Swans VFL 2023

[crackedactor 01]

Did not see the match but it looks like they are up to their usual standard. Guess we were lucky it wasn't 100 points plus.

[BRS328]

I think you need to put some perspective to it. Swans had 5 players with a combined total of less than 100 games. Gold Coast had 18 players with senior experience who between them have played more than 600 games.
It makes a hell of a difference, and you only have to look at the improvement in the Swans with the addition of a mature players in the mid season draft, and the return of some players from injury.
I am of the opinion in order to develop first year players out of the draft you need some experience in order to help with their development. Clearly that was an issue early in the season with so many injuries

[Markwebbos]

I’m not a VFL watcher but note that Melican was playing rather than returning to AFL. Two questions:

1) do people think was this just a game to get him and his hamstrings AFL ready? Or is there more to it than that?
2) did Arnold outperform him or were they playing different roles?

[BRS328]

Talking to on of the coaches recently he said that the club were pleasantly surprised by Melican in his mid season run of 7 games, however we are all very well aware of his injury history.
My guess is he will be back for the end of the year if for no other reason than to assess whether he is worth retaining on the list. I gather he has changed his running style in an attempt to overcome the recurring hamstring issues.
Cannot comment on the reserve game as I did not see it

[Markwebbos]

Talking to on of the coaches recently he said that the club were pleasantly surprised by Melican in his mid season run of 7 games, however we are all very well aware of his injury history.
My guess is he will be back for the end of the year if for no other reason than to assess whether he is worth retaining on the list. I gather he has changed his running style in an attempt to overcome the recurring hamstring issues.
Cannot comment on the reserve game as I did not see it

Thanks BRS! I agree with that assessment of his form

[ugg]

Don’t want to raise unjustified alarms but during the last few minutes of the match I couldn’t spot Melican out on the field or on the bench. Whereas Corey Warner who was taken off some time during the third quarter was resting with a robe on

[liz]

I’m pretty sure Corey was held back to be senior emergency. At three quarter time he took his boots off, walked round the boundary to the race and disappeared down for a few minutes before re-emerging with the robe.

[ugg]

McAndrew charged with Careless Umpire Contact from the weekend's game. He is fined $300 and gets a reprimand, or if he enters an early plea will just get the reprimandhttps://www.afl.com.au/news/907736/vfl-w-match-review-panel-summary

[Ruck'n'Roll]

After being given a bath by Moyle, am I allowed to say at least he made onfield contact with someone?

[liz]

After being given a bath by Moyle, am I allowed to say at least he made onfield contact with someone?

I thought his second half was more encouraging than his first. He got a bit more aggressive and physical at centre bounces at least.

Although the team was outplayed all over the ground by a team swimming with confidence that was a little to a lot better in pretty much all facets of the game, I thought there were some positive things to take out of it. I reckon almost all the team had a few "moments" here and there where they rose to the contest. Unfortunately, the team wasn't able to string too many of these moments together often enough, and the Suns were able to disrupt much of the routine stuff that the Swans did, or tried to do.

The player I was most encouraged by was Magor. I like the fact they put him down back halfway through the season so he could get his hands on the ball, and he's had some productive games down there. But I was starting to worry he was getting into a habit of relying on cheap handballs to get his disposal count up, and not showing much appetite for the contest. But there were several times on Saturday where he willed himself into a tackle and brought a much bigger body down to the ground. At least once it was Moyle. As a player who I think has the skill to graduate to the next level once he gets a bit bigger and stronger, I was highly encouraged by that.

I though Cleary was, by some margin, our best midfielder in the first half. Maybe he dropped off a little after halftime - though my attention also fell away too, so that might explain why he was less prominent. In a game where Stephens and Roberts were removed from the team that was convincing the previous week against the Giants, and where Warner was uncharacteristically flakey, Cleary attended a lot of centre bounces and seemed the only Swan likely to win first possession.

Kirk also had a solid all around game, including earning a shot at goal from a crunching tackle in our forward line. Sadly he willed himself to take the kick despite having hurt himself in that contest, rather than going straight off the ground and letting someone else try to convert. I don't know if he's got quite enough tricks to make it all the way to senior AFL level but he's acquitting himself well in the VFL.

Twice Gander, who's still skinny as a rake, used his body beautifully in contests to win possession. His build means he's not the most physical of players so those contests were a great step foward.

Hawkins didn't get much of the ball but there were a couple of moments when I went "wow". I can see him staying on for an U19 year with the academy, and maybe getting a chance at the National Championships. I think he was playing U16 as a 17yo, so he may be viewed as a "late developer". He's certainly got something about him.

It was hard to work out how our defenders were going with the defensive stuff because the supply of ball into the Suns' forward line was relentless and well organised. But Will Edwards seemed to go OK in genuine one-on-one contests, and Arnold continued on from where he left off last week with a positive rebounding game.

And while he didn't get many opportunties, Konstanty again showed the pace, tackling intent, marking ability etc etc that has emerged over the last month. It's really baffling to know why he was being played at the midpoint of the season when we suspected he wasn't fit, something that now seems close to certain.

[dejavoodoo44]

Agree with all of that, so I'll just add a few comments. Yes, Magor was the one who pleased me most. Especially that he constantly hit targets. I can see him slowly taking over the Lloyd role over the coming seasons. Which makes me wonder a bit about Rankin. I think he's improved quite a bit this season, but with Magor blossoming, will they keep both?

I also liked the defensive work of Edwards. Some of his spoiling and marking was very good. I think the main problem he has is his agility when the ball hits the ground. Hopefully they'll have him working on that over the off-season. I also liked the ball work of Arnold.

Kirk was pretty good, but missed a few too many kicks. I thought McAndrew was handy, but hopefully Ladhams is playing injured, because he was terrible.

[liz]

There was a moment in the game - and I can't really remember when it was. I think third quarter but very unsure - where Ladhams appeared to win possession on the attacking wing/pocket. He took a clean mark but got some contact from an opponent in the process, possibly a little late. He seemed to then exchange words / gestures with the umpire as he was lining up with ball in hand, and the next minute he was told to give the ball up to the Suns player standing the mark.

If there had been a down field free kick I imagine the ball would have been moved further towards the Suns' goal, so all I could guess was that Ladhams had been penalised for dissent, maybe thinking he was deserving of a 50m penalty.

Can anyone else recall that moment? Maybe someone who was watching the video stream and thus got some explanation from the commentary?

If it was for dissent, that's pretty ordinary given he was reported for umpire abuse last week.

[Auntie.Gerald]

How’s everyone thinking Caleb Mitchell is tracking?

[dejavoodoo44]

How’s everyone thinking Caleb Mitchell is tracking?

I like him. He does plenty of power running: the sort of thing where he'll bob up in the forward line, and you'll scratch your head, thinking, 'wasn't he in the back pocket a few seconds ago?' He can stick a tackle and throws himself into contests. His kicking style isn't going to win any awards, but he has put through the occasional long shot. Looking forward to him developing next season.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Agree
He definitely plays like an school wing but now we have BJ, Gulden, JMac moving down our wings with deadly kicks do we sense Caleb maybe more so fighting for a HBF type role in the future?

The 3 players above pretty much have the wing two spots stitched up for a long time unless we see Gulden more and more becoming an inside outside mid and or BJ Campbell playing a Lloyd role in the future?