Swans VFL 2023

[crackedactor 01]

A sad lot indeed. The same words came into my head.

Can't see any trade value in either Stephens or Gould. They will probably just be delisted. Luckily we got Chad in the 2019 draft. Otherwise, what a bust.

I don't like bagging rookies, but Edwards looks a long long shot at best. I can't decide on Arnold yet. He did a few nice things.

Feel much the same. 31 disposals for Stevens but about half of them were smothered. I agree Edwards is a long shot and maybe Caleb Mitchell also. I am also not sure on Arnold. Had to deal with Rory Lobb most of the day, so it was a tough task.

[gloveski]

Starting to look we might have outsmarted ourselves in last years draft . Weddle who the Hawks picked up with our pick swaps looks a way better prospect than any we drafted last year . Buller I think could be anything looking forward to see what he can do next year after a full preaseason


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[rojo]

I am trying to work out why Stephens is getting so much negativity. It seems a bit reminiscent of the continuous bagging of Tom Mitchell with too slow, can't kick, we don't need him labels when he played for us? There are other teams that have appreciated Tom's too slow, can't kick style of play. As I noted recently, Stephens' pre draft videos showed no problem with his disposal skills then. Is he the only one whose kicks get smothered from time to time? Yes, there certainly are areas of his game where improvement is needed but you could say that of quite a few players!

[Ludwig]

I am trying to work out why Stephens is getting so much negativity. It seems a bit reminiscent of the continuous bagging of Tom Mitchell with too slow, can't kick, we don't need him labels when he played for us? There are other teams that have appreciated Tom's too slow, can't kick style of play. As I noted recently, Stephens' pre draft videos showed no problem with his disposal skills then. Is he the only one whose kicks get smothered from time to time? Yes, there certainly are areas of his game where improvement is needed but you could say that of quite a few players!

I don't remember any negativity about Tom Mitchell. Our midfield at the time was too slow and we needed more speed. It was a problem having Kennedy, Parker, Hewett and Mitchell in the midfield, which was, in part the reason he was traded.

As for Stephens, he's getting a lot of the ball, so his poor disposal is all the more on display. Even the commentators remarked on this in the 3rd quarter. When Stephens has the ball, most of the time we will lose possession shortly thereafter. He's a turnover machine. I agree with you, that this was not evident from his draft year evaluation.

[MattW]

I didn't watch: how was Roberts?

Looks like he found a fair bit of it.

[rojo]

I was aware that having both Parker and Mitchell chasing the same ball was not working for our team and that it was going to be Mitchell that had to go but there were some on RWO who gave him a bad rap for whatever reason.

I can't help wondering if Dyl is facing a similar situation in that at the moment there seems to be no spot for him in the seniors. It is concerning that his disposal skills are letting him down.

The question is, is he just not good enough to make it at senior level; are there too many players already in the senior team or who have talents and skills that the team needs more; or can he dig in, work hard on the areas he needs to, believing he can make it, if not at the Swans then elsewhere. Hopefully the latter, ie dig in.... !

[liz]

I was aware that having both Parker and Mitchell chasing the same ball was not working for our team and that it was going to be Mitchell that had to go but there were some on RWO who gave him a bad rap for whatever reason.

I can't help wondering if Dyl is facing a similar situation in that at the moment there seems to be no spot for him in the seniors. It is concerning that his disposal skills are letting him down.

The question is, is he just not good enough to make it at senior level; are there too many players already in the senior team or who have talents and skills that the team needs more; or can he dig in, work hard on the areas he needs to, believing he can make it, if not at the Swans then elsewhere. Hopefully the latter, ie dig in.... !

I was in the "dig in" camp until today. This afternoon's game was enough to shake anyone's confidence. He was very poor. As was the entire side, Buller and maybe a couple of the young VFL players aside. (Kirk did some nice things, especially for a 19yo.)

To be fair to the rucks, none of them were awful. It's just that there were too damned many of them to get much continuity going. Hickey did kick a couple of goals, and McAndrew did a few nice things late.

[ootf]

On the rucks, McAndrew was actually good in the ruck contests he attended (and his tap work has been good when I’ve watched this year) but would need to contribute more around the ground (take a few more marks) to be an Seniors option. Hickey used the Hickey-ruck-method which means not jumping and/or wrestlng his opponent out of the way. Ladhams looks mmmm rusty (being polite).

Roberts still working his way back, was ok but caught HTB (dragging in) several times.

[rickmat]

For those who watched the game against the Doggies , what did you make of performance of Buku Kamis? He seemed to dominate in the forward line. He reminds me of early Allir Allir, originally an intercept defender. Can't crack senior side and is out of contract. Very mobile. Could be worth a look

[Ludwig]

The teamwork is so poor on our VFL team, it can be hard to tell where the fault lies from an individual player perspective. Opposition players get loose to take a mark for a shot on goal and all the Swans look around for someone to blame for the missed coverage.

