Game Day Round 7: Sydney v Richmond

[SM]

"I believe our boys gave of their best, and at 3/4 time we were still in it".

Nope sorry, we didn't, and we weren't.

Huh, we were down by 14 at 3/4 time.

 

[CAS79]

Anyone else tried to access the AFL Smart replay only to get a messege saying the AFL game analyser is available to users in Australia only.

So Im sitting here in Melbs North using a Telstra internet account only to be told I'm not in Australia..... have we been invaded when I wasn't looking.

 

[balldman]

Anyone else tried to access the AFL Smart replay only to get a messege saying the AFL game analyser is available to users in Australia only.

No.Mine's working fine
Maybe they're Swans fans & they don't want you to watch it.
I'm certainly not adding that one to the library

 

[Leg End]

I agree.

It's pathetic how so-called Swans fans turn on the team - or target certain players - like Melbourne fans down south.

In recent history, we have had ordinary losses before and come back through the season stronger than ever. It also happens that we are without Goodes, Mummy, Rohan and have had Reid struggling. We are not a team of superstars because we haven't tanked to build up a huge array of draft picks.

How would Carlton go without Judd, Kreuser and Murphy/Gibbs?

Its a long season - in an open comp - and we have shown that we can compete. Look what the Crows did to the Cats!

So may posters here expect players to show 100% commitment - but hit the panic button after one loss. Why not show some spine as a supporter and back the boys through thick and thin? There are enough eunuch suporters south of the border - like to think Swans fans are made of sterner stuff.

 

[baja]

I agree.

It's pathetic how so-called Swans fans turn on the team - or target certain players - like Melbourne fans down south.

In recent history, we have had ordinary losses before and come back through the season stronger than ever. It also happens that we are without Goodes, Mummy, Rohan and have had Reid struggling. We are not a team of superstars because we haven't tanked to build up a huge array of draft picks.

How would Carlton go without Judd, Kreuser and Murphy/Gibbs?

Its a long season - in an open comp - and we have shown that we can compete. Look what the Crows did to the Cats!

So may posters here expect players to show 100% commitment - but hit the panic button after one loss. Why not show some spine as a supporter and back the boys through thick and thin? There are enough eunuch suporters south of the border - like to think Swans fans are made of sterner stuff.

I usually like your posts Leg End, but I take offense to alot in your post. Im from South of the border and was following South Melbourne when you were in nappies. I dont see any 'Melb' Swans fans sticking the boots in, it seems to be coming from Swans fans North of the border.. but lets not turn this into civil war...

 

[Leg End]

I usually like your posts Leg End, but I take offense to alot in your post. Im from South of the border and was following South Melbourne when you were in nappies. I dont see any 'Melb' Swans fans sticking the boots in, it seems to be coming from Swans fans North of the border.. but lets not turn this into civil war...

Actually, I don't really care where they come from - but turning on players and coaching staff after what has been a pretty stellar start is pretty pathetic, especially after Goodes, Mummy, Rohan are missing.

Similar to the Dees game at the MCG several years ago - sometimes opposition teams get the jump on us - it happens.

 

[Stevie Ray Swan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stevie Ray Swan
"I believe our boys gave of their best, and at 3/4 time we were still in it".

Nope sorry, we didn't, and we weren't.

Huh, we were down by 14 at 3/4 time.

Huh, we were down by 14 at 3/4 time.

Unfortunately it was false hope, the Tigers were always more hungry to win this game, and it showed early in the 4th quarter, despite being only 14 pts up.

 

[cherub]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stevie Ray Swan
"I believe our boys gave of their best, and at 3/4 time we were still in it".

Nope sorry, we didn't, and we weren't.

Huh, we were down by 14 at 3/4 time.

Unfortunately it was false hope, the Tigers were always more hungry to win this game, and it showed early in the 4th quarter, despite being only 14 pts up.

All the players can really control on gameday is their effort, and discipline in sticking to the gameplan. There are days when your coordination and judgement are off. Or the matchups or gameplan are wrong. The Swans got back in the game by grinding effort. There were no slick, easy goals. They'd got 40 points behind and they worked their way back to a competitive position. I think they had spent most of their energy by the 4th quarter. They didn't lose by 60 (like the Eagles), or give up like Melbourne have done. Richmond played well, and deserved to win. It was not a poor quality game.(You should have seen Port & Freo today).

 

[GotTheGoodes]

I usually like your posts Leg End, but I take offense to alot in your post. Im from South of the border and was following South Melbourne when you were in nappies. I dont see any 'Melb' Swans fans sticking the boots in, it seems to be coming from Swans fans North of the border.. but lets not turn this into civil war...

+1 baja (apart from the 'when you were in nappies' bit... )

I'm sick and tired of the state.v.state bulls*t. How about you find something more substantive to critise people over if you feel the need to do so? Maybe like some stats or actual real life match events? Not a good look for a supporter to attack one of our own based on nothing more than where they live. You could live on Jupiter and still be as much a fan as the next guy (on the next planet).

