Changes for round 17 Doggies v Swans

[TheBloods]

I agree he has potential but i never saw him as being overly fast? He's got a massive tank for sure but speed is not an attribute that I've associated with him so far.

Watch him sprint to get to contests he has good speed , if he can show some composure with ball in hand i'd even like to see him in the mids sprinting away from congestion

[Blood Fever]

Watch him sprint to get to contests he has good speed , if he can show some composure with ball in hand i'd even like to see him in the mids sprinting away from congestion

Was a star soccer player as a junior IIRC so still developing. Who knows where he can get to. We have a history of being patient with these types of players.

[Ludwig]

I've noticed with Bell that there will always be several plays in the game where he gets everything right. He makes a good decision, even under pressure, then executes well. The question has been whether he can do that more often. He looks uncertain at times and makes a poor decision. I think the reason he's been getting games is this seems the kind of profile that can be helped by simply playing more at the highest level and learning through experience. So I give Bell a good shot of developing the game skills on a more consistent basis. And this is where his success or failure resides.

[Bangalore Swans]

Bell’s performance was encouraging. He has another opportunity this week to consolidate.

The big one for me is Blakey. If he can build on last week’s performance then the run and flexibility of the side is vastly increased.

If no injuries occur this week then we will have a rested Rowbottom and Chad to come back over the next two weeks. There returns will ad great impact to the team.

[Agent 86]

Go watch the replay from the weekend. Hickey took Nic Nat high, and then kicked in danger of Shuey in the opening 5 seconds. Both legitimate frees not paid against us.
We need to move on from this conspiracies and focus on the footy.

Unfortunately I wouldn't be buying Bell stock the same way I'd be buying JMac, Warner, RB etc. Just don't see the trait that's going to separate him from an opponent in a game.

Just had a look at first 5 seconds. Possibly could've been a soft free to NicNat for having a hand on his shoulder, but it would have been soft. Shuey could equally have been pinged for contact below the knee – much more likely to be paid than kicking in danger these days. Amartey was lucky to get away with push leading to his first goal but it wasn't terrible. Overall, umpiring had little impact on this game, & was pretty good (liked the non-decision for high against Shuey)… the Hawks game, on the other hand, was diabolical. We were not playing well, but a number of non-decisions cost us any chance to get back into the game when we (finally) had some momentum. My POV is the AFL needs Sydney teams to be successful – they just don't want us to be too successful. Imagine the whining if 2 Sydney teams played in the GF?

But thanks for making me watch Q1 again – with Bell, I'm more of a hoper than a believer – i do reckon that if you're deemed good enough to get into the side then you need a chance to do the job you've been picked to do. Probs never gonna be a superstar, but i've loved watching the effort, the pressure acts & forward defensive effort (which has been missing across the whole team the last month or so). He also works hard to spread and provide options when we've got the ball which helps to keep things more open when attacking (doesn't always get rewarded, but just being there means more opportunities for forwards rather than the usual bombs*). Then there's the 1 percenters & things that don't get a stat (like that little tap to Ollie & goal to Hayward). & watch the work leading to Hayward kicking it into the Barwon – presents an option moving out of defence, good mark & then is there again to receive and pass to Hayward at the other end. With James, i just get the feeling that he's got the right attitude and if we show some faith it will get repaid in time.

Amartey was another who coulda been dropped after a shocker vs PA. He could've had 3 goals in the first quarter alone had Wicks & Isaac given off to him (at least Wicks kicked his). Really good to see him get another crack.

*could be that WC were terrible & allowed more time, but our kicking inside 50 seemed much more effective than it has been. Cunningham (whose kicking can be dodgy), Blakey, Fox & even Ollie (tho' still has a tendency to bomb) provided some lovely low entries to advantage.

[joeykanga]

Just had a look at first 5 seconds. Possibly could've been a soft free to NicNat for having a hand on his shoulder, but it would have been soft. Shuey could equally have been pinged for contact below the knee – much more likely to be paid than kicking in danger these days. Amartey was lucky to get away with push leading to his first goal but it wasn't terrible. Overall, umpiring had little impact on this game, & was pretty good (liked the non-decision for high against Shuey)… the Hawks game, on the other hand, was diabolical. We were not playing well, but a number of non-decisions cost us any chance to get back into the game when we (finally) had some momentum. My POV is the AFL needs Sydney teams to be successful – they just don't want us to be too successful. Imagine the whining if 2 Sydney teams played in the GF?

But thanks for making me watch Q1 again – with Bell, I'm more of a hoper than a believer – i do reckon that if you're deemed good enough to get into the side then you need a chance to do the job you've been picked to do. Probs never gonna be a superstar, but i've loved watching the effort, the pressure acts & forward defensive effort (which has been missing across the whole team the last month or so). He also works hard to spread and provide options when we've got the ball which helps to keep things more open when attacking (doesn't always get rewarded, but just being there means more opportunities for forwards rather than the usual bombs*). Then there's the 1 percenters & things that don't get a stat (like that little tap to Ollie & goal to Hayward). & watch the work leading to Hayward kicking it into the Barwon – presents an option moving out of defence, good mark & then is there again to receive and pass to Hayward at the other end. With James, i just get the feeling that he's got the right attitude and if we show some faith it will get repaid in time.

