Round 12 vs Melbourne Demons @ MCG

[TheBloods]

Watching the replay, a few extra things you see - having previously mentioned a lot of great moments like the Lloyd mark or McCartin rounding up Pickett or Florent v Viney last night.

Just how good the T McCartin mark was in which he tweaked his ankle.

Ladhams was obviously on the end of a freak game by Gawn, but he kept going and did very well against Jackson. It would have been easy to drop his head and he didn’t.

McInerney did a good job containing Langdon, and then his last five-10 minutes with the ball were just outstanding.

We really did go harder for longer. There was a play late in the second quarter just after the Fritsch goal. There was a centre bounce, the ball bobbled around, and Rowie and Oliver arrived on it at the same time. Oliver is the best clearance/contested player there is. But Rowie dug in that nanosecond longer, wins the wrestle, claws the ball away and draws the free before pumping it forward.

As for Gulden, what a player he is. Leave aside the goal, which was nuts. There was a play in the second quarter where Spargo centres the ball to 15-20m out and there’s three Melbourne players. Gulden is in between them. Rather than panic, he watched the flight of the ball, sees it’s going to Mitch Brown, and calmly spoils the bloke at least 15cm taller than him - hitting it 20m minimum. The ball goes forward , bounces around, Chad grabs it, pumps to Paps and he goals on the run. There was another play where he took a mark in the last line of defence and within 30 seconds bobs up on the wing to pump the ball into f50. He was everywhere. I honestly have no clue what position he played but he just kept appearing and he just has a great instinct for the game.

Great post

[dejavoodoo44]

Watching the replay, a few extra things you see - having previously mentioned a lot of great moments like the Lloyd mark or McCartin rounding up Pickett or Florent v Viney last night.

Just how good the T McCartin mark was in which he tweaked his ankle.

Ladhams was obviously on the end of a freak game by Gawn, but he kept going and did very well against Jackson. It would have been easy to drop his head and he didn’t.

McInerney did a good job containing Langdon, and then his last five-10 minutes with the ball were just outstanding.

We really did go harder for longer. There was a play late in the second quarter just after the Fritsch goal. There was a centre bounce, the ball bobbled around, and Rowie and Oliver arrived on it at the same time. Oliver is the best clearance/contested player there is. But Rowie dug in that nanosecond longer, wins the wrestle, claws the ball away and draws the free before pumping it forward.

As for Gulden, what a player he is. Leave aside the goal, which was nuts. There was a play in the second quarter where Spargo centres the ball to 15-20m out and there’s three Melbourne players. Gulden is in between them. Rather than panic, he watched the flight of the ball, sees it’s going to Mitch Brown, and calmly spoils the bloke at least 15cm taller than him - hitting it 20m minimum. The ball goes forward , bounces around, Chad grabs it, pumps to Paps and he goals on the run. There was another play where he took a mark in the last line of defence and within 30 seconds bobs up on the wing to pump the ball into f50. He was everywhere. I honestly have no clue what position he played but he just kept appearing and he just has a great instinct for the game.

I'm pretty sure his position at academy level was, "Errol, you just run wherever you want to". I think they're now letting him play more like that. Against Richmond, the tracker had him covering 16.5 km: which is genuinely elite and the best in all games for the round. Although, for the academy, he did spend more time as an in and under midfielder.

[i'm-uninformed2]

I'm pretty sure his position at academy level was, "Errol, you just run wherever you want to". I think they're now letting him play more like that. Against Richmond, the tracker had him covering 16.5 km: which is genuinely elite and the best in all games for the round. Although, for the academy, he did spend more time as an in and under midfielder.

I’ve said it before, he’s got one of the highest footy IQs I’ve seen, so I’d trust him with the “whatever you reckon Errol” role.

[dejavoodoo44]

I’ve said it before, he’s got one of the highest footy IQs I’ve seen, so I’d trust him with the “whatever you reckon Errol” role.

Having just watched the second quarter again, I noticed a little snippet, that emphasises his ground covering ability. It's the passage that you described, that starts with the spoil on Brown and ends with Papley haring into the 50. Papley then turns to celebrate. The first one there with the high fives? Young Errol.

[liz]

Errol is almost always the closest player to celebrate a goal with.

[Markwebbos]

Do they use mirrors or are they actually twins?

[Agent 86]

I had been planning this trip for months, especially following the defeat last year and enduring the MCC members’ taunts and arrogance. The first quarter saw a state of deja vu, and I was beginning to wonder what could I do to become invisible.
I knew that we if we had kicked straighter or they kicked less straight then we would have been right in it but it was scary watching how easily they entered their forward fifty and were able to convert.
The second quarter saw RB completely dominate Oliver’s influence, a team approach to tackling and responsibility, great contested marking both forward and back and relentless pressure across the ground.
The second half became an arm wrestle with Gawn dominant but the Swans winning everywhere else. Blakey was outstanding, Rampe completely shut down Brown, the McCartin’s were amazingly brave and the Members were complaining (always a good sign from bullies).
This win was important not just from a ladder perspective but because we need to prove to ourselves that we are worthy, that teams need to fear us and that we are genuine contenders.
Why did we win, when so many times teams have not been able to resist the Melbourne onslaught once they’d gained the advantage? The belief and grit of this group of young men is surely remarkable and makes me humble to be a supporter of such a team.
A great night.

