Most disappointing Swan this year.

[DeadlyAkkuret]

We've already got a thread for the most improved Sydney player, so i thought i'd take a look at the other side of the coin, and see who's kind of let us down in 2007. It has to be a player who's expected to do great things for Sydney, but hasn't delivered this season.

At the top of my list, and i'll probably cop a little flack for this, is Ryan O'Keefe. He's been an outstanding and crucial part of our side for a few years now, but i really feel that he's let himself down this year, by not stamping his authority on games like we know he can. His kicking for goal leaves a lot to be desired, and he just seems to have taken his foot off the pedal.

Again, i'm not saying he's been the worst player, far from it, just disappointing compared to what we know he can do.

 

[grimlock]

Barry Hall by a country mile. Yes, he's injured and that's not his fault but the drop compared to last year is immense.

 

[rancidpants13]

We've already got a thread for the most improved Sydney player, so i thought i'd take a look at the other side of the coin, and see who's kind of let us down in 2007. It has to be a player who's expected to do great things for Sydney, but hasn't delivered this season.

At the top of my list, and i'll probably cop a little flack for this, is Ryan O'Keefe. He's been an outstanding and crucial part of our side for a few years now, but i really feel that he's let himself down this year, by not stamping his authority on games like we know he can. His kicking for goal leaves a lot to be desired, and he just seems to have taken his foot off the pedal.

Again, i'm not saying he's been the worst player, far from it, just disappointing compared to what we know he can do.

nah, i think any such assessment of ROK is unfair....i said this a coupla weeks ago and i'll say it again, ROK seems to spend most games playing 2-3 different roles, mostly being sent where other players are under-performing....be it running off halfback, midfield or the wings, or pinch-hitting in the forwards...he's still our most reliable contested mark, he still delivers with passes and he is still probly our best link man when we do run the ball out of defence...i think any one of our other forwards, hall obviously, davis and micky o, have been disappointing, i think schneids and jude have been disappointing, and until past the halfway mark goodesy had been terrible by his standards....fortunately he's found form at the right time

 

[carntheroos4eva]

Luke Ablett and Nick Davis. Their confidence didn't get very high when kicking for goal and running around this year.

 

[Tuco]

So many Swans had slow starts, it's hard to finger anyone. Many of us were wondering when Goodes would ever fire, and he's coming home with Brownlow form. Go figure? Amon was very ordinary in patches, as was Schnieder but both fired up after their demotions and started to find the footy in major way.

Has to be Bazza. But I'm not really blaming him for his form. I'm just disappointed that injuries have restricted him so badly this year. Never felt so nervous watching him from 30m in all his years for us.

 

[natlovestheswans]

Luke Ablett and Nick Davis. Their confidence didn't get very high when kicking for goal and running around this year.

Extremely odd comment. Nick Davis is not only our best shot for goal but he is also the most confident kicking for goal. Even after a few misses he'll still back himself from difficult angles and whatnot.

 

[J-swan]

It's Schneider for mine, or "Pointboy" as we call him! Every year I think that he's going to step up and have a really great year but he always seems to fall short. I know he came back well after his demotion but he still lairises way way too much and I think he thinks he's a far better player than he really is.

 

[bloodsbigot]

Extremely odd comment. Nick Davis is not only our best shot for goal but he is also the most confident kicking for goal. Even after a few misses he'll still back himself from difficult angles and whatnot.

Nick Davis springs to mind for me not because he's not confident kicking at goal... just because I haven't seen him much during games this year. He definitely hasn't been a high possession getter, that's for sure.

 

[rancidpants13]

It's Schneider for mine, or "Pointboy" as we call him! Every year I think that he's going to step up and have a really great year but he always seems to fall short. I know he came back well after his demotion but he still lairises way way too much and I think he thinks he's a far better player than he really is.

yeah, that's pretty close to the mark.....the moment i knew we'd blown the c'wood game the other night was when he took micky o's shot at goal, perfect spot for a left-footer, and he hit the post

 

[bradmanstandguy]

Nick Davis springs to mind for me not because he's not confident kicking at goal... just because I haven't seen him much during games this year. He definitely hasn't been a high possession getter, that's for sure.

