Autopsy Practice Match: Sydney Swans vs Brisbane Lions 24th Feb @ 12pm Tramway Oval on Foxtel

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As a Melbourne person, born & bred in South Melbourne & still a Sydney Swans supporter (over 55 years) & member (for over 40 years), one would expect that reading an article written by Sports Journalists from Melbourne about our beloved sport AFL, would at least be accurate.
Take this article from SEN (Sports Entertainment Network) & you would kind of think that they know what they are talking about.
Attachment 1 - 3 takes from the match.. Sounds good to me so far...
Attachment 2 - Gee Peter Ladhams played well before going off before Half Time with a calf injury
FACT - Peter Ladhams didn't actually play the game. He injured his calf during the week at training... WOW.. a truly miraculous recovery..
Attachment 3 - OK, someone at the club must have pointed out the fact & the article got amened to reflect the ACTUAL FACTS...

Yes I watched & taped the game to see if I was wrong.. but no, I saw Reid & McAndrew ruck for us, with Edwards take a few ball ups also, BUT NO LADHAMS.

So there you have it fellow Swans supporters. The Melbourne Press is truly pathetic.
 

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As a Melbourne person, born & bred in South Melbourne & still a Sydney Swans supporter (over 55 years) & member (for over 40 years), one would expect that reading an article written by Sports Journalists from Melbourne about our beloved sport AFL, would at least be accurate.
Take this article from SEN (Sports Entertainment Network) & you would kind of think that they know what they are talking about.
Attachment 1 - 3 takes from the match.. Sounds good to me so far...
Attachment 2 - Gee Peter Ladhams played well before going off before Half Time with a calf injury
FACT - Peter Ladhams didn't actually play the game. He injured his calf during the week at training... WOW.. a truly miraculous recovery..
Attachment 3 - OK, someone at the club must have pointed out the fact & the article got amened to reflect the ACTUAL FACTS...

Yes I watched & taped the game to see if I was wrong.. but no, I saw Reid & McAndrew ruck for us, with Edwards take a few ball ups also, BUT NO LADHAMS.

So there you have it fellow Swans supporters. The Melbourne Press is truly pathetic.
From a Sydney based journalist even. Sigh.
 

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Considering our long history of not doing well in practice games, I have come to the conclusion that the club uses these matches to motivate the players to train harder and to annoy the members of this forum.

I would say one of those goals has been a success.
 
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Florent shakes, shimmies, shuffles, swivels and swerves through traffic in a fashion that can only be described as Judd-esque. Either he's using dark physics, so those around him are running against the gravitational pull of a black hole or he's runs at the optical sweet-spot where the video speed (frames per second) is precisely in sync with the cadence of his legs (ie, the stroboscopic effect).
Dark physics 😅
The most powerful force in the universe is dark energy so he may be onto something.
 
As a Melbourne person, born & bred in South Melbourne & still a Sydney Swans supporter (over 55 years) & member (for over 40 years), one would expect that reading an article written by Sports Journalists from Melbourne about our beloved sport AFL, would at least be accurate.
Take this article from SEN (Sports Entertainment Network) & you would kind of think that they know what they are talking about.
Attachment 1 - 3 takes from the match.. Sounds good to me so far...
Attachment 2 - Gee Peter Ladhams played well before going off before Half Time with a calf injury
FACT - Peter Ladhams didn't actually play the game. He injured his calf during the week at training... WOW.. a truly miraculous recovery..
Attachment 3 - OK, someone at the club must have pointed out the fact & the article got amened to reflect the ACTUAL FACTS...

Yes I watched & taped the game to see if I was wrong.. but no, I saw Reid & McAndrew ruck for us, with Edwards take a few ball ups also, BUT NO LADHAMS.

So there you have it fellow Swans supporters. The Melbourne Press is truly pathetic.
It gets worse… Hickey has the calf injury, Ladhams is tendinitis.

“Tom Hickey won’t play after suffering a calf injury in training last week. We’ll see how he progresses over the next couple of weeks but at this stage we expect him to be unavailable for at least the first few weeks of the season.

“Peter Ladhams is also managing some tendonitis following last week’s internal match simulation so will miss this week and we’ll reassess him for next week.”


