2023 List Management

[goods53]

I hope Sheldricks ankle is ok for the Bulldogs game i noticed he was limping a fair bit & only had 54 minutes of game time 14 touches is still pretty good for about half a game of footy he will be a star for us

[gloveski]

Plus Dawson was playing other very valuable roles for us. I think it's worth remembering that he was a slow burn. His first NEAFL season for us was decent rather than suggesting we had an star on our hands. He had a few injury concerns early on, and when he got a few senior chances, he wasn't able to immediately translate his by-then-strong NEAFL form to senior level. By his own admission, he had one off-season when he took his foot off the pedal, thinking he'd "made it" at senior level, and then had some catching up to do.

Even once he was a firm fixture in the senior team, he was still on a steep improvement curve, culminating in a top three B&F finish in his last season with us. Had he stayed with us, there's no reason to think he wouldn't have continued to become more dominant, or that he wouldn't have been tried in different positions.

I don't think McKercher is the answer to a big-bodied midfielder. He's far more Zac Merrett than JPK. Cleary is more of your classic centre bounce, first possession type, albeit that he may not have many other arrows in his quiver at the moment.

Spot on Liz at 181cm and 73kg McKercher is not a big bodied inside mid . I think Merrett is spot on the type of player he is . Also think he might already be gone by pick 5 anyway .
I think we are better looking for a cheap recycled big bodied mid that can’t currently get a game at other clubs . Someone like Elijah Hollands from the Gold Coast for example


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[Roadrunner]

I think the big bodied mid theory can be overstated at times. Shai Bolton was arguably the best player on ground the other night because of his ability to win in tight then get on the move, and he’s not big bodied.

I think there is merit in Nico’s point re moving at speed through the contest. One thing Sheldrick does so well is make a beeline for the footy, use his body to clear space and then power past the point of contact to feed out a handball.

Yes, Shai Bolton was immense as the game wore on- he is a fantastic player. I agree that a big bodied midfielder is not necessarily what we need. I would go for speed and clean ball handling coupled with footy smarts: not too many tick these boxes and the closest one we have is young Errol. Gus and Roberts could grow into the role and some help from our rucks would make a difference. I think we have to play Stretch more, especially while Ladhams is absent as big Tom can’t ruck for more than a half at present.McLean has the body but he’s not a natural ruckman so that leaves Amartey, who is well suited but could be too injury prone. We have at least 4 pieces of the puzzle missing at present and that’s why we’re where we at on the ladder. Coaches and recruiters have a lot of work to do to fill the gaps. Considering the personnel we’ve had available the boys have done reasonably well- of course we’re not happy but if we’re realistic, we’re not a top side yet. Let’s hope we play better against the Fairypups next up.

[Auntie.Gerald]

It’s hard to argue against the ruck / strong body mids of Brisbane and Melbourne and also the Cats when they have all their players

Ie finals footy type builds for finals footy

But last year the Pies and Swans showed u can have serious impact on the comp with lighter mids and Ruck

Hmmmm a dominant ruckman would nice to start with

[Southern Swan15]

Would people be happy if we traded Papley but got wietering in return... not advocating to trade Papley just a question if he wanted to go back to Vic and carlton, would we see Jacob as a good outcome?

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[Blood Fever]

Interesting question. Both gun players.

[monopoly19]

All this talk of strong bodied mids had me looking up height and weight stats. Gus already 5kg+ on Rowbottom & Warner despite being shorter. Add in Papley and Gulden rotations and the midfield feels light sometimes. Obviously Parker and Mills have a bit more weight behind them. Was stunned to see McInerney is 188cm? He does not play that tall. Between him, Gulden, Campbell and Stephens our wings are very light, which is obviously useful is some ways.

[Roadrunner]

Would people be happy if we traded Papley but got wietering in return... not advocating to trade Papley just a question if he wanted to go back to Vic and carlton, would we see Jacob as a good outcome?

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No. Paps is vital to the team. Jacob is a great defender but I wouldn’t trade Paps as he’s a Blood now. Take Curnow or Mackay out of their side and they are a mid table team, so I don’t think Paps would want to go there anymore.

[Blood Fever]

Notice van Rooyen in the 2s for the Dees.

[troyjones2525]

Spot on Liz at 181cm and 73kg McKercher is not a big bodied inside mid . I think Merrett is spot on the type of player he is . Also think he might already be gone by pick 5 anyway .
I think we are better looking for a cheap recycled big bodied mid that can’t currently get a game at other clubs . Someone like Elijah Hollands from the Gold Coast for example


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I agree. There has to be a few around. Hollands would be a great pick up IMO.

