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Sorry to be late this week, my other sport passion the TDF and my Grandson's 2nd birthday meant I could not get to my notes until this evening. Anyway, despte the loss an enjoyable game. Drooling over the Scooter!!
Go Cadel!!!
The Wrap
The Swans reserve grade fought hard but went down to Belconnen by 14 points at Telstra Stadium on Saturday. Central to the result was the efficiency in which the Belconnen team was able to convert contested ball won in the midfield into goals. The Swan midfielders could not handle the pressure applied to them and committed a multitude of turnovers, many of which proved costly. The Swans cause was not helped by the injury toll, Meredith saw precious little game time before going off hurt, but the early departure of Peter Faulks was critical because it left the defence threadbare and unable to cope with the clean ball delivered from the midfield. Brennan?s later departure only made things worse.
Player by player
Two shining lights for the Swans:
Patrick Veszpremi; Sorry, I call him scooter because his name sounds like one. Intense at the contest, good hands, great contested mark for his size, good footy instinct and sharp on the snap. Played forward and looked the goods. Get this boy fit and we have a winner.
Dan Currie: Another great performance from the young ruckman. Again dominated the taps, impressed with some terrific clearance work at ground level, some nice marks, accurate at goal. Probably will not happen, but I would love to see him get the call up and go up against Kruezer in two weeks.
In a beaten midfield, our best was Schmidt. Ran hard all day. Nick Smith is Mr Unobtrusive ? never seems to shine, but when one adds up the ticks and crosses at the end of the game he is nearly always well on the plus side of the ledger. Unlike Brabazon, he got plenty too but committed way too many errors. Ditto Matty O?Dwyer. Benny Mathews was up to his old tricks; he was put under some pressure in this game and responded in the way we know too well with clangers.
Most disappointing was Cheese Barlow ? soft as a block of Brie. If he does not improve he?ll be shaking the hands of the foreman at the Bega cheese factory next year.
Reg Grundy was just about the Swans best in the first half, a lot of hard running, strong marking and good goalkicking. He sat out the third, and did not have much impact in the fourth when he returned.
Brennan was not having a good game before he went off injured. Too much high flying and coming down with nothing for my liking.
Skull Murphy had a mixed day. Loves to storm up the guts but has a total lack of awareness when he is about to be tackled. Needless to say, turned it over bigtime as a result. Also needs to work on his tackling, not strong enough at present.
Mocca White was decent but not outstanding in a game the Swans really needed him to dominate.
Bruce did a few nice things, but needs to get more of the pill. Same goes for Beckmans. Bottin Noonan tantalises with the occasional brilliant play, he is still very young and it will be interesting to track his development.
The top-ups were pretty ordinary, Mortimer and Brasington each did a couple of nice things, the others were pretty useless. Allison boldly left these kids in defence when the midfield was playing poorly and they were comprehensively towelled up.
Game Description:
First ball up, Currie hits a clean tap to Mathews. The ball found its way into the Swans goal square where Reg took a contested mark and goaled. Link men in the chain were Barlow, Schmidt and top up Ned Mortimer. Great start. Currie won the next tap too, but in a sign of things to come, Reg turned the ball over and Belconnen swept the ball downfield for a reply. Pat ?Scooter?Veszpremi then collected a loose ball, his sloppy pass is cleaned up by Cheese, on to Schnidt for a snap goal. Then Mortimer stormed forward, on to Smith, he found Schmidt who missed. Swans make amends shortly after when Braba sent the ball deep forward to Mocca?s advantage, he took the mark and goaled. Not to be denied, Belconnen win a contested ball at half back and sweep the ball forward for another snapped goal. Goal for gaol, Scooter sends the ball forward and reg wins the marking contest free and goals. Another bad Swans turnover, Mortimer the culprit this time, but Belconnen waste it and kick a point. But after more sloppy Swans play they kick another snap goal. Next time forward, courtesy of a free, the Belconnen FF is hit lace out with a lovely pass, he misses too. No mistake next time, another Swans turnover results in Belconnen 6 on the end of another grass cutter and this time no mistake.
Swans were the better team early on, but Belconnen were starting to get on top at the end. Midfield turnovers were absolutely killing the Swans.
Quarter time Sydney 4-2-26, Belconnen 4-5-29.
