Preview R14: Changes vs. Sydney Swans

[CrowBloke]

Lol. Tell me you didn't watch the hawks game without telling me

and the Reply of the Year is:

How the hell would I know he had 5:1 hitouts to advantage at qtr if I didn't
watch?

 

[Gtowncrow]

It would be hard to beat Ports decision to play Rozee the week after doing his hammy.

Yep. As I was writing that I had that example in my mind. The alir and his mate knocking each other out sprung to mind as well. Remember they both were cleared of concussion.

I don't want to be Port.

 

[Captain Furious]

If you take out 97 and 98 which let’s face it are anomalies, we are very much a loser club.

An anomaly that happened two years in a row?

This doom and gloom revisionist history is bizarre to watch. Up until 2018 and this darker period, we were one of the stronger clubs in the AFL, making finals a lot more often than we didn't and pretty much always being competitive. In the 30 years to 2020, we only finished bottom 4 twice, never bottom 3 or lower and bounced back pretty quick both times (straight to a prelim one of those times).

 

[AFC979810]

If you take out 97 and 98 which let’s face it are anomalies, we are very much a loser club.

What nonsense.

If you play that stupid game and take away a Milne bounce and a bad advantage call and Collingwood have zero premierships in that same time frame and are just as much a loser club just like us.

 

[FR0GGY]

How the hell would I know he had 5:1 hitouts to advantage at qtr if I didn't watch?

Probably because you made it up?
He only had 4 hit outs total (afl site), to qtr time, so I’m going to take a stab and say he didn’t have 5 to advantage.

 

[CryptoCrow]

where to start - and where to finish after two weeks of depressingly bad football.

The weekends match against South will be important but given the likely wet conditions and gale force winds we may not gain too much insight.

If Murray survives match and plays well hes in

If Taylor can play in the middle and show some form he is in.

If Tex is fit he will play.

If Cook is fit hes back in.

If Pedlar can display some of the form of last year and up his performance in the second half last week he's in.

If Curtin can play a half decent game hes also in.

So who goes out

Strauchnie is injured so he is an out. ROB comes in by default.

Baby Jon Burgess is an out for Tex. He may never ever play AFL football again.

Keays is an out for Cook. One is skilled the other is not.

Taylor comes in For Ned. One has vision and football smarts - the other runs around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Curtin if he can play well come in for Smithy. That weak effort in the last qr where he piqued a physical confrontation with Richmond players was deplorable for a senior player and team leader.

Rankine comes in for Murphy.

Pedlar comes in for Sholl who showed on the weekend he cannot win one on one contests in the air.

Murray comes in for Borlase but he remains as a sub. I would play him forward but if not he can play centre half back and Keane can go to back pocket.

Team could look like this:

Borlase Tex Rachele
Cook Fogarty Pedlar
Nankervis Soligo Hinge
Curtin Murray Max
Laird Butts Keane

ROB, Dawson, Rankine

Reserves: Jones, Harry, Taylor, Dowling

Sub: Berry

I like Keane as a forward I think he would be a handful for defenders

 

[CryptoCrow]

Out: the wrong people in key posts

In: don’t care, leave them vacant if need be. Better than these hacks

What happened to Sanders?

 

[Samcro24]

What nonsense.

If you play that stupid game and take away a Milne bounce and a bad advantage call and Collingwood have zero premierships in that same time frame and are just as much a loser club just like us.

How is it nonsense?

We’ve not seen anything like those two years, and I don’t think we ever will again. Perfect storm of having several champion players via start up concessions, and a genius coach who was the antithesis of everything that our culture has since become.

Since then it’s been nothing but heartache mostly via incompetence. Choke in finals, poor appointments, don’t attract gun players, draft sanctions, camps.

That’s how we roll, not what happened in 97 98. So again, if it’s bullshit, tell me how we are superior to those clubs in 2024?

 

[Ham]

4D chess trick play; late out, ROB comes in, Strachan kicks 10 at full forward


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[CryptoCrow]

Agreed Curtin was pretty rubbish, but maybe just one of those players that flourishes in the big time. Can't imagine our development in the SANFL is doing him any favours....

Agree with this 100% players need to develop in an afl standard environment, the good ones have a knack of working it out

 

[davos44]

That's because Nicks has spent a lot of effort "rebuilding" the side by pumping games into said omitted senior players (and other trash tier players) rather than developing the next generation

Brodie will have 35 and 14 R50's this week and be back in.

 

[craig crowing]

I must admit a bit of chuckle to myself when posters mention about the poison pen people on social media when in all likelihood it is us on this site who are a major part of whom he referring to.
But the turning on to our ex champion is caused by Nicks and management with horrendous decisions rather than honesty like giving Sloane another year and appointing Brodie as VC.
Brodie's slide in performance didn't start this year it was last year and just got worse.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Brodie will have 35 and 14 R50's this week and be back in.

The selectors have done no favours by playing Smith out of form & also reverting him from wing to defence.

Should have dropped him after round 1 or 2 to find form in the sanfl... but they have preferred to slow Cook him to his own detriment & that of the team.

Really sums up our club this season.

 

[FullyBigKPro]

Wouldn't mind seeing Max M given a job on Heeney.

Let Max have a real good look at one of the comps best and see if he can do a real defensive midfield job on him.

Nothing to really lose at this point...

 

[1970crow]

The thing with Smith is I think he could have still had a positive impact for us this year. Playing him when he was half injured did no favours for him. And moving him up to the wing like at the end of last season could have freed him up more and utilised his (albeit more hack like now) ling kicks into the fwd 50.

Plus having senior bodies around the kids is always good to give them a break.

