Swans vs GWS - elimination final

[joeykanga]

So move Fox to the forward line? i'd prefer we back one of our forwards to hopefully limit his rebound and hurt him going the other way. Perhaps Hayward?

I actually like Fox around the ground ..he’s a clever player and plays the wing role well

[barry]

What are GWS's weaknesses that we can exploit?

On paper, not many. They match up on us well with Sam Taylor in career best form to take on Buddy. Their midfield is more mature than ours, and the 3 prong forward line of Himmelburg (a bit soft, but ok), Hogan (can go missing) and Toby green (wear safety googles) will stretch us, if we dont control the midfield. Mummy will come in, and this is where Hickey should be able to run him around a lot. They may actually be tempted not to play mummy for that reason.

But the biggest weakness they have is that they play a very 'run of the mill', bog standard game plan, and still rely on individual talent to get the job done. This is where Horse and Pyke should go to town on playing the short precision game we had earlier in the year. Select all our best kickers and runners.

[joeykanga]

I would definitely be against banning or sanctioning either TB or BS.

TB has a mix of opinions like most of us. But he has an negative obsession about one particular player. But was that any worse than my own obsession with Tom Derickx? The only difference is that RB is a good player and, well, Tom Derickx was Tom Derickx. Eventually it will be overwhelmingly clear that Rowbottom is a good player and that should let the topic peter out.

BS is a somewhat different story. He is and expert in the ridiculous. It is a rare talent to have someone being able to pass a skewer through Socrates without causing him to bleed. Such is his talent. He shows us why some people hate Brian Taylor and others love him. BS needs to pick and choose his spots better. If not for Covid, I would offer BS some free lessons in the Ludwig Clown School, but a nasty spike protein has infected the schools website and all my current programmers are on ventilators, although I think some have filled the oxygen tanks with cannabis vapor.

Anyway, I think they are both trolling us, and I am up for the game.

As a partial disclaimer, if either BS or TB have a mental illness, join the club. If it gets to be too much for you, cut and run and try something else. Feel free to call me at Beyond Red and White, if you are being overwhelmed by irrational thoughts and need to chat to a prerecorded voice.

This is so good

[Bangalore Swans]

Whitfield as a number 1 draft pick obviously has some real ability and has shown this during this year . One thing that I found intriguing was that he likes to collect lots of uncontested possessions and doesn’t seem to be that keen on working for the ball .
He also makes mistake when under pressure so someone who can sit on him and disrupt the freedom that he generally seems to find will minimise his impact . I am the first to admit that I am no expert and there are plenty on this site that have much more knowledge than me but I would be interested to hear the thoughts of _______ ( insert random poster name here ) on how well George Hewett would go shadowing him?

Hewitt is a good idea to play on Whitfield.

Josh Kelly also needs marking. Would you send Hewitt to Whitfield or Kelly?

Another consideration pertains to Mills and Kennedy being out (two big bodies). You may need Hewitt’s strength over the ball if Mills and Kennedy are out.

[joeykanga]

Went to the game in 2012, plenty of Swans supporters in Tassie. Hoping to get to Saturday's game as well

You’ll be channeling our support also

[Faunac8]

Hewitt is a good idea to play on Whitfield.

Josh Kelly also needs marking. Would you send Hewitt to Whitfield or Kelly?

Another consideration pertains to Mills and Kennedy being out (two big bodies). You may need Hewitt’s strength over the ball if Mills and Kennedy are out.

Good point BS my hopes are that either of or ideally both Mills and Kennedy are available and so two shutdown roles are not required but if not Whitfield would still be my priority as Kelly is in a class of his own recently and so diverting resources to closing him down may backfire on us and leave us with a player looking on chasing and not contributing in a proactive way.
Our strength or POD is moving the ball around at a fast pace and hitting targets in space and I think if we set up too defensively we run the risk of negating that ability.
My feeling is the way to approach this game is we run these guys off their feet and challenge them to score more than us because I think we will win a shoot out.

[Goal Sneak]

Good point BS my hopes are that either of or ideally both Mills and Kennedy are available and so two shutdown roles are not required but if not Whitfield would still be my priority as Kelly is in a class of his own recently and so diverting resources to closing him down may backfire on us and leave us with a player looking on chasing and not contributing in a proactive way.
Our strength or POD is moving the ball around at a fast pace and hitting targets in space and I think if we set up too defensively we run the risk of negating that ability.
My feeling is the way to approach this game is we run these guys off their feet and challenge them to score more than us because I think we will win a shoot out.

I agree the best way to approach this game is to try and run them off their feet.
One of our biggest assets is our ability to constantly run and spread across the ground and create space. This combined with our ball use and pressure has been a big reason for our success this year. If our opposition can't or isn't willing to match our run, we can usually tear them apart.
A lot will depend on how much sustained pressure GWS can bring. I back us to run and defend like crazy all day.

[i'm-uninformed2]

Hewitt is a good idea to play on Whitfield.

Josh Kelly also needs marking. Would you send Hewitt to Whitfield or Kelly?

Another consideration pertains to Mills and Kennedy being out (two big bodies). You may need Hewitt’s strength over the ball if Mills and Kennedy are out.