Second quarter started much the same as the first, except this time Reg failed to convert. Them Mathews is dispossessed in a midfield battle, and the efficient Belconnen midfield again find a forward on the lead for a mark and goal. Then another turnover, Barlow too slow, but danger averted with a rushed behind. One of my pet hates, Brennan flies, crashes the pack and comes up with nothing. Fortunately the Belconnen crumb only results in a point, but things are not looking good. Better, Currie marks the kick in, feeds Schmidt who sends the ball forward for Butcher Beckmans to win the ball and goal. Another Swans goal straight away, Scooter sends it forward for an unidentified Swan to snap a goal. Then the Skull sets up Scooter - brilliant mark but he wasted the shot. But a Belconnen turnover from the kick in gifts Braba a goal. Belconnen win the centre clearance and show more desperation; Skulls tackle is too soft and is broken, result a replying goal. Wonderful piece of Swans play comes to nought ? Mocca and Matty O storm out of defence, on to Reg then to Brennan who (corespondent rubs eyes) hits top-up Nesbitt lace out with the pass. Nesbitt?s woeful shot from 40 does not even make the journey. Made up with a very nice bit of play from the Hyphen Mk2 (Bottin-Noonan). He brilliantly stormed through the centre of the ground and Scooter does it justice with a great mark and goal. Mathews nearly undoes the good work when he gets sucked in and concedes 50 metres; from the resulting kick forward a wonderful snap is fortunately touched. But soon after Mocca is beaten on the lead and Belconnen goal ? left exposed because of another Swans midfield turnover. Belconnen then get another courtesy of a mystery free. Swans reply when Butcher and top up Brassington combine, the ball ends up with Reg for a goal. Immediate reply from Belconnen through another 50 metre penalty.
Sydney looked better this term, but midfield turnover still costly, also lapses of discipline and charity umpiring cost them dearly.
Half Time: Sydney 9-4-58, Belconnen 9-9-63
Again the Swans won the first centre clearance, but a shocking turnover from Brannan resulted in Belconnen rushing the ball downfield for the first goal of the quarter. Soon after they are at it again ? two on two against Swan top ups in their forward line and another snapped goal. Soon after Belconnen win another midfield ball ? Barlow too slow, too soft and another goal results. Swans in trouble, but they win the centre clearance, Mortimer on to Mocca, handball to Bruce and a lovely snap from a sharp angle. Another midfield stuff up between Mathews and T/U 55 put the Swans under the gun, fortunately they escape. Swans break out of defence, Caravan feeds T/U Johnson but he missed everything. All for a reason, Scooter sharks the tap out at the back of the pack, in a millisecond the ball is between the big sticks. Wow, this kid is the goods. Belconnen reply after more unwarranted charity from the umps. Umpiring getting to be a joke. Finally a free goes our way when the Belconnen defender interferes with the Van. His conversion is accurate. All undone when Belconnen reply immediately from a snap. The Swans hang tough, and Currie converts his contested mark with a goal from 40 out. Again Belconnen snap a reply. No better when a trademark Mathews clanger is penalised with another Belconnen goal.
The Swans were fighting hard, some terrific in close clearance work from Currie a highlight. Currie and the Van were resting forward when not rucking. But turnovers still costly and a threadbare top up manned defence was being badly burned in the one on one contests.
Three Quarter Time Sydney 14-4-88, Belconnen 16-12-108
Allison must have made a plea bargain, normally the 1st reserve is not seen after half time, but such is the injury toll that Reg is back in the action in the last. His presence forward is no use as Belconnen break from the centre, win the crumb forward and goal. But Reg is in the action soon after, takes a good relieving mark and sends Schmidt on his way. On to Skull who storms down the ground and goals with an enormous mongrel punt. Then a very clever handball from Nick Smith sets Schmidt up for another goal. Swans back in it, but Hyphen2 is outmarked and Belconnen steady. Bruce then replied with a nice mark and goal. The scoring finished when another Swan top up blunders and Belconnen wrap the game up.
Final Sydney 18-4-112 defeated by Belconnen 19-12-126
Sydney: 4-2, 9-4, 14-4, 18-4-112
Defeated by
Belconnen: 4-5, 9-9, 16-12, 19-12-126
SYDNEY SWANS
Goal Kickers: H. GRUNDY 3, A. BRUCE 2, D. Currie 2, P. Veszpremi 2, T. SCHMIDT 2, J. Orreal, M. Beckmans, J. WHITE, N. SMITH, B. Murphy, R. BRABAZON, R. Bottin-Noonan
Best Players: D. Currie, H. GRUNDY, N. SMITH, T. SCHMIDT, P Veszpremi
BELCONNEN MAGPIES
Goal Kickers: J. JENNINGS 3, J. BENNETT 3, A. Ainger 3, B. WESTON 2, C. ILETT 2, D. Pahl, C. MCDEVITT, B. Joyce, G. Underwood, R. Underwood, R. TURNBULL
Best Players: J. BENNETT, J. JENNINGS, R. TURNBULL, A. BENNETT, S. CURTIS, C. ILETT
Go Cadel!!!
