Analysis 2022 List, Game Plan and Best 22?

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Increasingly I am thinking of Best 23. I know this is a bit of a cheat but I reckon JPK will be a regular as the 23rd man. At a pinch he can cover a defender (tho I am not sure what sort of forward he would defend) and a mid.

 

[Jimbo OZ]

OK. Here we go. Ladhams was better in volume of goals kicked. He managed I think 3 against short people, it may have been 4. But McLean had as many scoring shots. Ladhams tap to advantage was not happening in the main against Giants. He tapped to Giants mids on most occasions. Only in the forward line did he get it right a couple of times. He has far more height and should do better than that. McLean on the other hand when thrown into the ruck found it hard against Goldstien. But OK against the other bloke. But his tap to advantage, when he got a tap was perfect. Unfortunately he only got 6 hitouts. I mean 51-23 hit outs where Hickey got 14. That is a star I am worried about. We were comprehensively beaten in the ruck. Hickey was good around the ground but in the girouts well beaten.
L

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Surely we are at the point where the hitouts stat is redundant. Hitouts to advantage I can get on board with but purely who gets their fingertip to the ball first is useless. We were something like +13 in clearances. The ability to negate advantage of hitouts and then follow up and be better around the ground is Hickey’s strength.

 

[SGBeach]

I'll bite,
Stephens, Ladhams, McLean, Wicks

Only fear is it might be a bit tall.

I think Hayward was very meh, and Heeney can just play a dusty roll which leaves us with a very dangerous forward line (Buddy, McLean, McDonald, Heeney, Wicks, Gulden, and Ladhams to play ruck/fwd)

pretty sure the Swans won't play 4 tall forwards including 2 ruck/fwds - Buddy, McDonald and Ladhams, McLean

 

[Kiama Chris]

pretty sure the Swans won't play 4 tall forwards including 2 ruck/fwds - Buddy, McDonald and Ladhams, McLean

Yep. Could be 3 or even 2 but certainly not 4.
3) Buddy and 2 of the other 3 IMO.
2) Buddy and either Ladhams or McLean. Either can chop out Hickey but McDonald can't.

 

[ErrolisGoldun]

Has to be Buddy, McDonald as a duo and Ladhams has first crack at 2nd ruck/forward.

Reid shouldn’t play R1.

McLean will be very stiff to miss but will be first replacement for any injuries or form from McDonald, Ladhams & Buddy.

McDonald should be played as much as possible to learn as much from Buddy as he can in preparation for being the big Cohuna next year.

 

[SGBeach]

Has to be Buddy, McDonald as a duo and Ladhams has first crack at 2nd ruck/forward.

Reid shouldn’t play R1.

McLean will be very stiff to miss but will be first replacement for any injuries or form from McDonald, Ladhams & Buddy.

McDonald should be played as much as possible to learn as much from Buddy as he can in preparation for being the big Cohuna next year.

Agree with all you say re McDonald
but.. I reckon Amartey may be get ahead of McLean (not r1) if he stays fit.. He was injured during the pre-season and large parts of last year.
and.. Im not discounting Reid only due to his ability to play down back as well as the fwd/ruck role. Horse might go with Tom McCartin as the only Tall defender, so Reid may provide the team with some insurance

 

[Wolftone]

Surely we are at the point where the hitouts stat is redundant. Hitouts to advantage I can get on board with but purely who gets their fingertip to the ball first is useless. We were something like +13 in clearances. The ability to negate advantage of hitouts and then follow up and be better around the ground is Hickey’s strength.

I agree with that except when we play someone like Dees. Not only do they have a great Ruckman who dominates the hit outs, he does so by hitting to advantage. His mids are superb so they get many clearances. His second, Jackson, is just as good at both stats. This gave them a huge advantage in the second half of the GF. The mids took full advantage of Jackson's brilliance in the ruck.

We need to break even against sides like Dees because not only are their rucks wonderful but so is their midfield. This is where hit outs become important.

