2023 Preseason

[Markwebbos]

Fwiw we are the 5th youngest team going into 2023. Younger than Norf. Hopefully a lot of growth to come.

What does the average age of your AFL team tell us about its chances of success in 2023?

And rumoured to play the BLions twice

[Auntie.Gerald]

AFL teams by average age in 2023

Geelong – 25.5 years
Western Bulldogs – 25.4 years
Brisbane – 25.1 years
Richmond – 25.1 years
Melbourne – 25.1 years
Collingwood – 25.0 years
Gold Coast – 24.8 years
Carlton – 24.7 years
West Coast – 24.5 years
St Kilda – 24.4 years
Port Adelaide – 24.4 years
GWS – 24.2 years
North Melbourne 24.1 years
Sydney – 24.1 years
Fremantle – 24.0 years
Essendon – 23.9 years
Adelaide – 23.8 years
Hawthorn – 23.1 years

[Ruck'n'Roll]

I think by "team" the author means "squad" - which I'd think would differ considerably from the average age of the 23 that the club would most likely wish to have represent it each week.

[707]

Those stats are for the whole list not the 22/23 you put on the park each week.

If it's the playing team, Geelong would go up even further, we would go up if Buddy is playing by half a year.

I think we all know that we are amongst the youngest lists, hopefully a lot of growth still to come.

[barracuda]

Anyone going to the internal trial game tomorrow? If so could you do a comparison of the players trying to get into the "up for grab spots" For example,
Stephens and Campbell.
Clarke, Wicks, Konstanty and Sheldrick.
McLean, Armarty and Reid.

Thanks

[liz]

Anyone going to the internal trial game tomorrow? If so could you do a comparison of the players trying to get into the "up for grab spots" For example,
Stephens and Campbell.
Clarke, Wicks, Konstanty and Sheldrick.
McLean, Armarty and Reid.

Thanks

One would have to be aware that there is an internal trial game planned tomorrow...do you have any further details (eg start time)?

As an aside, I think it's unlikely either Reid or Armarty will participate given recent reports of interruptions to their pre-seasons (or non-start of a preseason in the case of Reid).

[barracuda]

One would have to be aware that there is an internal trial game planned tomorrow...do you have any further details (eg start time)?

As an aside, I think it's unlikely either Reid or Armarty will participate given recent reports of interruptions to their pre-seasons (or non-start of a preseason in the case of Reid).

Hi, I don't have a start time, usually 9am though.

[Maltopia]

Anyone going to the internal trial game tomorrow? If so could you do a comparison of the players trying to get into the "up for grab spots" For example,
Stephens and Campbell.
Clarke, Wicks, Konstanty and Sheldrick.
McLean, Armarty and Reid.

Thanks

I am hoping Cunningham is in good nick/form as he has rarely has a very bad game, is a decent bloke from the interviews I have seen, and was unlucky to lose his spot in the starting 22 due to injury.

Not sure who would go out the team for him though. Maybe Florent can play the Clarke/Bell/Wicks position.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

I am hoping Cunningham is in good nick/form as he has rarely has a very bad game, is a decent bloke from the interviews I have seen, and was unlucky to lose his spot in the starting 22 due to injury.

Not sure who would go out the team for him though. Maybe Florent can play the Clarke/Bell/Wicks position.

Harry gave Stengle a bath in the March Geelong game, which should illustrate his value as a lock down small defender to all. And at the moment I think he is the only potential player of that role. Florent and Lloyd are more attcking and at 72kg Vickery will need to spend time in the gym before he's ready for the firsts.

The world is a bit topsy turvey, defensive forwards are much lauded, as are offensive defenders - but maybe defensive defenders are out of vogue?

[Aaron]

AFL releases full two-week practice match schedule and Swans will play as below:

UNOFFICIAL MATCH SIMULATIONS
Friday February 24
Sydney v Brisbane, Tramway Oval (Moore Park), 12pm (4 x 25 minutes, no time on)

OFFICIAL PRACTICE MATCHES
Friday March 3
Sydney v Carlton, Blacktown International Sports Park, 7.10pm

[bloodspirit]

I attended training much too late today and arrived just in time to see the practice match finishing. Looked like it was played on a rectangular field across tramway oval but I might be wrong because, as I say, I turned up as it was finishing. SeanM was there and will hopefully provide one of his usual excellent reports. He departed when it finished but I hung around.

What happened next was that the players engaged in willing handball drills (of the type that SeanM has been describing). The thing that impressed me most is that @@@@ is getting real and the level of contact is increasing. Errol got towelled up a couple of times, slow to dispose of the ball, which made me laugh to see.

After that there were some of those drills - roughly 6 attackers v 6 defenders - where a coach would kick the ball in long to the top of the square where a mark would be contested between the opposing tall players. After a while the teams were switched and different sets of 6 would come on. The first tall match up was Melican defending Edwards and Melican cleaned him up. Most of the other match-ups were pretty even. I thought Francis did reasonably well, as did Tommy McCartin - but they got beaten too. An intriguing match up was Melican defending Logan McDonald. The honours were pretty evenly divided but what I noticed was that every now and then Melican had a lapse in concentration and let McDonald have an easy run at it. I wonder if that is a key part of Melican's problem? His best is fine but his lapses in concentration are untenable?

