Player Watch #21 Errol Gulden - born to play: 2024 All Australian

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Lot of Wicks chatter, pick Sheldrick, drop Adams, Parker Ladhams etc

Who cares

We need this superstar back to his best .
Cmon Errol , you are capable of being the best player in the comp, right now you are playing for Errol Gulden!!. Time to make others better
 

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Apologies in advance for the long-winded post.

We need to find a way to get other players into the game. And I think there's a lot of truth in the comments about Gulden's game being figured out. That's not a slight on Gulden, it's just an acknowledgement that we need others commanding the ball, and we need to trust the others with the ball in their hands. And the first half of the season (where Gulden wasn't AS prolific) is proof that we can do it successfully.

Errol not only commands the ball, he demands it. He waves his arms, he makes himself visible, he WANTS the ball in his hands. That's great, but like others have said, we need players to look for the best option, not the most obvious one.

The other issue that others have pointed out, is if Gulden is spending 100% TOG, and is getting the ball 40 times, that not only makes us more predictable and easier to counter, but means that Errol is less effective because so much of the game is going through him. It means we're overly reliant on Gulden having a blinder, and others around him go cold and have less of a feel for the ball and the game.

It's in the teams interest to reduce the amount of play centered around Gulden. It will make us less predictable, will make the others better, and it will mean when Gulden gets it 25-30 times, he's fresher, and can create better opportunities for our forwards.

I'd love to see Gulden's stats across this year. Talking about disposal efficiency, score involvements and the overall efficiency per disposal in terms of scores generated from his disposals. I may be wrong, but I'd assume there's an inverse relationship between his disposal numbers and the efficiency / effectiveness of his disposals, particularly as the year has gone on and coaches have had time to look at ways to counter the Errol-effect.
 
Iā€™ll preface this by saying Sidebottom would have followed Gulden regardless of his position, but I donā€™t think we helped him by playing him majority forward and most of our entries were bombing it long. We moved him from the wing so we could fit a fumbling Florent there makes no sense to me.

Gulden/McInerney at full flight arguably the best wing pairing in the competition, versus Florent/Lloyd/Mills such a big difference.
 
I think they wanted to make an effort to stop just putting it in Guldens hand all the time, maybe to an extreme. But in some ways he sacrificed his game as much as sidebottom stopped him
 
Iā€™ll preface this by saying Sidebottom would have followed Gulden regardless of his position, but I donā€™t think we helped him by playing him majority forward and most of our entries were bombing it long. We moved him from the wing so we could fit a fumbling Florent there makes no sense to me.

Gulden/McInerney at full flight arguably the best wing pairing in the competition, versus Florent/Lloyd/Mills such a big difference.

Sidebottom would of followed Gulden to the Urinal he was immense last evening, again i have no idea what we are trying to do with several players out of their best position.
 
Sidebottom would of followed Gulden to the Urinal he was immense last evening, again i have no idea what we are trying to do with several players out of their best position.


Win I guess

Gulden has had an odd month of barking and yelling for the ball, maybe out of frustration.

The others needed to get the ball.
 
Errol the only Swan to make 22under22 team
Sydney Swans midfielder Errol Gulden has been named in the 2024 AFL Playersā€™ Associationā€™s 22Under22 team
After being selected in the final 22Under22 team in 2023, Gulden has once again been selected in the fan-voted final side to earn back to back selections. He was the sixth most popular player, selected in 83% of sides.

 
Errol the only Swan to make 22under22 team


IMO the only other one with a claim was Roberts.
 

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Absolutely loved Errolā€™s drive-by on Wankos and the AA selection team - Canā€™t repeat it verbatim, he said something like ā€˜great to see Nick on a wing, even though he played all of 10 minutes there this yearā€™!

LOVED IT! Chippy Swans! šŸ˜šŸ˜
 
I actually think Errol had a down season in 2024 compared to 2023 but in saying that he still easily deserved his AA this year.
His role has changed. Playing further on the wing than he did last season so he doesn't get the hard balls he used to
 
Last year Errol was the sole reason for several of our wins. Especially in the second half of the season, he carried the team on his back. We scraped into the eight.

This year he had company. The other stars around him meant he didnā€™t shine so brightly, but also meant he didnā€™t have to carry the load himself. We finished clear on top of the ladder and, I suspect, had any other teams actually challenged for top spot, we might have sustained our level for more of the season.

His kicking, at times, wasnā€™t as good as last year but his impact was still significant.

Heā€™s carving himself a bit of an AA niche. For as long as the ā€œmust recognise wingersā€ fashion continues, heā€™s likely to find a spot even if he drops down from his current level. His stats are so much better than any other ā€œwingmanā€ but in part thatā€™s because heā€™s only a part-time wingman. Most of the true wingmen play nothing but, and arenā€™t going to rack up the same numbers he does in his hybrid role.
 
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Player Watch #21 Errol Gulden - born to play: 2024 All Australian

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