VFL 2025 Swans Reserves

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Needs to be updated for 2025

 

[Callipygian]

I'm starting this thread kind of on behalf of bedford . While I have a strong interest in our reserves bedford has way more intel and started last year's thread (I'm not sure about before that). However, bedford, being who he is, has a lot of people ignoring him and because of that if he starts a thread it becomes hard to find. And that's why I'm kicking this thread off for him.

If I were starting this thread on my own account, I probably would have preferred to wait until we had some intel about who the VFL players will be this year. I don't have any intel about that but it will be emerging soon now that pre-season has begun. So, if YOU know more about this - please share!

I'm looking forward to reserves this year. Our fears of being too tall-heavy have not been realised. We have a pretty well balanced group of AFL-listed players. I feel bullish but I felt the exact same way 12 months ago and wound up pretty disappointed in our performance, especially considering our relatively good run with injuries. However, we have another reason to be hopeful this year: we have a new reserves coach, Jarrad 'Macca/McPointy' McVeigh. What will he bring? Can he demonstrate some coaching chops that will give him a shot at being a senior AFL coach one day. Let's find out.

 

[bedford]

Thanks Mr C ,shouldn't be nessesary .
McPointy will be interesting and of more interest would be how it came about . One of my issues with Macca is that he's never coached his own team and needed to leave for a couple of years

 

[Nool Carpenna]

Thanks Mr C ,shouldn't be nessesary .
McPointy will be interesting and of more interest would be how it came about . One of my issues with Macca is that he's never coached his own team and needed to leave for a couple of years

You seem to be suggesting that not all is above board with this appointment? Care to put some substance to it or happy just to imply you've got the inside knowledge again? Happy to take your PM, as seems to be your MO when your credibility is questioned these days.

How many of his own teams had Longmire coached before he took over an AFL team?

Shaw, Kennelly and Laidler had never coached their own teams and did okay.

Damien Truslove had experience in three other AFL organisations across 15 years, and had coached his own team, and had won the Phil Walsh Memorial, and how did that work out?

I'm not a big fan of McVeigh either, but it gets tiresome reading your attempts to chop him down every time his name get's brought up.

 

[Wheresbuddy]

I'm starting this thread kind of on behalf of bedford . While I have a strong interest in our reserves bedford has way more intel and started last year's thread (I'm not sure about before that). However, bedford, being who he is, has a lot of people ignoring him and because of that if he starts a thread it becomes hard to find. And that's why I'm kicking this thread off for him.

If I were starting this thread on my own account, I probably would have preferred to wait until we had some intel about who the VFL players will be this year. I don't have any intel about that but it will be emerging soon now that pre-season has begun. So, if YOU know more about this - please share!

I'm looking forward to reserves this year. Our fears of being too tall-heavy have not been realised. We have a pretty well balanced group of AFL-listed players. I feel bullish but I felt the exact same way 12 months ago and wound up pretty disappointed in our performance, especially considering our relatively good run with injuries. However, we have another reason to be hopeful this year: we have a new reserves coach, Jarrad 'Macca/McPointy' McVeigh. What will he bring? Can he demonstrate some coaching chops that will give him a shot at being a senior AFL coach one day. Let's find out.

Good summation.

Agree with not being tall heavy and I think the club was conscious of this in the draft. For the development of all players and being able to replicate a similar style to the firsts (which I think is the way to go if possible), we need a balanced lineup. Last year, if all talls were fit, we had to squeeze Edwards, Snell, Francis, Arnold, Hamling, Buller, Reid, Ladhams, McAndrew and Green into the same VFL lineup. That is no good for the talls as it limits their playing time and no good for the rest as it leads to an unbalanced and subsequently less competitive lineup.

 

[caesar88]

All I ask of McVeigh is that a player is moved on the ball if:

1. They are struggling in their existing position at either end of the ground

Or

2. They are doing well in their existing position but it's just not a position conducive to showing what you can do much.

We need players in the reserves to be banging the door of senior selection down, and it's incredibly difficult for them to do that if they're playing in a back pocket or forward flank. We've gotta start seeing what the players on our list can do. That starts with getting the ball in their hands as much as possible.

 

[bedford]

You seem to be suggesting that not all is above board with this appointment? Care to put some substance to it or happy just to imply you've got the inside knowledge again? Happy to take your PM, as seems to be your MO when your credibility is questioned these days.

How many of his own teams had Longmire coached before he took over an AFL team?

Shaw, Kennelly and Laidler had never coached their own teams and did okay.

Damien Truslove had experience in three other AFL organisations across 15 years, and had coached his own team, and had won the Phil Walsh Memorial, and how did that work out?

I'm not a big fan of McVeigh either, but it gets tiresome reading your attempts to chop him down every time his name get's brought up.

