Match thread: Swans v Saints.

[troyjones2525]

"all good, only just lost, no need to make a change, still 2 games clear on top"

Gees I'd hate to see a bit of selection pressure applied to some of the guys who have been getting carried every other week.

Agreed. But there isn't a lot in the VFL that I would be happy to see come in, which is concerning.

Thankfully, Mills and Parker are two players that do belong in our senior side, and both should be straight back in next week! Forget this "needing a run in the VFL" stuff! They are senior, professional footballers, and should be ready to play senior football straight away.

We are so fortunate we haven't had too many injuries as I feel our depth isn't great. Especially in key areas.

We probably needed a wake-up as guys like Warner, Errol, and a few others have clearly been reading their own press and try to take on the world almost every time they win the ball. I don't mind a bit of flair, but doing the team stuff is what will count in September.

Hopefully, Horse and the coaches can get them focused when it counts the most...

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[Kafka's Ghost]

Well, that was seriously bad. We had 13 more Inside 50s, that last shot by Papley was inexplicable, but our pressure the last two weeks has been sub-AFL level. Will Hayward didn’t have a tackle, along with a couple of mates, but he’s supposed to be a “pressure forward”. There’ll be no finals won with that sort of effort, and we’ll struggle against North next week if we bring that sort of performance. We look like we don’t really want to work for it, and think we can win a game with a burst of brilliance. If we can’t do it against a team like St Kilda, we won’t be doing it against more well-credentialed clubs.


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[Dow]

Could Amarty have a spell for Hamiling ? Mills and Parker couldn’t be coming back soon enough

[troyjones2525]

Guys, this was bad. We had a good lead and then coughed it up. The way we played was in bursts and that’s not anywhere good enough. Too many passengers today: Amartey, Wicks, Lloyd, Wilbur to name just a few. There were many others who were barely just ok at best. Kicking for goal was terrible and we couldn’t handle the pressure-similar to our loss against the Tigers. Horse and Co have a lot of work to do. Our overhead marking in the forward line was non existent- Hamling in for Amartey and maybe Francis for Melican. I can’t see how Wicks can hold his spot especially if Mills is ready to come in.

Very poor display today.

The passengers you mentioned I agree with. Amarty has been awful since his 9 goal game but would still be stiff to be dropped just yet due to that... for now..

Wicks on the other hand... yes he applies a bit of pressure, but he doesn't do a lot else, or hasn't lately.

Unfortunately, I believe Konstanty was drafted to take his place, but looks to be a failed pick, so we don't have much else to choose from, hence my post earlier regarding a real lack of what looks like quality depth at the moment.

They have all shown that they can do it when in form, so let's hope they can turn it around and show the form we had a month or 2 ago.

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[liz]

There are a lot of players well well down on where they were for the first dozen or so matches of the season. We've actually been steadily dropping off for several matches now, being saved by those short bursts of goals. But we have to actually convert the opportunities, and both this week and last we've not done that. We've lost both games despite having as many decent opportunities (and more registered scoring shots) than our opponents.

I thought this week that a lot of players looked heavy in the legs even in the first quarter. They are certainly not running and connecting as they did early in the season.

Could open the door for Parker to come in next week. Maybe Mills too. We suddenly look like we could use a refresh. It's a shame there's not more playing well in the VFL at the moment, because a handful of our players have been pretty ordinary for the last few weeks. But I suspect they're still better than what might come in from underneath.

[lwjoyner]

parker 9doesnt need a run in 2) amd mill if ok/ For wicks and lloyd (beaten asily by his opponent) who was terrific for saints. Haming for Amerty doing nothing not even marking maybe reating o his laurels

[i'm-uninformed2]

We looked heavy, particularly defensively. Not sure if it’s a few banged up blokes, a heavy training block, or just general laziness. I suspect the few two but we will see.

I’m not getting all panicky yet though. I remember the Pies losing a few at the back end of last season.

[crackedactor 01]

we played like a bunch of Prima Donas today.We think we are so bloody good that we dont need to try hard. I thought Ollie Florent's effort in the last quarter where he dropped the handpass and then recovered and thought he would play on rather than a quick kick or Handball, by then he was grabbed by 3 St Kilda players, reflects's player's attitude for the whole game. I am so wonderful!! North will try hard next week and I don't think we are tough enough to handle it.

[Daisi]

I don't think we should pick on one or two players, as it seems the whole team is down. I agree that some of the boys may have been a bit too confident. However, today, it was hand passes that didn't meet their mark, kicks that went directly to the opposition and bad goal kicking. Okay- that's probably the whole game of football.