This is a very fair point that I'd been wondering about, and I think the likely scenario if Mills and JPK are out: that is, Hewett being needed inside, and possibly tending to Hopper or someone more direct to the source; or just purely focused on doing heavy lifting inside to win the ball - which he is very good at in his own right.

Alternatively, you'd want someone like Ollie - with the big tank and running capacity - to keep Whitfield or Kelly occupied. Not in a pure tagging sense, but by making himself sufficiently dangerous that they can't just roam freely, picking off uncontested possessions in space to set up play.

[KTigers]

Most of the games have been capped with crowd numbers this year which would impact. Along with hawks and kangaroos being near the bottom of the ladder I guess. Hobart is also not great for footy viewing - always super cold and windy down there.

Fair enough. I didn't realise they were capping the crowd numbers in Tasmania. Bellerive Oval (now called Blundstone Arena) is right
on the Derwent and gets the winds coming in off the water I think. I'm sure there will be a money reason for not using it, but North
Hobart Oval is a classic. I saw some recent pictures of it and it looked unchanged since the halcyon days of Tasmanian footy in the 70s.
Apparently there was a $1.2M upgrade last year but that would have likely only paid for some new change rooms and little else.
I remember getting hit in the back of the head by my fifth form English teacher as I stared vacantly out the window at the oval from
the classroom when I was supposed to be giving my summation of a Patrick White novel (a book I hadn't read of course) to the rest
of the class. Those were the days.

[Buzz13]

Fair enough. I didn't realise they were capping the crowd numbers in Tasmania. Bellerive Oval (now called Blundstone Arena) is right
on the Derwent and gets the winds coming in off the water I think. I'm sure there will be a money reason for not using it, but North
Hobart Oval is a classic. I saw some recent pictures of it and it looked unchanged since the halcyon days of Tasmanian footy in the 70s.
Apparently there was a $1.2M upgrade last year but that would have likely only paid for some new change rooms and little else.
I remember getting hit in the back of the head by my fifth form English teacher as I stared vacantly out the window at the oval from
the classroom when I was supposed to be giving my summation of a Patrick White novel (a book I hadn't read of course) to the rest
of the class. Those were the days.

Yeah a few games have been capped at 10k Max, even for finals I believe this weekend.

Yeah bit of wind off the Derwent and the mountain unfortunately. The ground itself is pristine and can't fault it - just the weather unfortunately ruins the comfort and the spectacle. Haha daydreaming instead of paying attention in class ????

[joeykanga]

This is a very fair point that I'd been wondering about, and I think the likely scenario if Mills and JPK are out: that is, Hewett being needed inside, and possibly tending to Hopper or someone more direct to the source; or just purely focused on doing heavy lifting inside to win the ball - which he is very good at in his own right.

Alternatively, you'd want someone like Ollie - with the big tank and running capacity - to keep Whitfield or Kelly occupied. Not in a pure tagging sense, but by making himself sufficiently dangerous that they can't just roam freely, picking off uncontested possessions in space to set up play.

How do you see Warner’s role if Mills and Kennedy were both out and he’s fit to go in

[barry]

Whitfield as a number 1 draft pick obviously has some real ability and has shown this during this year . One thing that I found intriguing was that he likes to collect lots of uncontested possessions and doesn’t seem to be that keen on working for the ball .

Whitfield is a half-back distributer. If you are a half decent kick with a bit of run, its about the easiest position to play on the field.
We used to use Jones, and everyone was concerned when he left. Lloyd stepped up, no loss. Overrated position.

[The Runner]

Whitfield is a half-back distributer. If you are a half decent kick with a bit of run, its about the easiest position to play on the field.
We used to use Jones, and everyone was concerned when he left. Lloyd stepped up, no loss. Overrated position.

I completely disagree. Our game has been revolutionised by kicking from half back and creating scores. If anything, Lloyd is one of the weaker kicks in the back half too.

I'd be sending Wicks straight to Whitfield. He's crucial to their success. So is Greene - Rampe is best placed there. Good moving bringing Melican back to allow him to not play tall.

GWS are very good but poorly coached. Absorbing their pressure, then sticking to our plan will be the key.

[i'm-uninformed2]

I completely disagree. Our game has been revolutionised by kicking from half back and creating scores. If anything, Lloyd is one of the weaker kicks in the back half too.

I'd be sending Wicks straight to Whitfield. He's crucial to their success. So is Greene - Rampe is best placed there. Good moving bringing Melican back to allow him to not play tall.

GWS are very good but poorly coached. Absorbing their pressure, then sticking to our plan will be the key.

You're right - Lloyd is not an elite kick. It's his endless run that helps create space and forward ground for us. Whitfield plays the same role, but with elite kicking capacity.

I guess my focus on him is that he's one of their few great kicks. They're more of a grunt team, and if you can stifle one of their few sources of good ball movement, they don't score easily.

If Wicks can do the job, superb.

[Go Swannies]

Buzz did you get a barcode yet? Sorry I got caught up in work and just came back here. If you still need mine, PM me your email address.