Opinion 2024 and Beyond

[The King!]

We have seen the comp is even

I mean last year people thought richmond won the trade period

 

[The King!]

We should scrap the co captain model.

Have one person responsible for setting the tempo, establishing standards and being held accountable

Mills with Gulden vice

 

[The King!]

Sheldrick is carrying the hopes and dreams of a lot of fans here

 

[caesar88]

Thought I'd give very brief reviews of all the main contributors' seasons...

1. Warner - Hardly the backwards step others seem to see, but want him on the wing still.

2. McLean - Awesome year. Got the Most Improved Award on lock.

3. Stephens - Disappointing but think this year gave me closure with him.

4. Clarke - As expected pretty much. Was always going to need his lockdown role to be essential to the team and this year it just wasn't.

5. Heeney - I'm sure there's other circumstances but not good at all that he's had a year like this in the midst of his prime.

6. McDonald - Good learning year, continued to show promise.

7. Cunningham - A great year that tapered off a little towards the end.

8. Rowbottom - Pass.

9. Hayward - Just don't rate him. Understand his role is hard but he makes it harder for himself.

10. Francis - All things considered a good year for him. Handy depth at worst.

11. Papley - Mixed bag. Would've liked him to be a bit more prolific forward but was also an asset in the mids.

13. Florent - Tale of two halves. Great start to the year, very disappointing second half. I'm a fan but he's so frustrating.

14. Mills - Write this year off, get a full pre-season into him and build the midfield around him next year.

15. Wicks - Good year for him. Balanced his aggression out more and also showed some great skill at times.

16. Campbell - Good year for where he's at, though 25 rounds later I'm still none the wiser as to where he belongs or what sort of player he'll be.

21. Gulden - Just brilliant. One of the best individual seasons by a Swan in a few years for sure.

22. Blakey - A good year that became a great year as he closed the gap between his best and worst and added defensive strings to his bow.

23. Buddy - Legend. Thanks for everything.

24. Rampe - Really good start to the year, wasn't the same after his injuries. We wait and see where he's at come next year.

26. Parker - Rollercoaster of a season. Started out playing selfless, defensive roles, activated beast mode, looked absolutely cooked, then teased us with his forward potential.

27. McInerney - A good year but want him to take that next step I believe he's capable of.

29. Sheldrick - Promising few games in the middle of the year there.

30. McCartin - Very good year that could've been even better if not for the concussion absence.

31. Hickey - Retired at a good time, still gave all he had.

36. Amartey - Promising season though his flaws are glaring and need to be worked through.

42. Fox - A good year and I'm a massive fan, yet I think I prefer...

43. Melican - He could be a really good defender IMO if his body allows him to be.

44. Lloyd - A brilliant year but like his counterpart Cunningham, thought he tapered off a bit towards the end.

Above are just my opinions.

 

[RUNVS]

Sheldrick is carrying the hopes and dreams of a lot of fans here

It isn't a good sign that we are in that position but we have no one else who is even a chance of stepping up as an inside midfielder. It is a flaw in our recruiting in the last few years that we have had this issue and done very little to address it other than drafting Sheldrick.

 

[The King!]

Thought I'd give very brief reviews of all the main contributors' seasons...

1. Warner - Hardly the backwards step others seem to see, but want him on the wing still.

2. McLean - Awesome year. Got the Most Improved Award on lock.

3. Stephens - Disappointing but think this year gave me closure with him.

4. Clarke - As expected pretty much. Was always going to need his lockdown role to be essential to the team and this year it just wasn't.

5. Heeney - I'm sure there's other circumstances but not good at all that he's had a year like this in the midst of his prime.

6. McDonald - Good learning year, continued to show promise.

7. Cunningham - A great year that tapered off a little towards the end.

8. Rowbottom - Pass.

9. Hayward - Just don't rate him. Understand his role is hard but he makes it harder for himself.

10. Francis - All things considered a good year for him. Handy depth at worst.

11. Papley - Mixed bag. Would've liked him to be a bit more prolific forward but was also an asset in the mids.

13. Florent - Tale of two halves. Great start to the year, very disappointing second half. I'm a fan but he's so frustrating.

14. Mills - Write this year off, get a full pre-season into him and build the midfield around him next year.

15. Wicks - Good year for him. Balanced his aggression out more and also showed some great skill at times.

16. Campbell - Good year for where he's at, though 25 rounds later I'm still none the wiser as to where he belongs or what sort of player he'll be.