The issue is not judging him on his form and fitness and managing that with rests or being omitted when required - instead seeing him languish when younger guys could be getting time into them turns the supporters on him. Again it's all down to the selectors/coaches.

If we has dropped him after the first few weeks and only bought him back when he was fresh and when injuries hit/kids needed a break we'd mostly all be fine with it. And Brodie probably would have been playing alot better too...

Still a great for the crows in my eyes and one of my favourite players of the 2010s era.

Smith knew he was struggling physically and could have ruled himself out in order to get right. He chose to continue to put his hand up so he could hit his trigger.

 

[AFC979810]

How is it nonsense?

We’ve not seen anything like those two years, and I don’t think we ever will again. Perfect storm of having several champion players via start up concessions, and a genius coach who was the antithesis of everything that our culture has since become.

Since then it’s been nothing but heartache mostly via incompetence. Choke in finals, poor appointments, don’t attract gun players, draft sanctions, camps.

That’s how we roll, not what happened in 97 98. So again, if it’s bullshit, tell me how we are superior to those clubs in 2024?

IMO we saw something very similar in 05/06 and again in 16/17, just couldn't get over the hump. I think we were more dominant in 05/06 and 16/17 and had some bad luck cost us. 97/98 we had the rub of the green and some brilliant coaching.

If you look at as since our inception - as a club:

We have been better run than Kangaroos, St.Kilda, Essendon, Carlton, Bulldogs, Fremantle, GWS, Gold Coast.

We have been slightly better than Port.

We have been pretty much equal to (but one less flag) than Brisbane & Richmond.

We have been slightly behind Collingwood and Sydney (same amount of flags, but far less losing GF's).

And we have been massively behind Hawthorn / Geelong.

 

[Mutineer]

We are.

Saints have one flag btw.

I'm sure he meant in the AFL era?
Do they have an AFL flag?

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Our SANFL game is a curtain raiser, 3:10pm vs WWT at Adelaide Oval

Will we need to hold Smith and/or ROB back?

 

[GameofSloanes]

How the hell would I know he had 5:1 hitouts to advantage at qtr if I didn't watch?

I was there
Given that rob was pretty much the worst on ground, regularly hit it straight to hawks players, who annihilated us in clearances, and that rob was completely destroyed by his opponent, including by the hawks backup ruck, quoting stats as though it shows that he is good is basically meaningless. So bad that we dropped him.
Not that strachan was any good the following week either

 

[FR0GGY]

I was there
Given that rob was pretty much the worst on ground, regularly hit it straight to hawks players, who annihilated us in clearances, and that rob was completely destroyed by his opponent, including by the hawks backup ruck, quoting stats as though it shows that he is good is basically meaningless. So bad that we dropped him.
Not that strachan was any good the following week either

He also only had 4 hit outs for the 1st term so it’s unlikely that he had 5 to advantage

 

[Betts are off]

I'll admit, if you told me in the preseason that before the bye round we would be fielding a team with Cook, Dowling, Strachan, Borlase, Keane, Hamill, Sholl, Berry and Nank. And with Schoenberg and Murray both back from injury.

I genuinely don't think I'd believe you.

Silver lining. A ten game block with a lineup that looks more or less like this is a good way to close out a supremely disappointing season. If we can blood the draft class as well as Taylor for a block as well, then at least it's not a complete waste of a season.

 

[glengowan]

Murray is a bruising, hard, crash-pack and intimidating defender and will be our Tex in the backline, for years.
Borlase is the one I'd be playing forward --- he's far better skilled than Burgess and showed some flair last week when forward.
Plus, we need some muscle up there eg compare Himmelberg who looks like a scrawny tall boy next to Borlase who's got the shoulders of a swimmer/wrestler. Even his ears look muscled , he moves well and looks to me a better forward prospect than both Cook and Gollant.
While I'm at it, I've loved what Nankervis has shown.

The bolded bit is exactly why I think he would be worth a try up forward. Especially during the remainder of this season where there is a chance to see what the list has to offer. Agree with the promise of Borlase - whether up forward or down back. I personally think down back is probably where he is best suited and he probably ends up battling with Butts for that lock down defender role in a full strength side. Same with Worrell and Keane battling for the same spot if Murray plays as a defender. Fingers crossed that is how it works anyway. I remember being excited by seeing Smith, Milera and Seedsman all playing in the same team at their peak, but unfortunately that never eventuated.

 

[MrBarry]

How is it nonsense?

We’ve not seen anything like those two years, and I don’t think we ever will again. Perfect storm of having several champion players via start up concessions, and a genius coach who was the antithesis of everything that our culture has since become.

Since then it’s been nothing but heartache mostly via incompetence. Choke in finals, poor appointments, don’t attract gun players, draft sanctions, camps.

That’s how we roll, not what happened in 97 98. So again, if it’s bullshit, tell me how we are superior to those clubs in 2024?

It's absurd to just rewrite history to fit your narrative. "Yeah but 97 and 98 don't count" ..... Wtf?

 

[Milo Cyrus]

Wouldn't mind seeing Max M given a job on Heeney.

Let Max have a real good look at one of the comps best and see if he can do a real defensive midfield job on him.

Nothing to really lose at this point...

Jones to Gulden as well.
Schoenberg sub.

Nice ins vs outs this week.

 

[George Kramer]

Wouldn't mind seeing Max M given a job on Heeney.

Let Max have a real good look at one of the comps best and see if he can do a real defensive midfield job on him.

Nothing to really lose at this point...

I like that. It’s crazy more coaches don’t use shut down players that can hurt the other way, Jordan from Sydney is killing it.

Especially if you’ve got a weakness in the midfield, it’s an easy move to sacrifice a mid to stop the oppositions best mid.

The issue with Sydney is they have 3 superstars.