A lot of our forwards have been disappointing this year,woeful kicking,and lack of pressure,on opposition backlines.Davis has been largely unsighted this season,but if theres one player who can step up in finals,its him,especially against his old club,whos fans still give him a hard time after all these years!

 

[GunBarrellStraight]

Ryan o'keefe has been the let down this year besides Barry Hall who has been carrying an injury so has an excuse
Ryan o'keefe probli sydney's fittest plyr and can take a great mark...
Ryan o'keefe plays his best footy when he his leading up to the wings and take strong marks...but seems that this yr he is playing a diffrent role in the side which has made his influence on the game alot less. This year he has been going down back more often to help out so his scoring opportunities have decreased where he is using up alot of energy.

So far this year o'keefe has played his best footy when Barry hall has been absent so the foward line has been freed up and o'keefe is able to run off his opponents and kick more goals But when Barry Hall is playing O'keefe just sits behind the ball nd tries to block Barry Hall's opponent when hall is making a lead

O'keefe needs to step it up for the finals by taking marks on the wings then kicking it to our other fowards hall,o'loughlin,davies the more inside 50's he can get the better

 

[rancidpants13]

A lot of our forwards have been disappointing this year,woeful kicking,and lack of pressure,on opposition backlines.Davis has been largely unsighted this season,but if theres one player who can step up in finals,its him,especially against his old club,whos fans still give him a hard time after all these years!

yeah, still laughable the serve davo cops against the pies.....seeing as he came back for exactly the same reasons as that big wuss rocca left us to go back home to mum....i don't think i've ever heard rocca booed by swans fans, well, unless it's to do with him trying to take someone's head off, say, goodesy two weeks ago

 

[xxscubaxx]

dempster, been in the system a few years, needs to step up and cement his spot next year or we should trade him. as for top tier players, davis & hall get the nod.

 

[bloodsbigot]

dempster, been in the system a few years, needs to step up and cement his spot next year or we should trade him. as for top tier players, davis & hall get the nod.

Yeah... him too.

Dempster... will you hurry up and improve for crying out loud?

 

[mattyh]

Jude Bolton has been disappointing IMO.

 

[liz]

There've been a few.

Bazza and Kennelly - obviously both injury affected

Jude Bolton - poor Kirk's been left as pretty much the only decent hard nut in a midfield bereft of class to start with. I know some don't rate Bolton per se but in past year's he's played one good half to the season before dropping off. He was leading the Brownlow count at the halfway point of the season a couple of years back. This year his effectiveness has dropped right off.

Buchanan - has been a shadow of his 2005-6 self. Hopefully it can be explained by injury rather than a let down in attitude.

Goodes - in the first half of the year.

Ablett's been up and down too, but again has had a pretty ordinary year injury wise.

But my number one disappointment has been McVeigh. Last year he finished 10th in the B&F and won the award for the most improved. I was hopeful that he'd add some class to the midfield and kick 20 odd goals to boot. But he's moved backwards instead, not even holding the ground he made last year. And while injuries are a likely explanation for most of the disappointments, there's been no suggestion that it's been an issue for Macca.

Am a little surprised at Schneider's nomination. He's had a few quiet games but his good games have been far better than anything he's produced in past years and there have been quite a few of them too.

Am flabbergasted by those nominating O'Keefe. I think some don't understand his role in the team, or don't notice the relentless running he does, not just to help out all over the paddock but also to create space for others. And while some clubs may have been slow to realise how good a player he'd become, there's not a chance that they don't all have him marked down as a danger man now. He probably gets a harder "tag" than all bar Goodes and Hall.

 

[rancidpants13]

Yeah... him too.

Dempster... will you hurry up and improve for crying out loud?

yeah, dempster HAS been disappointing

 

[rancidpants13]

There've been a few.

Bazza and Kennelly - obviously both injury affected

Jude Bolton - poor Kirk's been left as pretty much the only decent hard nut in a midfield bereft of class to start with. I know some don't rate Bolton per se but in past year's he's played one good half to the season before dropping off. He was leading the Brownlow count at the halfway point of the season a couple of years back. This year his effectiveness has dropped right off.

Buchanan - has been a shadow of his 2005-6 self. Hopefully it can be explained by injury rather than a let down in attitude.

Goodes - in the first half of the year.

Ablett's been up and down too, but again has had a pretty ordinary year injury wise.