Ladhams misses R1 due to suspension doesn’t he? Will we see McAndrew debut R1?
 
As a Melbourne person, born & bred in South Melbourne & still a Sydney Swans supporter (over 55 years) & member (for over 40 years), one would expect that reading an article written by Sports Journalists from Melbourne about our beloved sport AFL, would at least be accurate.
Take this article from SEN (Sports Entertainment Network) & you would kind of think that they know what they are talking about.
Attachment 1 - 3 takes from the match.. Sounds good to me so far...
Attachment 2 - Gee Peter Ladhams played well before going off before Half Time with a calf injury
FACT - Peter Ladhams didn't actually play the game. He injured his calf during the week at training... WOW.. a truly miraculous recovery..
Attachment 3 - OK, someone at the club must have pointed out the fact & the article got amened to reflect the ACTUAL FACTS...

Yes I watched & taped the game to see if I was wrong.. but no, I saw Reid & McAndrew ruck for us, with Edwards take a few ball ups also, BUT NO LADHAMS.

So there you have it fellow Swans supporters. The Melbourne Press is truly pathetic.
The sport is Aussie Rules , AFL is it's own competition
 
It gets worse… Hickey has the calf injury, Ladhams is tendinitis.

“Tom Hickey won’t play after suffering a calf injury in training last week. We’ll see how he progresses over the next couple of weeks but at this stage we expect him to be unavailable for at least the first few weeks of the season.

“Peter Ladhams is also managing some tendonitis following last week’s internal match simulation so will miss this week and we’ll reassess him for next week.”


Ladhams misses R1 due to suspension doesn’t he? Will we see McAndrew debut R1?
Add that Amartey & McLean are also nursing injuries also & we have a shortage of ruckmen. Was hopng to see Owen also get a run but I ddnt see him.

As for McAndrew, he did well & could provide cover if Ladhams plays & needs assistance. Problem is that the Swans also tend not to play two ruckmen.

I think Ladhams is available after serving three matches already with the GF being the third. He didn't play the VFL final, the AFL Prelim & the AFL GF.
 
The sport is Aussie Rules , AFL is it's own competition
True, but said journalist was reporting on an AFL practice match, involving AFL teams, not an Aussie Rules practice match involving any team other than AFL.

And the AFL is the over-arching competition for all Aussie Rules games, rules & regulations.

Though, some competitions have digressive rules,
Like the VFL & its 18 per side &
The SANFL with its last touch rules do experiment outside of the remit of AFL &
The Amateurs & their no payment rules.

But I digress & agree.
 
I'll join you in sneaking off topic.

Florent shakes, shimmies, shuffles, swivels and swerves through traffic in a fashion that can only be described as Judd-esque. He never looks like he's moving fast, yet those chasing him can never keep up. Either he's using dark physics, so those around him are running against the gravitational pull of a black hole or he's runs at the optical sweet-spot where the video speed (frames per second) is precisely in sync with the cadence of his legs (ie, the stroboscopic effect).
 

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Did Francis play?
Yes, though he wasn't very noticeable on the ground. Still learning where to position in the Swans setup.

Will Gould didn't play the televised match, so I cannot report on his game. In my opinion, he surely deserved a run if he was fit. He was dressed in shorts & noticeable at the huddle during the Quarter breaks so not sure if he played the 5th & 6th Quarter that were not televised. Also disappointed not to see Hall-Kahan, Vickery, Owen & Rankin play.

BUT LET'S LOOK AT THE POSITIVES OF THE MATCH & NOT BAG ANY OF OUR PLAYERS from the Match Simulation (yes, that's what it was called).

McAndrew was holding his own in the ruck, but the stronger Lion's midfielders took control in the middle. Will Edwards took a few hit outs & looked small against Oscar McInerney at the Lions. He does look a likely prospect however.

Our skills were poor sometimes, but being the first game, that is always expected. We would have scored a lot more with cleaner hands & kicking to position which will start come in the next few weeks. Don't forget that we started pre-season training later than the Lions so we are about a week or two behind them.

