Swans v Port.

[Markwebbos]

We have almost no fit KPPs on our list. Buddy who is a champion but really a very tall 34 yo crumber. Amartey a 4 gamer, then … daylight

Waiting in the wings are McLean who is a ten gamer with major limitations and McDonald who I think will make it in time.

Down back, Tom is out of his depth, Brand isn’t up to it I don’t think. Melican is a defender with the durability of Sam Reid. Gould isn’t quite tall enough.

Ludwig you’ve defended KB, but why isn’t this his fault? Even if we draft 4 KPPs this year it will be 2-3 years before they are ready. And we have no $$$ for trades, or will we try and find some tall diamonds in the rough.

[mcs]

This is a great post with so many good insights.

The problem with our KPPs is not the fault of Beatson. We had holes in a lot of positions. Last draft we might have gone for another tall if not for having Gulden and Campbell in the draft. McDonald should be good, but if he's a bust, we could be in trouble.

Maybe we should consider moving McCartin to the forward line and try to rebuild the defense from the remaining defenders. I know Hickey has been great, but we just had to find a way to keep Aliir. If McCartin goes back to the forward, I'd be more confident building around McCartin and McDonald.

Maybe Paddy McCartin will be part of our post-season plans to add another defender. We will still need another KPD, but maybe PM and Melican is a start. In any case, we should accelerate the development of both Gould and O'Connor. If Blakey can fill out and add strength, he should be a good defender as well. If we throw enough ingredients into the pot, maybe the soup will be okay.

It's sad, but I think we need to move on from JPK. This was the kind of game where he usually takes control, but even the much maligned (not by me) Rowbottom was better. Hewett could be the one to replace him, at least in the short term, because Hewett should be playing as a defender.


I would also like to add my agreement with those who praised our effort today. Even while other parts of our game were failing, the intensity was there and we gave ourselves a good chance of winning. Effort is still the most important thing to bring to the game.

Certainly no question around effort today - it was good compared to some of the crap served up against the wees and poos. Decision making let us down when it counted, and just a few too many players well off their best when it mattered.

I think they have to stick with their call on McCartin as a KPD - I think he will make a very, very good one in time, and we need to recognise he will be a bit up and down in the mean time. Like all the younger players - there will be good weeks, and not so good weeks. He desperately needs another genuine tall to help however - we are definitely short down there.

[Ludwig]

Not. Hewett should not be playing as a defender.

Yes. I left out the word not. My macular degeneration has really worsened this year. Even with editing everything, I'm still making lots of typos.

[mcs]

Why can't we bring in a true defender - maybe one like Gould, with a bit of body size and strength!!!! I agree that we must play him now and let us see whether he has what it takes. We cannot keep playing Lloyd, Harry and Fox together in the backline as though they are the ones likely to take us to the next flag. Maybe one of them, at the most two. It seemed crazy to me that we should bring in Carruthers, as good as he might prove to be. Yet another light bodied defender who is never going to be able to stick a tackle. We did miss Warner, but we need other player like him with strong, good core strength, in the Power-Pepper mold. McCartin is struggling perhaps like Rampe because against the best teams our backline is being out played when the chips are down. Is Campbell the answer or is he going to be another midfielder being stuck in defence because of team needs.

We are missing Reid too, neither Amartey or McLean are up to providing a target around the ground as he did early in the season.

Despite all that I think there were some great moments in the game and they gave it their best - just lacked composure when it counted.

Gould is improving by all reports, but has hardly set the ground alight in reserves for a fair chunk of this year - I think it says it all of where he currently sits that they are picking Brand in front of him.

The way some (not you - just generally) wax lyrically about him on the basis of some SANFL footy before drafting, you'd think he was the finished product and the next superstar KPD. We should show patience before throwing him on the fire, but he isn't going to suddenly solve our short term challenges defensively.

I think your being a bit harsh on Lloyd, Cunningham and Fox though - we are nowhere near a 'finished product' as a team, and it may well be that none of them are there when the current squad building process ends, but they play a role, and its more a lack of genuine height in the defensive line (Combined with stupid decision making today in terms of some very (albeit soft) stupid frees given away that were very costly, then those individuals not being up tot he job.

Ludwig you’ve defended KB, but why isn’t this his fault? Even if we draft 4 KPPs this year it will be 2-3 years before they are ready. And we have no $$$ for trades, or will we try and find some tall diamonds in the rough.

I sort of suspect the longer term strategy is that we have left sorting the KPP question out to the end - partially as a result of Buddys contract, partially as a result of 2 decades of often solving that problem through 'diamonds in the rough', partially because they aren't bad roles for trying to target finding a 'ready made' player from elsewhere (given how hard it can be to get the development right). Means clear growing pains at the moment, but it wouldn't suprise me if we don't go anywhere near that in this year's draft either, and focus on some other areas needing attention.

The question of core strength in an interesting. For every player that comes in to the game with natural core strength like a Warner, I reckon there are about 5 players that don't have it early on but will develop it in time. We need to be patient in that regard and see what comes out the other end in a few years time with our younger brigade in that sense.

[TheBloods]

Yes. I left out the word not. My macular degeneration has really worsened this year. Even with editing everything, I'm still making lots of typos.

I know how tough that can be , my wife had it

Good luck with everything

[Nolie]

Brand must not play again

Brand cost us the game imho with that dopey underground handball when he could have kicked it in to the 50 keeping the pressure on Port. We were leading but then turnover and goal their way.