 

[baja]

I actually agree with Leg Ends views on vic bias umpiring and commentating. I think he was more refering to supporters of vic based clubs in general.

 

[Leg End]

I actually agree with Leg Ends views on vic bias umpiring and commentating. I think he was more refering to supporters of vic based clubs in general.

True - I'm not taking aim at Vic Swans fans. My perception is about fans of other clubs who seem to relish attacking their own.

By the way - Was I alone in thinking that Richmond's new Number 1 supporter is Eddie F....g Everywhere. The swans were pretty ordinary (but didnt giveup ) and richmond had their standard "on" day against us at teh MCG. But, Listening to that Collingwood prikc, you'd swear Richmond had just conquered world poverty.

Final comment: tremendous decision to give Riewoldt a mark when he's tipped the ball 6 inches into the air and Ted smacked it away. I reckon if you did family treelines on all Victorian umpires, you'd find a German family strain in all of them - named Riewoldt.

 

[MF]

We're missing Rohan's defensive pressure in the forward 50 almost as much as we miss Goodes and Mumford IMO. Still no excuse to lose that game though.

We're now just wasting time playing White, and that time could be spent developing Walsh in the forward line.

 

[alanlau34]

The blow out in the first quarter meant that I resigned myself to an early loss, only for the Swans to reel back me back in at the end of the third quarter. Hence the loss was doubly disappointing for me. Richmond were far harder at the ball, slicker handpasses, and actually had forwards leading to the right areas.

Was so frustrating watching the mids bomb it in on top of the forward lines heads. One passage of play in the last quarter where we moved it around the fifty, then spotted up a leading TDL (?) left me wondering where that had been all day.

My first game watching them at the MCG, and until they start to win there, it will be last game.

 

[Syd]

So for those of us trapped north of the NSW border and didn't get to see the game, can it be summed up thusly;

Maric killed Seaby in the ruck,
A genuine forward starts as the sub,
Richmond held JPK relatively quiet,
Teddy was off his usual game,
We bombed it long in vain and Richmonds defence rebounded better than ours for the game, and
Horse of course is a strategic genius

Or something along those lines?

 

[J_Moore]

So for those of us trapped north of the NSW border and didn't get to see the game, can it be summed up thusly;

Maric killed Seaby in the ruck,
A genuine forward starts as the sub,
Richmond held JPK relatively quiet,
Teddy was off his usual game,
We bombed it long in vain and Richmonds defence rebounded better than ours for the game, and
Horse of course is a strategic genius

Or something along those lines?

Pretty much. At least that was the first quarter. If we'd kicked the first goal or two in the 4th it'd be a different story.

The match wasn't as dire as people are making out after 1/4 time. As I said, overall, we won the last 3 quarters, including a great 3/4 effort.

But the first quarter was the worst we've played since Melbourne in 2010.

 

[MF]

So for those of us trapped north of the NSW border and didn't get to see the game, can it be summed up thusly;

Maric killed Seaby in the ruck,
A genuine forward starts as the sub,
Richmond held JPK relatively quiet,
Teddy was off his usual game,
We bombed it long in vain and Richmonds defence rebounded better than ours for the game, and
Horse of course is a strategic genius

Or something along those lines?

I actually think Teddy was pretty good. He was only really beaten when his opponent was allowed to illegally shove him under the ball with his forearms.

 

[J_Moore]

I actually think Teddy was pretty good. He was only really beaten when his opponent was allowed to illegally shove him under the ball with his forearms.

He got outbodied with the hips a couple of times, too. And wasn't he on the resting midfielders in the first? Didn't look amazing there.

I have my doubts about the effectiveness of taking front position too early against J. Riewoldt. He always manages to either 1) outbody/push his opponent or 2) Take a hanger. I suspect he's one of those forwards best played late, Leo Barry style.

 

[drivative]

Similar to the Dees game at the MCG several years ago - sometimes opposition teams get the jump on us - it happens.

I've had a bit of a look through the posts so far, and I'm surprised this is the only mention of the MCG I found. And even this comment was off the mark. These losses at the MCG don't 'just happen'. That's 14 losses out of our last 15 appearances. That doesn't just happen. Last year we drew with MELBOURNE there in the first round!!!
The coaches can't work it out why it's happening, and have been trying to deny it for a couple of years (ie Roosy wasn't as in denial as Horse).
They think the size doesn't explain it because other grounds are large too. But the 'G is actually 20m wider than Subiaco. Only Aurora in Launceston (where we beat the Hawks) is similar, being as wide AND as long. I only have theories to explain it, but there's little point looking at most of the other factors being pointed to in posts so far. It's not about individual failures. It's team structures and set-up. Clearly, we play great footy on some grounds.
I can't explain for sure why we lost badly to Hawthorn at the MCG last year, then beat them at Aurora this year, but my theory at this stage is that some teams can take advantage of our favoured style of play. We like it in close and hunt in packs. If one tackle is evaded we like to have more tacklers nearby to keep up the pressure. The Tigers (and the Hawks at the MCG in the semi) really spread us out when they had the ball yesterday. I was at the game watching from the top stand and saw it throughout the game. Our guys tried their guts out for the most part, but the Tiges had space and time to maneuver; a feature uncommon in our games. Our running patterns were stuffed up because they got more of the ball than our guys are used to. Normally, the pressure on the ball player prevents the opposition from running and spreading as well.