21. Gulden - Just brilliant. One of the best individual seasons by a Swan in a few years for sure.

22. Blakey - A good year that became a great year as he closed the gap between his best and worst and added defensive strings to his bow.

23. Buddy - Legend. Thanks for everything.

24. Rampe - Really good start to the year, wasn't the same after his injuries. We wait and see where he's at come next year.

26. Parker - Rollercoaster of a season. Started out playing selfless, defensive roles, activated beast mode, looked absolutely cooked, then teased us with his forward potential.

27. McInerney - A good year but want him to take that next step I believe he's capable of.

29. Sheldrick - Promising few games in the middle of the year there.

30. McCartin - Very good year that could've been even better if not for the concussion absence.

31. Hickey - Retired at a good time, still gave all he had.

36. Amartey - Promising season though his flaws are glaring and need to be worked through.

42. Fox - A good year and I'm a massive fan, yet I think I prefer...

43. Melican - He could be a really good defender IMO if his body allows him to be.

44. Lloyd - A brilliant year but like his counterpart Cunningham, thought he tapered off a bit towards the end.

Above are just my opinions.

Ladhams not making the list to rate is a problem really

 

[RUNVS]

Best 22 players we need to begin finding replacements for due to age
Rampe
Cunningham
Fox
Hickey
Parker

Need extra backup
T.McCartin (he is one concussion away from his career ending and we all know it, even if I hope it never comes to that)

List holes
1 inside mid
1 KPD
1 Ruckman

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Hopefully top 8 next year

We had one of the worst seasons in terms of injury and form and finished just 2 games out of the top 4.

 

[GreyGooseGuy88]

My wishes for 2024;

1. We need a decent ruck who is competitive and can take a decent mark occasionally around the ground.
2. We need some changes in the coaches box, to finish 17th in clearances is a disgrace for a finals team. 95% of midfield clearances ended up in our backline. Turn that around and give our forwards a chance and we instantly look more dangerous.
3. Midfield positioning - not enough tactical changes from our coachs and players. We are too defensively focused, free mills up to get the footy and not always tag an opposition player
4. Practice goal kicking during the off-season
5. Improve fitness during the off-season - I don't know if we were as fit as we needed to be in 2023
6. Put a lot of time into Buller and Arnold during the off-season to fast track their development
7. Need to transition to new coach - start succession plan in 2024. Swans are too predictable. How many times do our forwards push too far up the ground that we have no one to kick too in our forward line. Has been happening for years now. My opinion is Voss outcoached Longmire in the first half. Their backline structure was impressive.
8. Heeney, Paps and Warner need a big summer
9. Work on midfield clearances over the off season.
10. Stop Amartety, McLean and Logan all competing for the same forward line mark and having no crumbers around. We really lacked forward line pressure in 2023. Ball came out to easily for our opposition this year.
11. We have to be brave and active during trade and draft period, we can't afford to stand still again.

 

[wills2g]

I think we need a clear game plan that focuses on certain strengths next year. Didn't really see what our identity was this year.

I think Horse really rates us to be a pressure team, but from just an eye test yesterday, Carlton always outnumbered us at the contest.

We also happened to be a turnover/sling shot team this year. But we are amongst the bottom 5 for intercept marks. Which is why I would've wanted to keep Francis in as he at least took marks despite his other weaknesses

We at times had super slick ball movement. Half the players under pressure don't even look and ball movement needs a lot of selfless running to create space. Static at times

I just hope the coaches figure out what our identity is next year.

I felt like after the GF smashing last year, the coaches overcompensated for certain weaknesses that just left us with nothing of note?

 

[Dan87]

I think we need a clear game plan that focuses on certain strengths next year. Didn't really see what our identity was this year.

I think Horse really rates us to be a pressure team, but from just an eye test yesterday, Carlton always outnumbered us at the contest.

We also happened to be a turnover/sling shot team this year. But we are amongst the bottom 5 for intercept marks. Which is why I would've wanted to keep Francis in as he at least took marks despite his other weaknesses

We at times had super slick ball movement. Half the players under pressure don't even look and ball movement needs a lot of selfless running to create space. Static at times

I just hope the coaches figure out what our identity is next year.

I felt like after the GF smashing last year, the coaches overcompensated for certain weaknesses that just left us with nothing of note?