Thanks , my issue with McVeigh is since he retired i thought he should go to another CLUB to learn different ways , as all he's ever known is Sydney . Sam Mitchell is a perfect case , off to West Coast under Simpson then come back and coach Box Hill . With Horse at least he'd been elsewhere .
Nothing wrong with a PM to clarify something , there are nuffies that don't need to know.
Happy to have a PM

 

[liz]

All I ask of McVeigh is that a player is moved on the ball if:


We need players in the reserves to be banging the door of senior selection down, and it's incredibly difficult for them to do that if they're playing in a back pocket or forward flank. We've gotta start seeing what the players on our list can do. That starts with getting the ball in their hands as much as possible.

I could have sworn that the complaint I read most often regarding our VFL set-up is that players on the cusp of senior selection aren’t played in the positions they are likely to fill if they do get selected in the senior team, so don’t have a chance to hone those skills. Instead they seem to play predominantly on-ball in the VFL team (which is presumably because they are the fittest and most accomplished in the VFL side).

Corey, Cleary, Sheldrick, Stephens (in years gone by), Wicks (to some extent), Ronke and Bell(also in the past, obviously) are all players around which our VFL midfield has been based, despite standing little short term chance of playing on-ball in the AFL side (with Sheldrick a possible exception as a lesser rotation through there).

 

[bedford]

I could have sworn that the complaint I read most often regarding our VFL set-up is that players on the cusp of senior selection aren’t played in the positions they are likely to fill if they do get selected in the senior team, so don’t have a chance to hone those skills. Instead they seem to play predominantly on-ball in the VFL team (which is presumably because they are the fittest and most accomplished in the VFL side).

Corey, Cleary, Sheldrick, Stephens (in years gone by), Wicks (to some extent), Ronke and Bell(also in the past, obviously) are all players around which our VFL midfield has been based, despite standing little short term chance of playing on-ball in the AFL side (with Sheldrick a possible exception as a lesser rotation through there).

Stephens is the perfect example

 

[Kiama Chris]

Stephens is the perfect example

Stephens is a great example of a kid who failed to develop for whatever set of reasons, probably many. Indecisive, poor kicking style, poor positioning despite great running. None of that got sorted either in seniors or in VFL. When he played on-ball he got a lot of it but still kicked dump-ball and tackled half-heartedly. Awfully sad case but I don't know what else we could have done to develop him.

 

[Jewelsbon]

Stephens is a great example of a kid who failed to develop for whatever set of reasons, probably many. Indecisive, poor kicking style, poor positioning despite great running. None of that got sorted either in seniors or in VFL. When he played on-ball he got a lot of it but still kicked dump-ball and tackled half-heartedly. Awfully sad case but I don't know what else we could have done to develop him.

And it's not like he's set the world on fire at North either

 

[caesar88]

I could have sworn that the complaint I read most often regarding our VFL set-up is that players on the cusp of senior selection aren’t played in the positions they are likely to fill if they do get selected in the senior team, so don’t have a chance to hone those skills. Instead they seem to play predominantly on-ball in the VFL team (which is presumably because they are the fittest and most accomplished in the VFL side).

Corey, Cleary, Sheldrick, Stephens (in years gone by), Wicks (to some extent), Ronke and Bell(also in the past, obviously) are all players around which our VFL midfield has been based, despite standing little short term chance of playing on-ball in the AFL side (with Sheldrick a possible exception as a lesser rotation through there).

I was talking about players not on the cusp of senior selection. The Magors, Vickerys, Kirks etc. of the VFL.

 

[liz]

I was talking about players not on the cusp of senior selection. The Magors, Vickerys, Kirks etc. of the VFL.

I guess if you want to see the VFL team flogged by 100pts each week…

I get that it can be hard for a player to get much ball in the forward line the way we’ve played in the last two seasons. But if they can’t find it a bit playing in a peppered defence, they ain’t gonna find it in the heat of the on-ball contest.

I shudder at the idea of the timid Vickery starting at centre bounces.

 

[caesar88]

I guess if you want to see the VFL team flogged by 100pts each week…

I get that it can be hard for a player to get much ball in the forward line the way we’ve played in the last two seasons. But if they can’t find it a bit playing in a peppered defence, they ain’t gonna find it in the heat of the on-ball contest.

I shudder at the idea of the timid Vickery starting at centre bounces.

A valid point, but if the alternative is these players just rotting away in a graveyard position getting no closer to senior selection before eventually being cut after a year or two... then I would rather just try it. Doesn't have to be constant and all the time, it's especially difficult to manage when you also have to play those already in the senior selection frame in the mids too so they can keep their form up. A game or two here and there just to give the others a chance to show a different side to them and help strengthen their claims to be in the senior selection window.

I recall back in the NEAFL days we used to play the likes of Fox, O'Riordan, B. Jack, Rose, Towers, Ronke etc. on ball, because if we'd left them only in the positions they'd play in the AFL side, they wouldn't have seen it much and may not have become the factors in senior selection that they went on to become.

 

[liz]

A valid point, but if the alternative is these players just rotting away in a graveyard position getting no closer to senior selection before eventually being cut after a year or two... then I would rather just try it. Doesn't have to be constant and all the time, it's especially difficult to manage when you also have to play those already in the senior selection frame in the mids too so they can keep their form up. A game or two here and there just to give the others a chance to show a different side to them and help strengthen their claims to be in the senior selection window.