The Wrap
The Swans reserve grade fought hard but went down to Belconnen by 14 points at Telstra Stadium on Saturday. Central to the result was the efficiency in which the Belconnen team was able to convert contested ball won in the midfield into goals. The Swan midfielders could not handle the pressure applied to them and committed a multitude of turnovers, many of which proved costly. The Swans cause was not helped by the injury toll, Meredith saw precious little game time before going off hurt, but the early departure of Peter Faulks was critical because it left the defence threadbare and unable to cope with the clean ball delivered from the midfield. Brennan?s later departure only made things worse.
Player by player
Two shining lights for the Swans:
Patrick Veszpremi; Sorry, I call him scooter because his name sounds like one. Intense at the contest, good hands, great contested mark for his size, good footy instinct and sharp on the snap. Played forward and looked the goods. Get this boy fit and we have a winner.
Dan Currie: Another great performance from the young ruckman. Again dominated the taps, impressed with some terrific clearance work at ground level, some nice marks, accurate at goal. Probably will not happen, but I would love to see him get the call up and go up against Kruezer in two weeks.
In a beaten midfield, our best was Schmidt. Ran hard all day. Nick Smith is Mr Unobtrusive ? never seems to shine, but when one adds up the ticks and crosses at the end of the game he is nearly always well on the plus side of the ledger. Unlike Brabazon, he got plenty too but committed way too many errors. Ditto Matty O?Dwyer. Benny Mathews was up to his old tricks; he was put under some pressure in this game and responded in the way we know too well with clangers.
Most disappointing was Cheese Barlow ? soft as a block of Brie. If he does not improve he?ll be shaking the hands of the foreman at the Bega cheese factory next year.
Reg Grundy was just about the Swans best in the first half, a lot of hard running, strong marking and good goalkicking. He sat out the third, and did not have much impact in the fourth when he returned.
Brennan was not having a good game before he went off injured. Too much high flying and coming down with nothing for my liking.
Skull Murphy had a mixed day. Loves to storm up the guts but has a total lack of awareness when he is about to be tackled. Needless to say, turned it over bigtime as a result. Also needs to work on his tackling, not strong enough at present.
Mocca White was decent but not outstanding in a game the Swans really needed him to dominate.
Bruce did a few nice things, but needs to get more of the pill. Same goes for Beckmans. Bottin Noonan tantalises with the occasional brilliant play, he is still very young and it will be interesting to track his development.
The top-ups were pretty ordinary, Mortimer and Brasington each did a couple of nice things, the others were pretty useless. Allison boldly left these kids in defence when the midfield was playing poorly and they were comprehensively towelled up.
Game Description:
First ball up, Currie hits a clean tap to Mathews. The ball found its way into the Swans goal square where Reg took a contested mark and goaled. Link men in the chain were Barlow, Schmidt and top up Ned Mortimer. Great start. Currie won the next tap too, but in a sign of things to come, Reg turned the ball over and Belconnen swept the ball downfield for a reply. Pat ?Scooter?Veszpremi then collected a loose ball, his sloppy pass is cleaned up by Cheese, on to Schnidt for a snap goal. Then Mortimer stormed forward, on to Smith, he found Schmidt who missed. Swans make amends shortly after when Braba sent the ball deep forward to Mocca?s advantage, he took the mark and goaled. Not to be denied, Belconnen win a contested ball at half back and sweep the ball forward for another snapped goal. Goal for gaol, Scooter sends the ball forward and reg wins the marking contest free and goals. Another bad Swans turnover, Mortimer the culprit this time, but Belconnen waste it and kick a point. But after more sloppy Swans play they kick another snap goal. Next time forward, courtesy of a free, the Belconnen FF is hit lace out with a lovely pass, he misses too. No mistake next time, another Swans turnover results in Belconnen 6 on the end of another grass cutter and this time no mistake.
Swans were the better team early on, but Belconnen were starting to get on top at the end. Midfield turnovers were absolutely killing the Swans.
Quarter time Sydney 4-2-26, Belconnen 4-5-29.
