Match Thread. Swans v Hawthorn

[Ludwig]

I think our depth in midfielders isn't great.

I have to respectfully disagree, bandwagon. Even with a few injuries, and I don't think there are all that many, I still find players in the reserves who can come into the side. Maybe some are working on their development at the moment, like Stephens and Blakey, but the depth is really good. We just have so many young midfielders who have years to go before they reach peak form. We have to be patient, but I think we will see our midfield grow in strength, year over year, for some time to come. George Hewett has been a favourite of mine for long time (2014 LFS winner), but I'm finding it hard to find a place for him in the side and have suggested he should exercise FA this year. That suggests our midfield has plenty of depth.

....aren’t we focusing on RB a bit too much? There are 22 plus players in our team/ squad so why are we (or some of us) keep talking so much about 1 player?

It's ridiculous how over-analyzed the Rowbottom thing has become. He's a solid player on a good trajectory who may be having a slightly down period due to playing through an injury.

Lloyd, Hewett, Florent, Cunningham an Hayward have all taken a lot over flack the years, but have emerged intact and making solid contributions on a consistent basis.

[royboy42]

I am with you!! I enjoy the discourse both in praise and criticism but it does feel like some (Rowy, Chad, Blakey, Hickey) attract one or the other more than others!! Just earlier i tried to get some love for the young man Amartey going.. Nobody took the bait!!!

I'll take your bait. He's highly impressive and looking more and more like a BIG prospect.

[barracuda]

One thing I have noticed with young players is how the attitude of fans changes over time. When they start they are a shiny new thing. Any slight whiff of talent is heralded as the sign they will be the greatest player. A sub 10 disposal game is a great start, showing huge potential. Other players who deliver more should be immediately dropped for them.

Then there is a quiet patch whilst the young player becomes more of a regular in the team.

Then the expectations change. Anything other than outstanding play is unacceptable. People forget that the young player often has a less than glamorous role. Niggles are ignored. The player is weak, soft or incompetent and in the fans view showing why he can't make it at AFL level. Anything under 20 disposals is unacceptable.

Rowbottom is in this bad phase. Gulden and Warner are in the honeymoon period.

I watched Rowbottom's extended highlights on the AFL stats pro website. He clearly had a defensive job on Worpel and Mitchell. He did not have a great game but executed his role. He is not going to do anything flashy in this situation. I imagine if he had an attacking midfield role it would be different.

[longmile]

The Warner praise and Rowbottom criticisms on this forum by a small handful of posters are extreme and obsessive, and I wish it would stop

[Auntie.Gerald]

I like the fishing trips and the bites
Its priceless !

well part of me does and part of me hates scrolling forever

[stevoswan]

Some good points Neon- but guys, aren’t we focusing on RB a bit too much? There are 22 plus players in our team squad so why are we (or some of us) keep talking so much about 1 player?

Because someone keeps bringing him up in a relentless series of negative posts and a lot of us disagree. I would have thought that was pretty obvious.

[Roadrunner]

Because someone keeps bringing him up in a relentless series of negative posts and a lot of us disagree. I would have thought that was pretty obvious.

A few of us have asked that someone to stop, but it hasn’t worked as yet, even though promises were made.

So I was trying to be subtle- but I’ll spell it out: I was referring to you, BT!

[Ludwig]

A few of us have asked that someone to stop, but it hasn’t worked as yet, even though promises were made.

So I was trying to be subtle- but I’ll spell it out: I was referring to you, BT!

No. No. Can't stop now. I haven't finished my paper on OCD yet.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

One thing I have noticed with young players is how the attitude of fans changes over time. When they start they are a shiny new thing. Any slight whiff of talent is heralded as the sign they will be the greatest player. A sub 10 disposal game is a great start, showing huge potential. Other players who deliver more should be immediately dropped for them.

Then there is a quiet patch whilst the young player becomes more of a regular in the team.

Then the expectations change. Anything other than outstanding play is unacceptable. People forget that the young player often has a less than glamorous role. Niggles are ignored. The player is weak, soft or incompetent and in the fans view showing why he can't make it at AFL level. Anything under 20 disposals is unacceptable.

[stevoswan]

A few of us have asked that someone to stop, but it hasn’t worked as yet, even though promises were made.

So I was trying to be subtle- but I’ll spell it out: I was referring to you, BT!

Subtlety is not my strong point.

[Roadrunner]

Subtlety is not my strong point.

However, fair to say that BT makes some excellent points, except in one instance. He has said that he will desist though, so I’m hoping he will stick to it.

[NeonBible]

May I ask.. who is BT?

Has everyone's least favourite commentator wandered into the forum?

[Mark26]

May I ask.. who is BT?

Has everyone's least favourite commentator wandered into the forum?

Boy oh boy wow ee. If BT was on here, we wouldn't be talking about his nephew. We'd be talking about Llllloooooooooyd.

[Roadrunner]

May I ask.. who is BT?

Has everyone's least favourite commentator wandered into the forum?

Freudian slip Neon! I meant TB!!!

[O'Reilly Boy]

On a brighter note ... what a wonderful surprise Amartey has been!! Interestingly he started both games quietly and grew into each game! That is a very promising sign! He is not letting quiet and nervous starts get him down and is still finding his confidence!! Often it can be the opposite for young players! Bravo young man!

Amartey has been terrific in both games this season. He was thrown in the deep end last year for his debut as a ruck, but this season has been able to find the pace and rhythm of games nicely from HFF. I liked the way he makes a contest along the wing coming out of defence, the option we've been missing with Reid out of the team. I think that there is a place for him going forward, particularly if he can develop his forward play.

Another aspect of the game against Hawthorn was, again, how Buddy-centric our entries were. Related to that was a tendency to rush when we did get our hands on the ball. I guess when the big man is screaming for it, it's very hard to take the pace off the game and pick off some shorter options, or to look for an alternative target inside 50. We ended up with either very wide entries, deep into the pockets, or bombing it high, both of which played into the Hawthorn defence. Poor McDonald had to move 90-100 metres up the ground to get anywhere near the ball.

I wonder whether bringing Campbell and Gulden back in will shift some of those dynamics? At the moment, it feels like Ollie is the only player looking to change the angles out of the back half of the field to open up the corridor. McInerney, too, seems capable of manufacturing something every time he gets near the ball—talk about a player who seems to want to impose his will on the game. I feel like I'm seeing incisiveness from Dawson these past few weeks, though, and our switch plays feel slow—Hawthorn were able to close down on Rampe and Cunningham pretty effectively across the back, and we only managed to get some run through HB three or four times.