Amartey was another who coulda been dropped after a shocker vs PA. He could've had 3 goals in the first quarter alone had Wicks & Isaac given off to him (at least Wicks kicked his). Really good to see him get another crack.

*could be that WC were terrible & allowed more time, but our kicking inside 50 seemed much more effective than it has been. Cunningham (whose kicking can be dodgy), Blakey, Fox & even Ollie (tho' still has a tendency to bomb) provided some lovely low entries to advantage.

Thank you for putting that into words

[joeykanga]

I've noticed with Bell that there will always be several plays in the game where he gets everything right. He makes a good decision, even under pressure, then executes well. The question has been whether he can do that more often. He looks uncertain at times and makes a poor decision. I think the reason he's been getting games is this seems the kind of profile that can be helped by simply playing more at the highest level and learning through experience. So I give Bell a good shot of developing the game skills on a more consistent basis. And this is where his success or failure resides.

+1 he is certainly the type of player with that type of profile

[sharp9]

I tell you what….there aren’t many (any?) other clubs whose 22nd man is better than Bell. Side note - finished watching the replay and after match….the camaraderie is immense and I noticed that Bell, in particular was getting love from Rampe, Mills and Rowbottom in particular. No question that his team mates don’t have the reservations about him that some posters here do.

[NeonBible]

I tell you what….there aren’t many (any?) other clubs whose 22nd man is better than Bell. Side note - finished watching the replay and after match….the camaraderie is immense and I noticed that Bell, in particular was getting love from Rampe, Mills and Rowbottom in particular. No question that his team mates don’t have the reservations about him that some posters here do.

Fantastic observations sharp9

I spoke a month or so ago about the cult of personality and how far it can take you! We are building a very handy group of players who have a "cult of personality" around them in one way or another

We have some great characters like Joel "Amartey party" Amartey, and Nick "the Lizard" Blakey! Electric players like The Chad, Juzzy and little Errol! Cracking on field personalities in Paps and Wicksy! Popular "heart and soul" players like Bell and Florent! Then there's the obvious natural leaders like Isaac and Millsy. Sometimes whatever a player is lacking in belief or ability or confidence can be made up for with these things that make each of them unique! Such an exciting time to be a Swans fan with this group who are learning and growing together!!

CHEER CHEER

[Captain]

Bell is extremely average.

He got a few kicks in a 90 point win. Let’s see how he goes tomorrow....

[caj23]

Bell is extremely average.

He got a few kicks in a 90 point win. Let’s see how he goes tomorrow....

This

[Agent 86]

Bell is extremely average.

He got a few kicks in a 90 point win. Let’s see how he goes tomorrow....

‘Extremely Average’ is oxymoronic, right?

[caj23]

The Bell hyperbole on here has got to ridiculous levels.

Nobody wants him to fail, but at best he has shown small glimpses (as Captain stated in a 90 point win), otherwise he has been average to poor at AFL level thus far. The comparisons with Kirk and talk of future captaincy is laughable.

Yes he is young and has the opportunity to develop further, but he would need to improve significantly on his current output if he is to even eek out 50 games at AFL level. Jacob Hiscox was an elite runner as well, but it doesn't necessarily equal a succesful AFL career.

Hopefully he's a future All Australian, Brownlow Medal winning, Premiership captain and you can all bump this thread to show how short sighted I'm being, but I just don't see it at present.

[AB Swannie]

The Bell hyperbole on here has got to ridiculous levels.

Nobody wants him to fail, but at best he has shown small glimpses (as Captain stated in a 90 point win), otherwise he has been average to poor at AFL level thus far. The comparisons with Kirk and talk of future captaincy is laughable.

Yes he is young and has the opportunity to develop further, but he would need to improve significantly on his current output if he is to even eek out 50 games at AFL level. Jacob Hiscox was an elite runner as well, but it doesn't necessarily equal a succesful AFL career.

Hopefully he's a future All Australian, Brownlow Medal winning, Premiership captain and you can all bump this thread to show how short sighted I'm being, but I just don't see it at present.

I agree with this. I believe that he is a likeable teammate who tries his guts out but I think he should be rated around 30 on our list. At the moment, he is clearly the 22nd player in our team. With Warner, Rowbottom, Stephens, McDonald, Campbell all more talented not in the team, he is going to have to improve enormously to be a mainstay.

[MattW]

The Bell hyperbole on here has got to ridiculous levels.

Nobody wants him to fail, but at best he has shown small glimpses (as Captain stated in a 90 point win), otherwise he has been average to poor at AFL level thus far. The comparisons with Kirk and talk of future captaincy is laughable.

Yes he is young and has the opportunity to develop further, but he would need to improve significantly on his current output if he is to even eek out 50 games at AFL level. Jacob Hiscox was an elite runner as well, but it doesn't necessarily equal a succesful AFL career.

Hopefully he's a future All Australian, Brownlow Medal winning, Premiership captain and you can all bump this thread to show how short sighted I'm being, but I just don't see it at present.

As a discussion point, it's reached Rowbottom levels.

He probably had his best game last week. But games against the best teams are a good measure - let's see how he goes today.