Round 16 • Sydney Swans v West Coast Eagles @Geelong

[SwanSand]

That game was amazing !
West coast Eagles hardly did anything when they did not have the ball and it made our wingers stand out.
Nevertheless, when the opposition allows we have a definite brand of footy, spread and corridor use. When the opposition allows we have excellent kickers in the game. Some of the kicks and vision during the game were superb.

There are so many good things to take from this game. Dawson played wing as Blakey went back. Both played well but particularly Dawson. Don’t know how Blakey will do in defence when the opposition bangs it in a bit more frequently than the eagles. I thought Blakey used the corridor well.
Gulden is a champion player. He may turn out to be the best in the young ones. He has class courage and skills like no other. Hopefully we keep him healthy till the finals.
Mills is an amazing midfielder. He had a super game. I think his kicking has improved this year.
Florent had a good game after many weeks. The challenge for him would be to back it up again next week.
JMac is fast becoming the best winger we have had for a long time.

Chad comes in for Bell whenever that happens. Rowbottom May be left behind if Hewett is preferred in the midfield.
Don’t know where to fit Campbell when he returns? Maybe Blakey will not have as much of an influence in which case Campbell replaces him. But good problem to have.
I can’t see many others breaking into this team barring injury.

[Ralph Dawg]

Robbie Fox bounced back well after a shakey start. Seems to me he actually is more effective as a key defender rather than a medium / small despite his size. I guess Leo Barry was only 1.84m and he played well above his metrics. That leap he had certainly helped, something that the "Flying Fox" has as well.

[Bazman]

To be fair its not an easy place to get to for many in Melbourne - and for those reliant/preferring public transport, I think there was trackwork too. Add to that the fact it needed seperate ticket purchase as well, and the crowd is about at a point one would expect for such a game to be honest.

When 2 interstate teams can attract 11,000+ in Geelong its a win especially for the Swans. How many Melbourne based Swans have the opportunity to see the Eagles and Swans play without travelling North or West? Its a winner.
For me it was nearly 2 hours each way due road works. In all it was a brilliant and Swans Management and the AFL would be very happy. Now lets have GWS down there.

[barry]

With Richmond back in 9th, it fells like I've just woken up from a bad dream that lasted 5 years.
I think the AFL is better when Richmond are 9th.

[crackedactor 01]

Did anyone notice we played to a completely new system? There was very little down the boundary line kicking. Often going across the ground in small kicks until there can get a player free to gain some freedom or space and then fire it into the forward line. I hope they continue with these style. It frustrates the opposition.

[Bexl]

Both crowds were a bit lighter than I expected.

The Thursday night game was a GC home game so it was asking something extra from Richmond members and supporters (and it’s not like they don’t get a lot of Melbourne games), but you still would have thought more would attend.

The Swans crowd was good (for a cold, potentially rainy afternoon in Geelong), but I thought we might attract more. The thought of attending a ‘home’ game for Victorian-based fans is surely a draw card.

It is hard to tell how many people stay away in the Covid era, but I do wonder how many would have attended if it was played at Docklands or the MCG. An extra 10,000, maybe, but it is just a guess.

I went to the game in Geelong and had a ticket for my 12 year old as well but as it was an hour and a half drive and supposed to be raining down there he didn't come as our seats were in the open. As it turned out it drizzled a little bit in the second quarter and he should have come down but I'm sure that other people were in the same situation put off by the rain that was predicted.

[Bexl]

When 2 interstate teams can attract 11,000+ in Geelong its a win especially for the Swans. How many Melbourne based Swans have the opportunity to see the Eagles and Swans play without travelling North or West? Its a winner.
For me it was nearly 2 hours each way due road works. In all it was a brilliant and Swans Management and the AFL would be very happy. Now lets have GWS down there.