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[caesar88]

I agree with that except when we play someone like Dees. Not only do they have a great Ruckman who dominates the hit outs, he does so by hitting to advantage. His mids are superb so they get many clearances. His second, Jackson, is just as good at both stats. This gave them a huge advantage in the second half of the GF. The mids took full advantage of Jackson's brilliance in the ruck.

We need to break even against sides like Dees because not only are their rucks wonderful but so is their midfield. This is where hit outs become important.

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If you asked me who the 3 best players in the AFL were, I would say Gawn, Petracca and Oliver, in that order. So it's almost unfair that a team gets to start most centre bounces with those 3 together. But up until quite recently, that wasn't the case. In fact, prior to probably 2020, Gawn was the guy giving his mids the best service in the game and watching it all go to waste, Oliver was little more than an accumulating ball butcher, and Petracca was looking like a an overrated top draft pick who was too slow. They all seemed to click individually around about 2020, and then began doing so consistently last year, hence their flag. It seems like experience and game time together gave them the spark they needed to become a cohesive midfield group.

I'd love for us to settle on a midfield core of 3-4 and have them spend the next few years building their chemistry with each other and with their ruckmen (Hickey and then presumably Ladhams.)

 

[rustycrate]

If you asked me who the 3 best players in the AFL were, I would say Gawn, Petracca and Oliver, in that order. So it's almost unfair that a team gets to start most centre bounces with those 3 together. But up until quite recently, that wasn't the case. In fact, prior to probably 2020, Gawn was the guy giving his mids the best service in the game and watching it all go to waste, Oliver was little more than an accumulating ball butcher, and Petracca was looking like a an overrated top draft pick who was too slow. They all seemed to click individually around about 2020, and then began doing so consistently last year, hence their flag. It seems like experience and game time together gave them the spark they needed to become a cohesive midfield group.

I'd love for us to settle on a midfield core of 3-4 and have them spend the next few years building their chemistry with each other and with their ruckmen (Hickey and then presumably Ladhams.)

I would have Touk Miller in the top 3 before Oliver. Playing in a losing team he always stars. Imagine him at Melbourne.

 

[caesar88]

I would have Touk Miller in the top 3 before Oliver. Playing in a losing team he always stars. Imagine him at Melbourne.

I think you might be underselling Oliver's impact on why Melbourne were the team they were last year. It's easy to say "Imagine Touk at Melbourne", but would Melbourne be the same Melbourne without Oliver? Would Petracca be the player he is if he didn't have Oliver to work with? Not so sure...

It's an interesting discussion. I'd say Steele and Bontempelli round out my top 5, with Touk in 6th. Of course, the entire topic becomes a moot point if Dustin Martin returns to his best.

 

[rustycrate]

I think you might be underselling Oliver's impact on why Melbourne were the team they were last year. It's easy to say "Imagine Touk at Melbourne", but would Melbourne be the same Melbourne without Oliver? Would Petracca be the player he is if he didn't have Oliver to work with? Not so sure...

It's an interesting discussion. I'd say Steele and Bontempelli round out my top 5, with Touk in 6th. Of course, the entire topic becomes a moot point if Dustin Martin returns to his best.

I wonder if you swapped both players with their respective teams. Who would maintain or better their output and who would drop off?
The measure of a player is not how they play when times are good but playing just as well when times are bad.

 

[caesar88]

I wonder if you swapped both players with their respective teams. Who would maintain or better their output and who would drop off?
The measure of a player is not how they play when times are good but playing just as well when times are bad.

Well, to be fair, Oliver was talked about as a top 10 player when Melbourne were pretty ordinary.

It's just so hard to judge really. I feel like Oliver's game is intrinsically linked with Petracca's, and vice versa. I don't think either would be the player they are without the other, but I also think that's kinda how midfielders should be. I'm not really for the guys who run around blowing up the stats sheet but not actually working together with their other mids that well (namingnonamesnatfyfeandpatrickdangerfield) Guys like Touk and Steele are great, selfless players who I think would go really well if they had more of a role in a chain of players, rather than having to be the whole chain themselves. I feel like once they have that, they'll be even better and their teams will be better off too.

