll be a star but we have a pretty good history of playing people when they are ready. For some like Papley and Gulden it was from the get go. For others like Dawson and Hewitt it was after some decent development.

[longmile]

Lloyd averages 14.3 pressure acts this year plus gets the ball at least twice as much.

I’m a big fan of Stephens and think he’ll be a star but we have a pretty good history of playing people when they are ready. For some like Papley and Gulden it was from the get go. For others like Dawson and Hewitt it was after some decent development.

Thanks for the insight! Genuinely suprised.

I agree that the team changes are an overall positive, just suprised that Blakey gets a shot over Stephens, when his decision making and disposal has been so poor. Hope Blakey proves me wrong this weekend!

[The Runner]

What does Stephens need to work on? I've heard this a few times but no one has said what. Just interested

His work rate is elite, and skills are good.
From watching the cats game live, I think:
- he gives his opponent the preferred position too often. He at times seemed to allow Close from and centre
- he's getting to contests but not impacting them, and not damaging with his possessions

I think he'll be a very good player. He's going on a similar arc to McVeigh and to an extent Tom Scully (pre injury). He probably could burn guys in his teens with speed and run them in to ground. That gap closes at AFL level, and he's learning how to impact impact a game.

[Bangalore Swans]

Many posters on here disagreed with me when I was advocating for scheduled rest and rotation after rounds 2 and 3 for Campbell, Gulden and McDonald. My philosophy was to rest them while they were in form, were injury free and were not too worn down. They are only 19 year olds.

Now we hit round 9 of the season and all three are out of the team. All three have lost their early season zing and form. It’s a disappointing outcome.

The philosophy of most people on here was keep playing them until they lost form or were injured.

Maybe the Swans can find a way to get all three back into the team and firing for the 2nd half of the season.

[stevoswan]

You bet i would. Said several weeks ago that my opinions of him would be tame compared to what he would cop from JL.

....who keeps picking him.

[aardvark]

So is Sam Reid's 2 week injury going to turn into a whole season again?

[TheBloods]

....who keeps picking him.

You can be good enough to be picked every week but still have major areas of your game where you are a liability ! Im telling you now whether he loves Rowbottom or not, Longmire will not keep giving midfield opportunities to someone who shows no midfield craft. If you think these arent conversations Longmire and Cox would be having with themselves and sprays they would be giving to Rowbottom after a game where he played in the midfield and had ZERO clearances and single digit contested possessions then i cant help you !

[Bay View]

Who do you think will be the sub?

[The Runner]

You can be good enough to be picked every week but still have major areas of your game where you are a liability ! Im telling you now whether he loves Rowbottom or not, Longmire will not keep giving midfield opportunities to someone who shows no midfield craft. If you think these arent conversations Longmire and Cox would be having with themselves and sprays they would be giving to Rowbottom after a game where he played in the midfield and had ZERO clearances and single digit contested possessions then i cant help you !

And what exactly do you mean by "midfield craft"?
RB seemed to play a much more outside game last week, and went deeper in the back half than I've seen him before. I can only assume this a directive from the coaching staff.
We won the clearances and contested possessions for the match, so it's a fair assumption to make that other players (Mills, Parker, Kennedy, Warner) were given that task.

Even then, Warner had only 15 touches, 7 of them contested and 1 clearance. By your objective metrics, he should be going to work on his craft. But he offers much more than that, including 29 pressure acts.

I don't think it's a logical link to tie two specific statistical categories to RB getting a spray. For all we know, he did the job he was asked of.

[KSAS]

Would like Stephens to be the sub but think they will name James Bell.

[MattW]

Would like Stephens to be the sub but think they will name James Bell.

Yes, suspect they'd want to ensure Stephens plays a full game.

[KSAS]

With Howe out & Moore likely to play on Buddy, wondering if this is a good opportunity to play Blakey as the 2nd key tall? Hoping having this added responsibility of playing key position forward may help curb his tendency in over doing the "cute" footy & get the best out of him? It will also allow Maclean to play as the 3rd tall and give some chop out to Hickey in the ruck rather than Blakey. Just a thought.

[Ralph Dawg]

With Howe out & Moore likely to play on Buddy, wondering if this is a good opportunity to play Blakey as the 2nd key tall? Hoping having this added responsibility of playing key position forward may help curb his tendency in over doing the "cute" footy & get the best out of him? It will also allow Maclean to play as the 3rd tall and give some chop out to Hickey in the ruck rather than Blakey. Just a thought.

I don't mind this. He has all the skills but has definitely been guilty of over using it as a mid. Playing as a leading target will be good for him. Just hope he works hard up the field to help us move the ball out of defence.