Only if Mcdonald and amartey do anythingOriginally Posted by Markwebbos
If they dont compete then it will be a very easy day for saints defenders
No guarantee of contributions from hayward or wicks either who are prone to going missing
Only if Mcdonald and amartey do anything
If they dont compete then it will be a very easy day for saints defenders
No guarantee of contributions from hayward or wicks either who are prone to going missing
Tough for Brand but I get it - the other 3 omissions all seem fair. Bit of a crossroads for Stephens you'd have to say.
Looking forward to seeing Logan Mac back on deck.
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As opposed to the massive forward contribution from Sinclair, McLean and Stephens last week?
Never said they were good ! I am not criticising the changes either im saying that its not as easy as just turning up with a strong forward line and expecting things to go our way every one of them will still have to perform and do their role
I suppose the big surprise is bringing both McDonald and Amartey into the forward line at the same time, although I find nothing wrong with both coming into the senior side. It's been a long time waiting for Amartey, who has only played a half game to date, but could be a very important part of our forward mix into the future. If Amartey can show that he's capable at AFL level, it's not hard to see a McDonald-Amartey combo becoming the mainstay of our forward line post Buddy.
The changes are timely considering opposition personnel.
May be the coaches are very confident that we can beat the Saints easily and think forward about players development and the building of synergy and a list to eventually challenge for the flag. Give the younger kids a chance to show their potential while Buddy is back in form.
I certainly hope that isn’t the case as there are no gimmes in this competition and confidence can sometimes be misplaced.
Instinctively feels like we’re one tall too many in the forward line (given Heeney and Hayward kind of play as marking rather than buzzing/crumbing/defensive forwards) but you can’t punt anyone from the group named. Even Hayward was very good last week.
Isn’t it nice though to see the competition for spots. Amarty really had to earn it. Brand is unlucky. The last two years, we would still be playing Stephens. Gulden and Campbell are sitting out there injured, ready to try to push back in after the bye. Blokes like Taylor and Gray, I’m not big wraps on, but they’re racking up 30+ every week and can’t even get a real look in. And so on. It’s a sign our rebuild is heading in the right direction at least.
That was my first reaction, but both Will and Isaac are capable of taking their turns further up the ground, Heeney at centre bounces if need be, and Hayward on a wing.
One of our weaknesses this season seems to be that we get outmarked too often in the midfield, especially since Reid got injured). That's despite having Heeney, Mills, and Parker who are all better than average overhead for their height and JPK who should be capable of marking overhead, given his height. So an additional mobile tall pushing further up the ground to provide a marking option might be a good thing - whether that's Amartey, McDonald, Buddy, or the mid-sized forwards.
If we want to keep our 3 tall forward structure we don't have many choices. With Reid out and both Sinclair and McLean not doing much, we might as well go with McDonald and Amartey. I see it as a positive move. It's hard to predict what we're going to get from the duo, but the Saints don't have the superstar defenders to shut them down if they put in the work on game day.
Our small forwards have been going well, especially in the last game. Except for the Freo game, Hayward has been a strong performer since returning to the senior side, and Wicks has been the perfect defensive forward, putting in consistent performances all year.
Don’t disagree with any of that. And you’d like Mills in particular show the marking prowess he did in defence.
I think my issue is ground level pressure. Wicks is terrific. Paps can do it. Ironically, this is another area where Reid is missed as he’s very good at one percenters defensively. I regard Hayward as more of a forward one-on-one tagger, than a Wicks-style scrambler.
It’ll be interesting watching our forward seven (as that’s how the 22 works) if everyone is fit.
I suspect Bud, Heeney, Papley, Reid, Wicks as the first five in that order, then it’s down to who’s in form of Logan, Gulden, or Hayward.
Although, there is a chance that Amartey might spend a bit of time in defence, as he played some good games there in the seconds. Though perhaps not so much, this year? Also, with him the side, I expect Hickey to get more of a chop out in the ruck: which may mean a bit more forward time for Hickey.
I have some good news to report after being given a bit of a fright.
I heard Kath Loughlan on AFL Tonight say that James Rowbottom said that the Swans were keen to make the SCG a FORTRESS. Yes, she actually used that dreaded word. I was so upset that I replayed the RB interview twice, but he never used that word.
The last time that word was used in relation to the SCG was by Jarrad McVeigh, which triggered the worst home ground losing run this century.
But James showed he's a very clever lad and never said such a thing, He's definitely headed for greatness, future captaincy and a coaching career down the road.
I wish I had an alternative to using a broadcaster that would employ Eddie McGuire and Dermie, but Fox is the only provider of all the AFL games in Thailand, so I have to put up with the bad and the ugly. They hardly ever report anything about the Swans and when they do, it's usually false or a negative story.
Last edited by Ludwig; 3rd June 2021 at 09:06 PM.
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