Second quarter started much the same as the first, except this time Reg failed to convert. Them Mathews is dispossessed in a midfield battle, and the efficient Belconnen midfield again find a forward on the lead for a mark and goal. Then another turnover, Barlow too slow, but danger averted with a rushed behind. One of my pet hates, Brennan flies, crashes the pack and comes up with nothing. Fortunately the Belconnen crumb only results in a point, but things are not looking good. Better, Currie marks the kick in, feeds Schmidt who sends the ball forward for Butcher Beckmans to win the ball and goal. Another Swans goal straight away, Scooter sends it forward for an unidentified Swan to snap a goal. Then the Skull sets up Scooter - brilliant mark but he wasted the shot. But a Belconnen turnover from the kick in gifts Braba a goal. Belconnen win the centre clearance and show more desperation; Skulls tackle is too soft and is broken, result a replying goal. Wonderful piece of Swans play comes to nought ? Mocca and Matty O storm out of defence, on to Reg then to Brennan who (corespondent rubs eyes) hits top-up Nesbitt lace out with the pass. Nesbitt?s woeful shot from 40 does not even make the journey. Made up with a very nice bit of play from the Hyphen Mk2 (Bottin-Noonan). He brilliantly stormed through the centre of the ground and Scooter does it justice with a great mark and goal. Mathews nearly undoes the good work when he gets sucked in and concedes 50 metres; from the resulting kick forward a wonderful snap is fortunately touched. But soon after Mocca is beaten on the lead and Belconnen goal ? left exposed because of another Swans midfield turnover. Belconnen then get another courtesy of a mystery free. Swans reply when Butcher and top up Brassington combine, the ball ends up with Reg for a goal. Immediate reply from Belconnen through another 50 metre penalty.
Sydney looked better this term, but midfield turnover still costly, also lapses of discipline and charity umpiring cost them dearly.
Half Time: Sydney 9-4-58, Belconnen 9-9-63
Again the Swans won the first centre clearance, but a shocking turnover from Brannan resulted in Belconnen rushing the ball downfield for the first goal of the quarter. Soon after they are at it again ? two on two against Swan top ups in their forward line and another snapped goal. Soon after Belconnen win another midfield ball ? Barlow too slow, too soft and another goal results. Swans in trouble, but they win the centre clearance, Mortimer on to Mocca, handball to Bruce and a lovely snap from a sharp angle. Another midfield stuff up between Mathews and T/U 55 put the Swans under the gun, fortunately they escape. Swans break out of defence, Caravan feeds T/U Johnson but he missed everything. All for a reason, Scooter sharks the tap out at the back of the pack, in a millisecond the ball is between the big sticks. Wow, this kid is the goods. Belconnen reply after more unwarranted charity from the umps. Umpiring getting to be a joke. Finally a free goes our way when the Belconnen defender interferes with the Van. His conversion is accurate. All undone when Belconnen reply immediately from a snap. The Swans hang tough, and Currie converts his contested mark with a goal from 40 out. Again Belconnen snap a reply. No better when a trademark Mathews clanger is penalised with another Belconnen goal.
The Swans were fighting hard, some terrific in close clearance work from Currie a highlight. Currie and the Van were resting forward when not rucking. But turnovers still costly and a threadbare top up manned defence was being badly burned in the one on one contests.
Three Quarter Time Sydney 14-4-88, Belconnen 16-12-108
Allison must have made a plea bargain, normally the 1st reserve is not seen after half time, but such is the injury toll that Reg is back in the action in the last. His presence forward is no use as Belconnen break from the centre, win the crumb forward and goal. But Reg is in the action soon after, takes a good relieving mark and sends Schmidt on his way. On to Skull who storms down the ground and goals with an enormous mongrel punt. Then a very clever handball from Nick Smith sets Schmidt up for another goal. Swans back in it, but Hyphen2 is outmarked and Belconnen steady. Bruce then replied with a nice mark and goal. The scoring finished when another Swan top up blunders and Belconnen wrap the game up.
Final Sydney 18-4-112 defeated by Belconnen 19-12-126
Sydney: 4-2, 9-4, 14-4, 18-4-112
Defeated by
Belconnen: 4-5, 9-9, 16-12, 19-12-126
SYDNEY SWANS
Goal Kickers: H. GRUNDY 3, A. BRUCE 2, D. Currie 2, P. Veszpremi 2, T. SCHMIDT 2, J. Orreal, M. Beckmans, J. WHITE, N. SMITH, B. Murphy, R. BRABAZON, R. Bottin-Noonan
Best Players: D. Currie, H. GRUNDY, N. SMITH, T. SCHMIDT, P Veszpremi
BELCONNEN MAGPIES
Goal Kickers: J. JENNINGS 3, J. BENNETT 3, A. Ainger 3, B. WESTON 2, C. ILETT 2, D. Pahl, C. MCDEVITT, B. Joyce, G. Underwood, R. Underwood, R. TURNBULL
Best Players: J. BENNETT, J. JENNINGS, R. TURNBULL, A. BENNETT, S. CURTIS, C. ILETT
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