Is it the pressure that other teams are bringing and it's making them panic? Perhaps a wiser head like Parker (is he a wiser head?) or Mills would be good for the team. I think they need to chill- not fall asleep, but not panic under the pressure. They are a talented bunch, these defeats will tell us whether they have the character to weather the physical storms from better teams.

Interesting times.

[neilfws]

Credit to the Saints for bringing pressure and belief I guess. I did not enjoy watching that one at all.

Butchered at least four inside 50s with over-use and poor hand passing. Down on skills, down on speed, down on decision making.

Thought Fox was a good in, that was a positive.

Anyway - fortunate to have the buffer from the excellent first half to the season. Just hope that no one thinks they can pencil in an easy win for next week. Seen that before with North games...

[Ludwig]

Nothing like a long vacation after you've bedded down your contract extension. The Swans have just stopped playing the kind of footy that made us big winners earlier in the year.

I expect us to be handily beaten by North Melbourne next week. They're playing the kind of football we used to play. They have plenty of young talent and have gelled nicely in recent weeks; playing like a real team.

I suspect we will regain form sometime before finals, but hard to say when the switch will be pulled.

The only good thing to say is that what's happening to us now seems to have happened to every other team in the league. I just seems to be our turn.

[waswan]

Agreed. But there isn't a lot in the VFL that I would be happy to see come in, which is concerning.

Self inflicted issue due to the last 3 months of the coaches not wanting to make a change as we were winning.

We haven't had a single "omitted" next to a player that wasn't a Sub

Mills and Parker straight back in, kidding themselves to think otherwise, it's a disgrace on the club staff we aren't counting down to Parker's 300th

Ladhams in for Mclean or Amartey and whoever stays in sits as a permanent fwd.

Fox is a defender, play him alongside Rampe

Heeney, Warner and Gulden being exceptional have taped over alot of cracks in this team

[Maltopia]

What I hate most, will be the smug Vics who have been bleating “premierships aren’t won in May (etc)”.

The last month and a half has been pretty poor, and Amartey’s 9 goal haul prevented us from losing a third game.

I hope we find some form and intensity soon. We had a bye not that long ago so wouldn’t have thought the players would be so tired, BUT we have had most stable team this season, so a lot of players have played 16-17 games.

We need to rotate some, and as someone else said, not just the sub and 22nd player in Campbell/Roberts/Wicks/Fox.

Maybe Adams being a sub today was to take some load off him?

I’d suggest Hamling (what more does he have to do) for Amartey next week.

waswan keeps calling for Ladhams, but he had a week off due to concussion and his form in recent weeks hasn’t warranted a call up.

Also Mills straight in for Fox, maybe as sub in first game back?

[Kafka's Ghost]

What I hate most, will be the smug Vics who have been bleating “premierships aren’t won in May (etc)”.

The last month and a half has been pretty poor, and Amartey’s 9 goal haul prevented us from losing a third game.

I hope we find some form and intensity soon. We had a bye not that long ago so wouldn’t have thought the players would be so tired, BUT we have had most stable team this season, so a lot of players have played 16-17 games.

We need to rotate some, and as someone else said, not just the sub and 22nd player in Campbell/Roberts/Wicks/Fox.

Maybe Adams being a sub today was to take some load off him?

I’d suggest Hamling (what more does he have to do) for Amartey next week.

waswan keeps calling for Ladhams, but he had a week off due to concussion and his form in recent weeks hasn’t warranted a call up.

Also Mills straight in for Fox, maybe as sub in first game back?

Mills straight in for Wicks, who’s been poor the last two weeks. Fox stays back for Cunningham.


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[liz]

Fox wouldn't be the first player I'd boot after that performance.

At half-time of the Giants game, Longmire was asked what had pleased him most about the performance thus far (in that game) and he immediately said "the connection" between the players. That connection was what was most obviously missing last week, and it wasn't much better today. The skills errors in the first half were awful and just invited the Saints' pressure. Things got marginally better in that department as the game went on, but the forward craft was still poor. I don't think any of our forwards were working hard enough to create space and offer an option, with the possible exception of McDonald in the first quarter. And so we resort to the slow play followed by a long bomb forward to a group of talls who have stopped competing hard in the air. It's as if, when the ball isn't placed to their absolute advantage, they're content just to stand glued to the ground and watch a defender cut across for an uncontested mark. And then the pressure applied on the rebound is poor too, except for the last ten minutes of the third quarter.