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[Auntie.Gerald]

I suspect that Roberts and Gus may have dropped 5kg from their heavy builds before pre season at the swans

They have the same weight on their profiles since joining which would be surprising given they were carrying a few extra in their draft year

But either way Gus is very similar build to Lachie Neale and already appears a similar tenacity and midfield awareness as Lachie in his first two seasons - here is hoping

Mills, Parker, Gus and Chad most of the season together along with Heeney when required on matchups is still definitely competitive against most midfields in contested footy as long as our ruckman is dominant

[Auntie.Gerald]

But amid the Swans’ frustrating, rollercoaster season, one flaw has remained glaringly constant: Their contested possession and clearance issues, especially against the top teams.

Sydney lost the contested possession by -34 against Melbourne in Round 3. The Swans haven’t fared much better since against Port Adelaide (-9), Geelong (-20), Collingwood (-9), Fremantle (-15), Brisbane (-29) and, most recently, Richmond (-9).

AFL news 2023: Round 17 Talking Points, analysis, reaction, results, wrap, highlights, Sydney Swans problems, Clayton Oliver injury, send-off rule, Dustin Martin form

“I think they’re going to make some significant changes in the off-season, because they made none last year … Everyone else went and improved their list and Sydney didn’t. It’s been a big drop-off.”

[111431]

But amid the Swans’ frustrating, rollercoaster season, one flaw has remained glaringly constant: Their contested possession and clearance issues, especially against the top teams.

Sydney lost the contested possession by -34 against Melbourne in Round 3. The Swans haven’t fared much better since against Port Adelaide (-9), Geelong (-20), Collingwood (-9), Fremantle (-15), Brisbane (-29) and, most recently, Richmond (-9).

AFL news 2023: Round 17 Talking Points, analysis, reaction, results, wrap, highlights, Sydney Swans problems, Clayton Oliver injury, send-off rule, Dustin Martin form

“I think they’re going to make some significant changes in the off-season, because they made none last year … Everyone else went and improved their list and Sydney didn’t. It’s been a big drop-off.”

A brutal but honest assessment. I'm not sure how you upgrade the quality of our midfield bunch in one draft / trade but last year's GF (and the rematch at Geelong) demonstrated we were easily, and embarrassingly, bullied by Geelong. Might be a big season on the weights, a better clearance strategy and some upgraded players. It's a lot to achieve in one pre-season

[Ludwig]

There was a good discussion on the value of a dominant ruckman in On The Couch today. Both Dinstall and Buckley didn't think it was worth much. Buckley even said that he preferred playing to a losing ruck.

This has been my position for many years. We don't worry about ruckman. We don't even need any pure ruckmen on our list. We just need a competitive tall, like Sam Reid, who can play as an extra mid. This is how to win more clearances.

We've invested a lot in our midfield in recent years. I think the talent and depth are there. We need to make it work with the blokes we've got. If we are still looking for midfielders, we are in trouble. We need to invest in areas, particularly KPPs and Rampe type players to balance out the team.

It sounds like O'Sullivan would be a player to target for our first pick. Given our ladder position, he should be gettable.

[i'm-uninformed2]

There was a good discussion on the value of a dominant ruckman in On The Couch today. Both Dinstall and Buckley didn't think it was worth much. Buckley even said that he preferred playing to a losing ruck.

This has been my position for many years. We don't worry about ruckman. We don't even need any pure ruckmen on our list. We just need a competitive tall, like Sam Reid, who can play as an extra mid. This is how to win more clearances.

We've invested a lot in our midfield in recent years. I think the talent and depth are there. We need to make it work with the blokes we've got. If we are still looking for midfielders, we are in trouble. We need to invest in areas, particularly KPPs and Rampe type players to balance out the team.

It sounds like O'Sullivan would be a player to target for our first pick. Given our ladder position, he should be gettable.

Big fan of O’Sullivan.

I agree on the ruck theory, up to a point. We don’t need Nic Nat or a high paid ruck. But we had two physical, competitive beasts in 2012, and that seems the model. Nankervis was terrific as a grunter in Richmond’s run too. Go back to Clarke Keating in Brisbane’s trio of flags. Or you have solid citizens who can tap to advantage of an elite midfield (which is what I hope we see with McAndrew). Hickeys skills when at his best was he could get his own clearances, often with the grab the ball, pivot and roost.

As for Buckley, he’s one of the more moronic media commentators there is. Dull, and the moron who was party to a seven year, million dollar a year contract for a * checks notes * ruckman.