But my number one disappointment has been McVeigh. Last year he finished 10th in the B&F and won the award for the most improved. I was hopeful that he'd add some class to the midfield and kick 20 odd goals to boot. But he's moved backwards instead, not even holding the ground he made last year. And while injuries are a likely explanation for most of the disappointments, there's been no suggestion that it's been an issue for Macca.

Am a little surprised at Schneider's nomination. He's had a few quiet games but his good games have been far better than anything he's produced in past years and there have been quite a few of them too.

Am flabbergasted by those nominating O'Keefe. I think some don't understand his role in the team, or don't notice the relentless running he does, not just to help out all over the paddock but also to create space for others. And while some clubs may have been slow to realise how good a player he'd become, there's not a chance that they don't all have him marked down as a danger man now. He probably gets a harder "tag" than all bar Goodes and Hall.

absolutely spot-on with ROK....
one of our best this season, i'd have thought
mcveigh, i had little time for until i think the second weagles game this year, and since then i thought he's been pretty good....still, if we could use him as trade bait for someone decent, i'd shed no tears
with schneids, i just seem him, like davis, as having so much potential and ability, but so inconsistent

 

[DeadlyAkkuret]

I guess we all see O'Keefe in a different light, it'd just be good to see him dominate games more often than he does, like he did against the Crows this year, and the Saints in the 2005 prelim. Obviously Roos has a role for him, and i'm sure he's doing it quite well, but there's just something missing for mine.

 

[liz]

I guess we all see O'Keefe in a different light, it'd just be good to see him dominate games more often than he does, like he did against the Crows this year, and the Saints in the 2005 prelim. Obviously Roos has a role for him, and i'm sure he's doing it quite well, but there's just something missing for mine.

He was probably our second best player against the Hawks on Sunday.

And he's currently 5th in the player of the year award voted for by members of this board, behind the three players who've made the AA top 40 and one guy who has come home with a wet sail over the last two months (and who we always knew was capable of doing so).

Will be very surprised if he doesn't finish in the top half-dozen in the club B&F. Maybe we can come back and re-open this discussion when we know whether he does or not.

 

[DeadlyAkkuret]

He was probably our second best player against the Hawks on Sunday.

And he's currently 5th in the player of the year award voted for by members of this board, behind the three players who've made the AA top 40 and one guy who has come home with a wet sail over the last two months (and who we always knew was capable of doing so).

Will be very surprised if he doesn't finish in the top half-dozen in the club B&F. Maybe we can come back and re-open this discussion when we know whether he does or not.

Well, perhaps he's been more impressive than i gave him credit for, afterall i was in the United States from july til mid august, so i missed 6-7 rounds of football. Don't get me wrong, i'm a huge O'Keefe fan, love him and his value to Sydney, there's nothing wrong with taking the game on more sometimes, though.

 

[Tuco]

Well, perhaps he's been more impressive than i gave him credit for, afterall i was in the United States from july til mid august, so i missed 6-7 rounds of football. Don't get me wrong, i'm a huge O'Keefe fan, love him and his value to Sydney, there's nothing wrong with taking the game on more sometimes, though.

It's true that ROK's goal kicking was a worry for a lot of the year. But his work ethic was outstanding all season. And he was right up there with Tiger as one of the half a dozen Swans who were firing on all cylinders in that first 6 weeks when so few Swans were switched on.

 

[theycallmedashow]

I guess LRT hasn't played many games, hopefully his confidence goes up and he will be back on track.

 

[natlovestheswans]

I guess LRT hasn't played many games, hopefully his confidence goes up and he will be back on track.

Many games? He has played 1 game.

 

[DragonLass]

Nick Davis springs to mind for me not because he's not confident kicking at goal... just because I haven't seen him much during games this year. He definitely hasn't been a high possession getter, that's for sure.

I don't think it's fair to say that Nick hasn't been seen much... he's mainly used as an impact player, and it's not neccessarily his job to be a posession winner. That said, most games he has been in double figures for possessions. And he's still 3rd (I think) in goal kicking.

To my mind the most disappointing this year has been Teddy... after putting in such a superb effort in last year's GF, being just about best on ground, I was expecting a lot more from him. I really hope he can step back up again for the finals.