Hopefully Rowell can stay fit this year and get something going with Touk. Seeing those two together would be great, along with Anderson who I'm a big fan of.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Back in 1933, SMFC became known as “the Swans”, due to the large number of West Aussies in the team. It was a premiership year.

Roll forward to 2022. With Buddy, Chad, Logan, Gus and Corey - it feels like a tradition has been re-ignited.

 

[Punts]

Bont is by far a better player than petracca

Played a huge gf and had a good year and now everyone’s love Chid like most do when someone jumps up

 

[Ticky009]

Bont is by far a better player than petracca

Played a huge gf and had a good year and now everyone’s love Chid like most do when someone jumps up

Bontempelli has been consistently better over a longer period. Petracca needs to keep that form going for a few more years yet.

 

[SGBeach]

Theres a good article on AFL website about Nat Fyfe.. another one up there with Petracca and Bont.
He speaks about the challenges of 'maintaining the rage'.. and how he can be his biggest ally or biggest foe.
When Horse comments on players, his biggest compliment seems to revolve around how competitive the player is.. whether he's talking about Buddy, Paps, Warner etc. Our drafting also seems to revolve around how competitive a player is.
My take on that is that ultra competitive players will play at 100% every game,., and a player with less talent but who's using every single bit,, will produce more on the footy field than the elite talent who's not

I watch with admiration and interest how the Swans draft and how they 'maintain the rage' through culture etc to get the best on the field. Not sure how well other clubs do this, but pretty confident the Swans do it pretty dam well.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

I would be stunned if the other Clubs rated competitiveness less than we do.

 

[Kiama Chris]

Bontempelli has been consistently better over a longer period. Petracca needs to keep that form going for a few more years yet.

Beyond that, Bont plays more minutes at his highest level. Trac (or Martin or ???) can't maintain their best for such sustained periods. They can literally win games for you though.
I guess my take is that Bont gets you to the GF and Trac or Martin win the game.
Bit like Buckley.

 

[SGBeach]

I would be stunned if the other Clubs rated competitiveness less than we do.

I'm sure you're right..
maybe the Swans coaches and staff are better at keeping our players at their competitive best?
maybe Dalrymple and Beatson are better judges??
What ever it is, the Swans highly value competitiveness and seem to do a good job in keeping players so.

Its prob worth noting that competitiveness is just one aspect of a good player.. Fyfe didn't win 2 brownlows just because hes a fantastic competitor.. Buddy hasn't kicked 1000 goals just because hes a fantastic competitor.. Talent goes a loooong way

 

[caesar88]

Bont is by far a better player than petracca

Played a huge gf and had a good year and now everyone’s love Chid like most do when someone jumps up

I just love how Petracca works with his other mids, even if he has only been doing it for a year or two.

 

[robbieando]

Sure. As I have note elsewhere his tog was way down to the 60s in 2021. I think this was the coaching crew acknowledging he was less a part of having a competitive midfield than he had been for a decade.

As has been noted elsewhere Kennedy's TOG was 74.2% in 2021 which was an increase on his TOG of 73.9% in 2020. Why do you keep repeating a made-up stat?

 

[Bonz]

As has been noted elsewhere Kennedy's TOG was 74.2% in 2021 which was an increase on his TOG of 73.9% in 2020. Why do you keep repeating a made-up stat?

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I wouldn't use 2020 as a great indicator.

Games had shorter quarters remember.

 

[robbieando]

I wouldn't use 2020 as a great indicator.

Games had shorter quarters remember.

Not a huge one. But fact remains that Kennedy is in the 70's (and has for the past 4 seasons) for TOG not the 60's which is what is being made up by the person quoted.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Not a huge one. But fact remains that Kennedy is in the 70's (and has for the past 4 seasons) for TOG not the 60's which is what is being made up by the person quoted.

Am not making it up. I recall a number of games where his tog was in the 60s. I suggest you do your own 'narrative'.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

JPK is obviously a light of lesser years. Maybe the extension was on the basis he was no longer guaranteed a spot in the team. The hbf trial was interesting, though I expect we have others who suit that role more.