We lost Franklin, Reid, McCartin and an in form Hickey. Pretty simple. People are strange and actually think Franklin out will actually improve us.

I'm pretty curious about this trade period

If we don't get a solid KPP or two I think we'll need a reset of sorts

Strong arguments for every line needing a boost and it's hard to deny

Frustrating stuff

 

[zyzzbruh]

Best 22 players we need to begin finding replacements for due to age
Rampe
Cunningham
Fox
Hickey
Parker

Need extra backup
T.McCartin (he is one concussion away from his career ending and we all know it, even if I hope it never comes to that)

List holes
1 inside mid
1 KPD
1 Ruckman

Add Sam Reid to that

 

[SeanM]

Sheldrick is carrying the hopes and dreams of a lot of fans here

I feel we should have 3 emerging inside mids with Sheldrick, Roberts and Cleary. So there is a good chance that at least one of them will be able to step up.

Sheldrick seemed to get better after a run of games. Coaching staff appeared to rate Roberts highly and he was getting games at the start of the season. Cleary looked promising in the U18s and VFL. He looked very competitive with his repeat efforts and intensity at the contest.

But we could mix up our midfield in other ways. Parker could play more forward. Warner more outside. Maybe try guys like Campbell or Gulden inside in small bursts if we want more running attacking players.

 

[zyzzbruh]

Ladhams not making the list to rate is a problem really

It was an unfortunate interrupted season for him. The opportunity wasn't really there for him to show his worth.

With an uninterrupted preseason, hickeys absence, and the chance to build a tandem with McLean, I still have hope that he can turn himself into a solid no 1 ruck.

We just haven't seen him enough to get excited, hence the talk about wanting Grundy. Scoring Grundy would be a guaranteed filled puzzle piece, but if we don't im not going to be overly disappointed. But it just leaves you anxious relying on blokes coming through to fill glaring holes rather than recruiting them, especially when they're injury prone. Ironically that's exactly what we recruited ladhams, he just hasn't been able to get on the park.

 

[Superstar swan]

Blakey is showing excellent leadership skills. He really is getting physically targeted week in week out now. Oppo genuinely fear him and are trying to take him out. Gets hit after the ball every single week, and despite only waking 37kgs and the physical structure of a plastic straw, he gets up every single time and continues to attack the contest with unwavering intent every single time.

He is an incredible player. Get rid of the likes heeney, papley and hayward out of the leadership group, the lizard oozes it

 

[RUNVS]

Blakey is showing excellent leadership skills. He really is getting physically targeted week in week out now. Oppo genuinely fear him and are trying to take him out. Gets hit after the ball every single week, and despite only waking 37kgs and the physical structure of a plastic straw, he gets up every single time and continues to attack the contest with unwavering intent every single time.

He is an incredible player. Get rid of the likes heeney, papley and hayward out of the leadership group, the lizard oozes it

I would agree but the recent reports about his and Papley's gambling gives me pause.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Add Sam Reid to that

Not a best 22 player.

 

[RampeRobe]

Hopefully that final is a sign of things to come next year.

Parker 70/30 forward/mid in a similar role to Dusty/Toby.

Heeney the same.

Another preseason into the big 3 young forwards.

Hopefully an exciting trade period.

Plenty to look forward to next year!

 

[Kiama Chris]

Apologies to the poster but the notion of Parker replacing Hayward has some merit. Worth serious discussion and maybe trialling.

 

[zyzzbruh]

Not a best 22 player.

His role is, and it hasn't been replaced

 

[zyzzbruh]

Hopefully that final is a sign of things to come next year.

Parker 70/30 forward/mid in a similar role to Dusty/Toby.

Heeney the same.

Another preseason into the big 3 young forwards.

Hopefully an exciting trade period.

Plenty to look forward to next year!

Only issue with that is we end up with a bit part midfield.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

His role is, and it hasn't been replaced

McLean is an upgrade.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Apologies to the poster but the notion of Parker replacing Hayward has some merit. Worth serious discussion and maybe trialling.

lol was me… I also think Hayward showed enough in a couple of games back for genuine belief he could make a fine backman.

 

[Dan87]

Feels like we had a few project talls and back ups we cobbled together over the years that we've just had double down, extend and say you're the guys now

Interesting times I think

Hope McDonald likes pressure

 

[the hypnotoad]

Sheldrick is carrying the hopes and dreams of a lot of fans here

no worries ... he has good hands, sturdy shoulders, a cool head ...