By the way - love the portable cone of silence avatar. “ And loving it..”

[Captain]

Yeah that handball was Hollywood stuff from Brand. It’s wet, kick the bloody ball in there you moron!!

[Agent 86]

Too many passengers and over rated players

I’m not sure who the overrated ones are? Isaac perhaps, but most of our lot would be rated as fringe players in a contending team. Truth is, we punch above our weight in most games. But every team in the comp would approach the swans as winnable game.

[Ludwig]

Ludwig you’ve defended KB, but why isn’t this his fault? Even if we draft 4 KPPs this year it will be 2-3 years before they are ready. And we have no $$$ for trades, or will we try and find some tall diamonds in the rough.

Key position players are hard to find, and there's a high failure through the draft. Of the 5 ND academy players we have, only Blakey has potential as a KPP. We were effectively forced to use 5 top picks in the past 6 drafts on academy midfielders, albeit very good ones.

I can't see where mistakes were made, except for letting go of Aliir. Our hands are tied for recruiting top KPPs because of the remaining salary cap pressure from the Franklin deal. But that was a long time ago and we can't be too critical about that one.

Sometime things just don't fall the right way. Beatson can't be blamed for Reid and Melican's injury woes. And if not for Naismith's ACL problems, we wouldn't have had to recruit Hickey and Aliir might still be on our list.

We do have enough KPPs on our list. It's just a matter of quality. We haven't been able to find that Reg Grundy from our rookie list lie we have in the past.

It's hard to know if players like Amartey or McLean are going to make it at the time they are drafted. You just hope that a reasonable percentage will come through to become good AFL players. Both have looked good times and not so good at other times. The jury is still out, but I doubt if either will become top line players.

[Ludwig]

I know how tough that can be , my wife had it

Good luck with everything

Thanks. I'm just hanging in with one eye. I've been getting Avastin injections this year, which has stopped the bleeding in the retina for the time being, but it still seems to be slowly getting worse.

[TheBloods]

I’m not sure who the overrated ones are? Isaac perhaps, but most of our lot would be rated as fringe players in a contending team. Truth is, we punch above our weight in most games. But every team in the comp would approach the swans as winnable game.

Passengers : Bell , Papley, Amartey, Brand

Over rated : Heeney , Florent, Mccartin

Both : Rowbottom

[stevoswan]

I've watched a few games of footy this weekend. Amongst other things, I've just seen a replay of the Collingwood Maynard free and 50m. Jaw dropping.

In half a season they've gone from paying nothing to paying anything and everything. I think they are paying frees 'situationally' skewed by the latest AFL dictum. I think umpires show implicit bias against some teams and players. They are currently going through a spate of being whistle happy. 35 frees in first half Geelong vs Brisbane is 1 less than average for a while game.

Last week there were pictures of Ray Chamberlain laughing with Hawthorn players in their rooms before the game.

For what it's worth we are mid table for frees for / against season to date (any guesses for team with most positive free kick differential?) Woof woof.

I think there are cultural issues amongt the umpiring fraternity. I think that the constant rule changing and emphasis on interpreting the rules in certain ways to shape the style of play has broken officiating of our great game. I never used to pay much attention to umpiring. Now it seems to intrude on games.

This needs to be fixed. It is real and it's serious for the comp.

I totally agree.....it's gone from one of the most easy to understand and adjudicate sets of rules from when I played in the 60's and 70's....to a mystifying blend of strange interpretation and cherry picking to manipulate drama and/or results. A truly great sports integrity is being seriously eroded by this rot and someone has to stand up.....oh and Hocking should be sacked.

As good as current players are footy can be real hard to enjoy these days.

[TheBloods]

Thanks. I'm just hanging in with one eye. I've been getting Avastin injections this year, which has stopped the bleeding in the retina for the time being, but it still seems to be slowly getting worse.

Im no doctor but i recommend not listening to your optometrist if they tell you to have surgery . My wife had two and spent a fortune on the second one , didnt make a difference and it stayed that way the rest of her life ! Save yourself the $ and try every other method possible

But im no expert just trying to help

[Markwebbos]

Key position players are hard to find, and there's a high failure through the draft. Of the 5 ND academy players we have, only Blakey has potential as a KPP. We were effectively forced to use 5 top picks in the past 6 drafts on academy midfielders, albeit very good ones.

I can't see where mistakes were made, except for letting go of Aliir. Our hands are tied for recruiting top KPPs because of the remaining salary cap pressure from the Franklin deal. But that was a long time ago and we can't be too critical about that one.

Sometime things just don't fall the right way. Beatson can't be blamed for Reid and Melican's injury woes. And if not for Naismith's ACL problems, we wouldn't have had to recruit Hickey and Aliir might still be on our list.

We do have enough KPPs on our list. It's just a matter of quality. We haven't been able to find that Reg Grundy from our rookie list lie we have in the past.

It's hard to know if players like Amartey or McLean are going to make it at the time they are drafted. You just hope that a reasonable percentage will come through to become good AFL players. Both have looked good times and not so good at other times. The jury is still out, but I doubt if either will become top line players.

It’s been a problem for years now. Let’s not forget Xavier Richards played as our 3rd tall in the 2016 GF ffs.

My point is we haven’t recruited enough key position players to prepare for the loss of Franklin and Reid fwd and Reg, Teddy, Rampe etc down back.

[Agent 86]

On a brighter note, Bombers got hard time from umps too!