Great yarn! Thanks. Would’ve been a great game to witness live (despite the cold).

[RogueSwan]

I'm pretty sure his position at academy level was, "Errol, you just run wherever you want to"...

The Adam Goodes position

[i'm-uninformed2]

Having just watched the second quarter again, I noticed a little snippet, that emphasises his ground covering ability. It's the passage that you described, that starts with the spoil on Brown and ends with Papley haring into the 50. Papley then turns to celebrate. The first one there with the high fives? Young Errol.

Ha! I missed that at first but yes - amazing. When I looked again, you can actually seeing him running through the middle as Chad sends the ball forward. How he got there so quick after the spoil I have no idea but he does seem to have preternatural running abilities for a 19 year old, let alone all his other attributes.

I wonder if this is a bit of a distinction with Campbell. I know he played midfield as a junior but there is a big difference between doing that, and having an AFL midfield engine. This is not to knock Campbell, as most players take a couple of years to develop one. For example, as good as Chad was at times last year and as much as he had explosive power in bursts, his ability to play permanent mid and cover the ground has taken a quantum leap forward again this year.

Anyway, it's all a nice reminder we have a very special player on our hands in Errol. I said on Saturday night, long may the footy gods be kind to Logan. I hope they're just as kind to Errol.

[111431]

If Errol and Buddy had played together for 10 years, Buddy would have 2000 goals by now. He finds his chest nearly everytime he goes forward with the ball

[707]

Speaking of Errol, I wonder if the club knew he was this outstanding before he was drafted and how much they were prepared to go into deficit to match a bid if it had come much higher than the eventual steal at pick 32.

I'm glad they matched because based on exposed form, and I might be forgetting a player or two here?, Errol currently looks the best player of the 2020 ND?

[i'm-uninformed2]

Speaking of Errol, I wonder if the club knew he was this outstanding before he was drafted and how much they were prepared to go into deficit to match a bid if it had come much higher than the eventual steal at pick 32.

I'm glad they matched because based on exposed form, and I might be forgetting a player or two here?, Errol currently looks the best player of the 2020 ND?

My understanding is they thought the risk was he'd go in that pick 20-22 range, where Geelong (who ultimately bid on him with their next pick) and Melbourne, who had two picks, were placed. That was line ball on a deficit so they would have taken him in a heartbeat.

Our real piece of luck in that draft actually came in the final game of 2020 when Papley kicked 2.5 against Geelong and we lost by a goal. He kicks straight, we win the game, Hawks finish below us on the ladder and bid on Campbell - and there's no Logan McDonald. God bless ya Paps!

[Faunac8]

My understanding is they thought the risk was he'd go in that pick 20-22 range, where Geelong (who ultimately bid on him with their next pick) and Melbourne, who had two picks, were placed. That was line ball on a deficit so they would have taken him in a heartbeat.

Our real piece of luck in that draft actually came in the final game of 2020 when Papley kicked 2.5 against Geelong and we lost by a goal. He kicks straight, we win the game, Hawks finish below us on the ladder and bid on Campbell - and there's no Logan McDonald. God bless ya Paps!

Great post
As I often maintain it’s a game of inches and it doesn’t take many of them to create the butterfly effect which can either impact negatively or in this case positively.
Listening to Logan after the game he seems very settled and embedded in our culture.
I know he signed for 2 more years earlier this year but I hope his next contract is similar to Isaac’s in length and he becomes a one club player.
So looking forward to Errol putting it out in front of him for another ten years plus.

[Goal Sneak]

Watching the replay, I was most impressed with the way we switched between offence and defence. We continued to take risks in attack but if there was a turnover, we immediately switched into a ferocious defensive unit. If we can continue to switch like that for the rest of the season then we will be very hard to beat.

I'm not able to find the scores from turnovers stat but I imagine the Swans came out clear winners in this department.

[liz]

I'm not able to find the scores from turnovers stat but I imagine the Swans came out clear winners in this department.

The First Crack (FoxFooty) panel looked at this last night. I can't remember exactly, but I think Melbourne kicked 0.5 from turnover and we were 5.something.

David King also talked about net metres gained from turnover. He suggested that any team with a positive net metres gained over a match will more often than not win. If a team achieves 500m net metres gained from turnover, they have had a sensational game. On Saturday, the Swans achieve >1,300m.

My main impression from watching the replay (admittedly mostly 2nd and 4th quarters) is that our lads played far from a perfect game, at least in terms of kicking. They were trying high risk kicks into the corridor but a lot of these didn't come off. So it's not as if we played the game of our lives to win that one. Still plenty more to get right.

Another thing highlighted on First Crack was that Melbourne have only played three teams in the current top eight, and have lost two out of three. So while the story all season (until now) is that the Dees were just strolling towards another premiership, they've not performed (yet) against the teams that matter.

By comparison, the Dockers are currently best against top eight sides (4-2). We are 2-2.