I try to focus on the more experienced players who I would expect to be the leaders. It's hard to see any leadership in the team. It's just chaos.

Gould often looks upset when the opposition score, but I can't tell if he's upset with himself or some other player who messed up.

It's easier to assess Stephens, because when he's involved in the play, it rarely ends with something positive happening. Runs into trouble, blindly handballs, kicks to outnumbers, kicks directly to the opposition, kicks smothered, runs out of bounds. It's always something, but in the end, we don't retain possession. There were plenty of times when it would have been preferable to kick on his right, but he takes a few moments to shift to the left then kicks blindly because in he is now under pressure. There doesn't seem to be any purpose in his game.

I'm sure everyone in the swans football department are upset that our #5 draft pick turned out this way. I imagine that it's hard to project this outcome when looking at an 18 year old.

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Buku Khamis looks too good to be playing VFL. 4th year player with on 9 games, none this year. Out of contract too..

For those who watched the game against the Doggies , what did you make of performance of Buku Kamis? He seemed to dominate in the forward line. He reminds me of early Allir Allir, originally an intercept defender. Can't crack senior side and is out of contract. Very mobile. Could be worth a look

I wonder if he's gettable.

[troyjones2525]

The teamwork is so poor on our VFL team, it can be hard to tell where the fault lies from an individual player perspective. Opposition players get loose to take a mark for a shot on goal and all the Swans look around for someone to blame for the missed coverage.

I try to focus on the more experienced players who I would expect to be the leaders. It's hard to see any leadership in the team. It's just chaos.

Gould often looks upset when the opposition score, but I can't tell if he's upset with himself or some other player who messed up.

It's easier to assess Stephens, because when he's involved in the play, it rarely ends with something positive happening. Runs into trouble, blindly handballs, kicks to outnumbers, kicks directly to the opposition, kicks smothered, runs out of bounds. It's always something, but in the end, we don't retain possession. There were plenty of times when it would have been preferable to kick on his right, but he takes a few moments to shift to the left then kicks blindly because in he is now under pressure. There doesn't seem to be any purpose in his game.

I'm sure everyone in the swans football department are upset that our #5 draft pick turned out this way. I imagine that it's hard to project this outcome when looking at an 18 year old.

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I wonder if he's gettable.

Disappointing how Stephens is turning out. In hindsight, the highly rated midfielder we should have picked was Serong (Swans supporter and all!), but I get why we chose Stephens as it looked like he had all the tools to develop into a very classy midfielder.

A shame it's looking like a wasted pick...

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[i'm-uninformed2]

The erosion of Stephens’ skill level is horrible to watch.

I’ve got a good mate in SA who’s a mad Norwood fan and when we recruited him said he had elite kicking skills and even as a kid playing seniors in his draft year, that and his ability to jet away from the contest stood out. His view was matched by all the draft profiles and available vision at the time. He described him as Dylan Shiels with good foot skills. I’d also say that was obvious from the glimpses we had of him in his first two years.

But clearly something has got in Dylan’s head and his confidence is now shot. I’ve been hoping and expecting him to bounce back but it may be beyond redemption - at least with us. Very sad to watch, as he has all the tools to be an AFL player. Something’s not clicking though.

[Roadrunner]

The erosion of Stephens’ skill level is horrible to watch.

I’ve got a good mate in SA who’s a mad Norwood fan and when we recruited him said he had elite kicking skills and even as a kid playing seniors in his draft year, that and his ability to jet away from the contest stood out. His view was matched by all the draft profiles and available vision at the time. He described him as Dylan Shiels with good foot skills. I’d also say that was obvious from the glimpses we had of him in his first two years.

But clearly something has got in Dylan’s head and his confidence is now shot. I’ve been hoping and expecting him to bounce back but it may be beyond redemption - at least with us. Very sad to watch, as he has all the tools to be an AFL player. Something’s not clicking though.

He should be given a final couple of games to show us something. Otherwise trade him and cut our losses. Not every high draft pick turns out and look at all the late, late picks who become stars like Goodsey!

[Nico]

The erosion of Stephens’ skill level is horrible to watch.

I’ve got a good mate in SA who’s a mad Norwood fan and when we recruited him said he had elite kicking skills and even as a kid playing seniors in his draft year, that and his ability to jet away from the contest stood out. His view was matched by all the draft profiles and available vision at the time. He described him as Dylan Shiels with good foot skills. I’d also say that was obvious from the glimpses we had of him in his first two years.

But clearly something has got in Dylan’s head and his confidence is now shot. I’ve been hoping and expecting him to bounce back but it may be beyond redemption - at least with us. Very sad to watch, as he has all the tools to be an AFL player. Something’s not clicking though.

It's much tougher in the ones.

[ugg]

Buller got 1 coaches' vote https://www.afl.com.au/news/982336/r...s-vfl-round-17