I really liked the look of having four tall defenders in 2 x McCartin's, Francis & Rampe, as they were probably looking to the Suns playing 4 tall forwards in Round 1. I expect that we will change the format of our backline to suit clubs. If we play clubs with smaller forward lines, we will probaly go smaller.

The Swans forward line was missing nearly all of our small forwards in Papley, Wicks & Konstanty. (Remember Ronke is also no longer with the club)
One of those would have been handy buzzing around as the Lions always seemed to be able to have a small defender run away with the ball. Sheldrick's disposal was not at his best so he will go away & work on that aspect as we know that he is a good footballer. Roberts & C.Warner really needed the run to understand where to improve.

A personal opinion, as I am not sure if Campbell is a defender & I would much prefer him on the Wing with his long penetrating kicking. As I am not a coach, I will defer to their decisions at present but I would like to see hime more forward of the ball with the accuracy & depth of his kicking meaning that he would be quite dangerous near goals.

Logan McDonald kept running & will improve with better disposal coming into the forward line. As will Buddy, who really showed that the cobwebs have built up over the preseason.

Some Senior players like Gulden, McInerney, Rowbottom, Parker, Florent & Warner all looked in reasonable nick & should be providing plenty of drive again this year.

So that is my take on the game. Happy to hear fair & reasonable criticism.
 
Add that Amartey & McLean are also nursing injuries also & we have a shortage of ruckmen. Was hopng to see Owen also get a run but I ddnt see him.

As for McAndrew, he did well & could provide cover if Ladhams plays & needs assistance. Problem is that the Swans also tend not to play two ruckmen.

I think Ladhams is available after serving three matches already with the GF being the third. He didn't play the VFL final, the AFL Prelim & the AFL GF.
Owen played the full game in VFL doing virtually all the rucking. Very raw still.
 
Just finished watching the game.
Much cobwebs were hopefully blown in preparation for the season proper.

Matches like this I look for two things;
1 Any obvious changes in game style or individual positioning?
2 Has any player stepped up (albeit in just the one game)?

1 No noticeable change in how we play. We did lack speed and overlap from the backline, but that IMO was more personnel based rather than tactics.
As for positioning major change was how much time Errol spent in the guts and how little Mills did. I doubt that will be repeated to any way the same extent in the season proper.
Certainly I think Gulden will increase his time in the mids, but it will be ~the caesar88 40%(+). Parker the more natural fwd would take Mills minutes from yesterday.
I'd also add that I wouldn't necessarily want Errol to spend too much time away from the HFF/wing given his decision making/execution in that role, whereas we have more depth in our midfielders.
The one guy who I think could replicate Gulden's HFF/wing role is the much discussed Campbell.
I assume it was just an experiment to play him BP on Cameron, basically to see how he went or as a learning experience.
Kicking is his strength, playing as a defensive BP is not how to utilise that skill.

2 McAndrew I thought was handy, particularly his tap ruckwork.
Still needs to add bulk/strength but nonetheless impressive against two seasoned rucks.
I've said before I would have preferred to see McAndrew rucking more in the reserves last season, rather than relying so much on Sinclair, who was leaving at the end of year.
Good to see Hickey spending some time with the Big Mac, explaining some ruck nuances, as the players went off at HT.

Lastly just on best players; Errol the standout for me and also liked the games of the two wingers in McInerney & Stephens.
 
I will echo some of the comments here. These games mean very little as there is no tagging, no premature revealing of too many new tricks, etc. It's a chance to blow out some cobwebs as well as take a look at how some players will cope with a step up in class.

First of all, it looks like McAndrew has spent some time in the gym as last year he looked like he was made of pipe cleaners but yesterday there was a bit more meat. Still not finished yet but currently on target. His tap work was good and some of the follow up work was promising. If he could take a few grabs I would start to become excited.

Secondly, Logan also has spent time in the gym and is tracking well. His problem yesterday was the delivery to him. Once again it was bombed to him and he was covered by two defenders, which must have been frustrating for him.

Our defence will be fine. Yesterday they fumbled and dropped marks but that is just cobwebs. It happens in every pre season I have seen in the last 50 years I have been watching.