With what is happening in New South Wales I think there's a good chance we will play them down there

[Captain]

Robbie Fox bounced back well after a shakey start. Seems to me he actually is more effective as a key defender rather than a medium / small despite his size. I guess Leo Barry was only 1.84m and he played well above his metrics. That leap he had certainly helped, something that the "Flying Fox" has as well.

Exactly. This was where he played his best footy last year.

[i'm-uninformed2]

There was a lot of focus on our ball movement and run and zip yesterday, and rightly so.

But what struck me watching the game was how much of it came from our manic pressure and swarming defence right across the ground. The speed of our players in shutting down West Coast and zooming into contests when they had the ball was reminiscent of those first three rounds.

When you're causing chaos in the forward half and middle of the ground, the turnovers that follow mean they haven't had time to set defensively, and our ability to use our foot skills was greater.

And superb coaching for having Dawson and Gulden - two of our better users - spend more time than usual through the middle of the ground (which in Dawson's case, was thanks to Blakey playing behind the ball). We had the skilled players on hand to take account of what we did defensively.

There'll be far tougher challenges ahead and West Coast were truly miserable with their effort, but a great blueprint for how we want to play.

[crackedactor 01]

There was a lot of focus on our ball movement and run and zip yesterday, and rightly so.

But what struck me watching the game was how much of it came from our manic pressure and swarming defence right across the ground. The speed of our players in shutting down West Coast and zooming into contests when they had the ball was reminiscent of those first three rounds.

When you're causing chaos in the forward half and middle of the ground, the turnovers that follow mean they haven't had time to set defensively, and our ability to use our foot skills was greater.

And superb coaching for having Dawson and Gulden - two of our better users - spend more time than usual through the middle of the ground (which in Dawson's case, was thanks to Blakey playing behind the ball). We had the skilled players on hand to take account of what we did defensively.

There'll be far tougher challenges ahead and West Coast were truly miserable with their effort, but a great blueprint for how we want to play.

Great Analysis. There was a different playing method used on Sunday. You described it with much better details than I could.

[Roadrunner]

A truely fantastic win-feeling 10feet tall!
Thoughts on players we’re not certain on:

Fox started very slowly and Darling was weagles best forward. Came good second half so hoping he can carry this form into next week. His confidence really lifted once we got well on top.

Blakey regained form.

Amartey showed he can make it.

Ding Dong: much better game and earned another game, but I’m still not sure. As some have said, he may take longer to develop. Did some nice things- would like a bit more please.

Hewett: never in doubt.

We can always expect some injuries and young players need to be rested so our squad is looking pretty good right now.

Well done Swannies!

[KTigers]

West Coast have lost their last six games in Geelong by a minimum seven goals. They clearly don't want to be there. Fortunately we've
only been struck down by the "I can't be bothered, I'm not feeling it today" footy virus twice this year (Gold Coast & Hawthorn games).
We played really well but a 16 goal win indicates they had the aforementioned bug big time yesterday.

[Matty10]

Round 16 • Sydney Swans v West Coast Eagles @Geelong

With what is happening in New South Wales I think there's a good chance we will play them down there

As it would be the Giants home game, I imagine they would try and play in Canberra if they could (assuming there were no travel exemptions).

Would the WA premier let Freo travel into Sydney in Round 19 without doing a stint of quarantine on their return? That might be more of a worry. But if a week is a long time in football, three weeks is an eternity during a pandemic - anything could be happening in the country at that point.

Edit: I just checked the fixture, Freo then play their next two games at home - it might work quite well.

[111431]

[QUOTE=mcs;822534]Mills is having an outstanding season, and I would suggest at this rate will be hard to hold our for our B&F. Was great today and clear BOG for mine.



I think Hickey will be giving him a run for the money. Hickey has made the world of difference to our side

[Markwebbos]

I think RWOers will really enjoy this week's Mongrel Punt analysis of yesterday's Swan-aggedon

Sydney v West Coast - The Good, Bad and Ugly - The Mongrel Punt