After that most of the players gradually left the ground. But about a dozen stayed in the middle to do 100 m sprints. After 4 sprints a few of them dropped out (Corey Warner finished first in that 4th sprint before he departed). After the 5th 100m most of the rest dropped out and there were 4 left. In that final sprint they finished in the following order: Heeney, Campbell, Rampe, McInerney. I don't know how much we can read into that because I have no idea of their relative workloads etc over the rest of the training session but I was still impressed with Heeney - and with all of those 4 for being the last out there.

In the time I was there I didn't see Buddy or Hickey. I'm dubious about Hickey's fitness. I hope he's ok.

A few players were doing some running on the sidelines (HHK, Rankin, Mitchell, Vickery among them). Cam Owen was also doing some running on the sidelines - but all by himself.

It was really hot in the sun. Those players are going to be sore and need to recover. I pitied them the extended walk to Swans HQ - another 200 m down the road!

[liz]

I watched part of today's session. I arrived at about 9.50am, just in time to see Cooper Vickery slot a long range snap through the goal posts, and then the whistle blow for the end of a period. They played two more periods after that, but since I don't know exactly when they started, I don't know how many they played in total.

I can't provide a full roll-call of who played and who didn't. The bulk of the squad participated, topped up by VFL players, some of whom seemed to rotate in and out. (I saw a youngster who I think was Inhi Kirk standing on the side-lines for periods, and Collis also seemed to be in and out.) Some of the players were numberless and others were in rogue numbers (PMac in 31; Mills in 15). Many wore caps, making it harder to identify them, especially those parked on the other side of the ground.

Those who didn't play, but who were in attendance, included Franklin, Reid, Hickey, McLean, Amartey and Lloyd.

I think I saw Blakey on the ground shortly after I arrived but then couldn't spot him. After the match simulation ended, I saw him walk onto the ground to join the rest of the group and participate in non-match drills but I didn't stick around to watch. Gould also walked on with Blakey, which prompted me to realise I hadn't noticed him during the match simulation.

The most notable absentee, who didn't appear to be even watching on, was Chad. It is possible that he was one going incognito in a cap, but I doubt it. Firstly, he doesn't strike me as a "play in a cap" kind of guy. Not with those curly locks. Secondly, he has a distinctive gait that I reckon I'd have recognised. And lastly, he'd have been playing onball, meaning I would most likely have noticed him.

The teams were "mixed ability" in the sense that those we expect to line up in round one were split across the red and turquoise teams, with a slight concentration into the red team. Parker, Mills, Gulden, and PMac were the most notable senior players in the turquoise team. Ladhams switched to turquoise, I think, just after I arrived. He rucked against McAndrew in red. Campbell was another in turquoise.

Despite the presence of Parker and Mills in the middle for the turquoise team, it was mostly one way traffic towards the red team's goal. That was quite handy for me, since that was the end I was standing closer to (and they didn't switch ends between periods). The red forward line was stacked with Papley, Hayward and Heeney, all of whom looked fit and sharp. McDonald was also on the red team, closely minded by Paddy. He found it tough to find space or time leads. Admittedly the ball wasn't delivered to him in the way a tall forward would ideally like, but when it was in the air, McDonald tried hard to fight for position but not with success.

Konstanty was also in the red forward line. I didn't see him do anything remarkable with the ball in hand, but his pressure was good and he laid some vigorous tackles.

Whenever the turquoise team did manage to get the ball down their end, it was routinely mopped up by a combination of Fox, Rampe, Florent and Tommy Mac. Given my earlier list of who was watching rather than playing, you can work out that there was no tall target of note playing for the turquoise team.

The session was willing and energetic rather than flowing or clean. I can't say there were many instances where players did stuff that surprised me, or made me metaphorically (as I was standing) sit up and take notice. But, based purely on what I saw today, the one fringe player who I think might bust his way into the side early on, and possibly stay there, is Sheldrick. He worked in tandem with Rowbottom for the red onball division, and I think they had the better of Parker and Mills (albeit those two may not have been going full bore). He was clean off the ground, purposeful in his movement of the ball, and delivered the best kick into the forward line that I saw all morning, right onto the chest of a leading team mate.

PS One interested onlooker was none other than JPK. He's lost nothing in calf muscle definition since retirement.

[bloodspirit]

Team photo day was yesterday. Here's a gallery - not up yet on the Swans site: AFL Photos - Galleries - AFL Photo Galleries.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Thanks Liz

I think I have mentioned over previous seasons that in the English Premier League close to 80% goals from turnover......of which most turnovers occur in the opposition's defensive half

The reason for raising this again is we saw how Geelong played it vs us in the GF......they did everything they could to tunnel ball it in our back half and lock it in.....and it worked

So I am guessing we are looking very closely at he can create a higher level of turnovers in forward line but equally who is best as capitalising and making goals from these turnovers

[joeykanga]

The flip side of that is that if we are pinned in we have to work out a way to get out and unlock that press. I understand what you're saying but I think in the grand final we never actually got to that situation to apply our own press.