Campbell is interesting as I agree with others here in that I am not sure of his best position yet. I find myself continually revising my expectations of him but he is currently serving a full apprenticeship, so no need yet for concern.

All in all, a handy hit out against a good team. Nothing to worry about because it will look completely different in Rd 1.

By the way, the Lions have made three very good additions to an already good team. Ashcroft, Gunston and Dunkley will all cause problems for a lot of teams this year. Cudos to their recruiting department.
 
When Lions got that run on in the third. It was all off dominating contested ball and winning clearances. Our mids were terrible. I don't care how many weeks behind we are, to get flogged in the midfield was reminiscent of the GF where they buried us in a matter of minutes. Same happened here. Have we learned nothing from the GF?

I know it is only a practice match but even in practice matches, no matter how much we lose by, we are better than this. We at least adjust. We didn't do any such thing in the third. In the next week I hope they work on this. If they don't it could be a very long season as everyone would have woken up to how to destroy our midfield. I have been worried about the way we set up for some time. It cả work to great advantage but if you get flogged in the ruck you get totally flogged in the mids.

Teams now automatically run a defensive runner straight through the centre square exposing our attacking set up and clear the ball easily. That must be worrying Longmire. At no time did any player attempt to curb Coleman. Attempt to check him. They just let him run and they set up offensively. Several of their backs including Andrews just ran through the centre and into the forward line with no opponent. Astounding.

On JAT-L29 using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
When Lions got that run on in the third. It was all off dominating contested ball and winning clearances. Our mids were terrible. I don't care how many weeks behind we are, to get flogged in the midfield was reminiscent of the GF where they buried us in a matter of minutes. Same happened here. Have we learned nothing from the GF?

I know it is only a practice match but even in practice matches, no matter how much we lose by, we are better than this. We at least adjust. We didn't do any such thing in the third. In the next week I hope they work on this. If they don't it could be a very long season as everyone would have woken up to how to destroy our midfield. I have been worried about the way we set up for some time. It cả work to great advantage but if you get flogged in the ruck you get totally flogged in the mids.

Teams now automatically run a defensive runner straight through the centre square exposing our attacking set up and clear the ball easily. That must be worrying Longmire. At no time did any player attempt to curb Coleman. Attempt to check him. They just let him run and they set up offensively. Several of their backs including Andrews just ran through the centre and into the forward line with no opponent. Astounding.

On JAT-L29 using BigFooty.com mobile app
Looked to me like our usual hard-hitters (Parker, Mills, Rowbottom) were taking it kind of easy on the physical stuff yesterday. And why wouldn't they? They're about to embark on the longest season in AFL history, and they'll be the guys taking the most wear and tear every week. They don't need to be taking it in a game with no premiership points.
 
When Lions got that run on in the third. It was all off dominating contested ball and winning clearances. Our mids were terrible. I don't care how many weeks behind we are, to get flogged in the midfield was reminiscent of the GF where they buried us in a matter of minutes. Same happened here. Have we learned nothing from the GF?

I know it is only a practice match but even in practice matches, no matter how much we lose by, we are better than this. We at least adjust. We didn't do any such thing in the third. In the next week I hope they work on this. If they don't it could be a very long season as everyone would have woken up to how to destroy our midfield. I have been worried about the way we set up for some time. It cả work to great advantage but if you get flogged in the ruck you get totally flogged in the mids.

Teams now automatically run a defensive runner straight through the centre square exposing our attacking set up and clear the ball easily. That must be worrying Longmire. At no time did any player attempt to curb Coleman. Attempt to check him. They just let him run and they set up offensively. Several of their backs including Andrews just ran through the centre and into the forward line with no opponent. Astounding.

On JAT-L29 using BigFooty.com mobile app
Why would our players try to go with or negate one of theirs? It was a match sim. It was for trying some of your own stuff against others. It wasn't even a practice match!
 
Why would our players try to go with or negate one of theirs? It was a match sim. It was for trying some of your own stuff against others. It wasn't even a practice match!
Furthermore, I will go out on a limb and say we probably won't see any tagging next week, either. From either side.
 

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Autopsy Practice Match: Sydney Swans vs Brisbane Lions 24th Feb @ 12pm Tramway Oval on Foxtel

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