I recall back in the NEAFL days we used to play the likes of Fox, O'Riordan, B. Jack, Rose, Towers, Ronke etc. on ball, because if we'd left them only in the positions they'd play in the AFL side, they wouldn't have seen it much and may not have become the factors in senior selection that they went on to become.

But playing in our VFL defence for the last two seasons has been anything but a graveyard position.

 

[caesar88]

But playing in our VFL defence for the last two seasons has been anything but a graveyard position.

Maybe not for the talls. I don't think there's been as much possession of the footy and rebound coming from the ground level players in defence. This may be because they're playing more of an accountable role, or maybe it's because they just aren't good enough. But in that case I would rather try them elsewhere to try and salvage the list spot used on them, than just put a line through them and leave them to finish out their contracts like ghosts. I don't think that does them, or our depth as a whole, any favours.

 

[liz]

Sorry, we’ll have to agree to disagree. Small to medium defender should be the easiest position to rack up plenty of possessions when the defence is under siege for large portions of games, and also the easiest role to use the ball constructively since, at VFL level, the forward pressure from the opposition tends to be a lot less intense than at AFL.

I think the answer was that Vickery wasn’t good enough. Magor was allowed to get plenty of the ball but waste it (as was Gould before him).

 

[Callipygian]

I'm more with liz than caesar88 on this.

I think that players have plenty of opportunity to show their worth and if they are unable to do it we have to be ruthless and move forward. I still think Magor and Vickery are pretty good players but we can't keep waiting for them (even though there's a chance they'd come good) - there's plenty of other good players out there dying for a chance and who may be able to take us further forward.

Also, when you see a player like, say, Gould or Hamling, who have been thrown into a different role (as a forward in their cases) rather than be played in their notional position (as defenders) it has more made me think the ticket was stamped than they are being given a chance to shine in a different way. Of course, in other cases, we have actually moved players around trying to find a good position for them (e.g. with Blakey (which has worked out well IMO) or with Campbell (which is still a work in progress)).

 

[bedford]

I'm more with liz than caesar88 on this.

I think that players have plenty of opportunity to show their worth and if they are unable to do it we have to be ruthless and move forward. I still think Magor and Vickery are pretty good players but we can't keep waiting for them (even though there's a chance they'd come good) - there's plenty of other good players out there dying for a chance and who may be able to take us further forward.

Also, when you see a player like, say, Gould or Hamling, who have been thrown into a different role (as a forward in their cases) rather than be played in their notional position (as defenders) it has more made me think the ticket was stamped than they are being given a chance to shine in a different way. Of course, in other cases, we have actually moved players around trying to find a good position for them (e.g. with Blakey (which has worked out well IMO) or with Campbell (which is still a work in progress)).

McCartin was a forward

 

[Callipygian]

McCartin was a forward

They didn't switch him in the reserves that I recall - it all happened at AFL level (and at training, no doubt).

 

[Adnico26Parker]

From today's training video and pics, it looks like Ben Edwards is back, and I also saw a couple of Academy players in Joe Harrison and Nick Andreacchio there.

Also this guy who I can't identify (not one of the new draftees)

 

[Wheresbuddy]

From today's training video and pics, it looks like Ben Edwards is back, and I also saw a couple of Academy players in Joe Harrison and Nick Andreacchio there.

Also this guy who I can't identify (not one of the new draftees)

View attachment 2178191

Ben Edwards had a super start to the VFL season but faded unfortunately. I hope Matty Lloyd comes back as he showed some good signs in the second half of the season.

 

[Adnico26Parker]

Ben Edwards had a super start to the VFL season but faded unfortunately. I hope Matty Lloyd comes back as he showed some good signs in the second half of the season.

Yeah, the quad injury he got pretty much ended his season early, unfortunately.

I think I've seen Matty in some of the training pics this week, so I hope he's back for next year

 

[bedford]

Great work guys

 

[Kbroome]

Good summation.

Agree with not being tall heavy and I think the club was conscious of this in the draft. For the development of all players and being able to replicate a similar style to the firsts (which I think is the way to go if possible), we need a balanced lineup. Last year, if all talls were fit, we had to squeeze Edwards, Snell, Francis, Arnold, Hamling, Buller, Reid, Ladhams, McAndrew and Green into the same VFL lineup. That is no good for the talls as it limits their playing time and no good for the rest as it leads to an unbalanced and subsequently less competitive lineup.

Problem is that we haven't got much smaller in all honest

Basically replaced Arnold Reid and McAndrew with Andrew and Podmore-Taylor and wouldn't be surprised if there are other VFL listed players that are taller like didn't we have Will Kelly last year (a 194cm winger?)?

 

[rustycrate]

I was talking about players not on the cusp of senior selection. The Magors, Vickerys, Kirks etc. of the VFL.

I reckon there is a bit of Stephens in some of them. Some are just not up for AFL with all of its demands. That is why you have a VFL. It weeds out the weeds and grows the grasses. That is life.

Blaming players being played out of position as a reason why players don't come on is IMO just chatter.
Those players that are AFL quality will find a way.