I noticed also that when they had the ball at half back they had 3 players on the OPPOSITE wing, running wide away from the play. Our guys had to follow, opening up space in the middle. We didn't do that at all. We played on the 1 wing, trying to play in tight, cramped spaces.
They know how to play us at the MCG and have the ability to carry it out.

One reason we struggled was that, in an effort to get the critical mass around the ball, our forwards pushed up the ground and were repeatedly caught out of position and behind the play. On many of our forward thrusts (especially late in the game when we tired a bit) we were left with 1 forward against 2 or 3, as our players couldn't get forward again to the fall of the ball quick enough on the big ground. Also, the Tigers played with a spare man in defense for most of the game. The ABC radio commentators said at the time, we have no chance of scoring if we don't get number in our forward line. We obviously had a spare man too, but it worked in the Tiger's favour as they moved it forward much better: wider and faster. They had time and space to pick out and deliver to a leading forward target.

I hope this is food for thought anyway, and slows the criticism of individual players.

 

[GotTheGoodes]

I actually agree with Leg Ends views on vic bias umpiring and commentating. I think he was more refering to supporters of vic based clubs in general.

True - I'm not taking aim at Vic Swans fans. My perception is about fans of other clubs who seem to relish attacking their own.

By the way - Was I alone in thinking that Richmond's new Number 1 supporter is Eddie F....g Everywhere. The swans were pretty ordinary (but didnt giveup ) and richmond had their standard "on" day against us at teh MCG. But, Listening to that Collingwood prikc, you'd swear Richmond had just conquered world poverty.

Final comment: tremendous decision to give Riewoldt a mark when he's tipped the ball 6 inches into the air and Ted smacked it away. I reckon if you did family treelines on all Victorian umpires, you'd find a German family strain in all of them - named Riewoldt.

Ohh... My bad sorry guys. Was late and brain had been drained from over excessive studying.

If that's the case then, yes, I actually agree there does seem to be some media bias when we're in melbourne and that may (or may not) impact the umpiring. I often think to myself the bigger thing that impacts the umpiring is the ridiculous amount of abuse they'll recieve if they somehow manage a free count in our favour. I have often seen a team (not just Sydney) lose it's momentum from a (or string of) bad calls from the umps and it really ruins the game alot of the time. If the AFL would just stop "tinkering" with the game we'd all be much much better off as would the umpires and their use of "interpretations" (read: varied opinions & understanding from umpire to umpire thus leading to zero consistency).

However, It's not like the umpires are actually out to get us, they are just swayed more easily by the fans who are in majority at the ground IMO. The players & coaches must be the ones responsible for such a loss. We let it get away from us to rapidly in the first Qtr and could never bring it back. It is one of our most obvious and critical weaknesses so far this year IMO. More so than some wrong calls from the umpires. When we start strong we tend to win. When we start weak we tend to lose.

 

[magic.merkin]

I actually think Teddy was pretty good. He was only really beaten when his opponent was allowed to illegally shove him under the ball with his forearms.

Also he may have been wearing rollerskates due to the flopping at times.

 

[J_Moore]

I've had a bit of a look through the posts so far, and I'm surprised this is the only mention of the MCG I found.... etc etc

Great post, man.

Actual analysis. 5 stars.

 

[Trojan90]

So for those of us trapped north of the NSW border and didn't get to see the game, can it be summed up thusly;

Maric killed Seaby in the ruck,
A genuine forward starts as the sub,
Richmond held JPK relatively quiet,
Teddy was off his usual game,
We bombed it long in vain and Richmonds defence rebounded better than ours for the game, and
Horse of course is a strategic genius

Or something along those lines?

Agreed, except a bit harsh on teddy. Not easy have two hands in your back all night. and a mention for cotchin that guy is a freak.

 

[CAS79]

So for those of us trapped north of the NSW border and didn't get to see the game, can it be summed up thusly;

Maric killed Seaby in the ruck,
A genuine forward starts as the sub,
Richmond held JPK relatively quiet,
Teddy was off his usual game,
We bombed it long in vain and Richmonds defence rebounded better than ours for the game, and
Horse of course is a strategic genius

Or something along those lines?

Point 1: Like Last week Seaby started slowly. He missed timed jumps badly and Maric had easy taps to advantage. His work rate around the ground was poor. Like last week after half time both his ruck work and his around the ground performance improved.

Point 2: Correct, though a player who can play as a fast forward. Borderline call.

Point 3: First term like everyone else JPK was quiet. He found a way to impact though by taking a contested mark on two opponents to goal in the 2nd. Like everyone else 2nd half was better.

Point 4; Richards was good for 3 quarters. The service the Richmond forward line got half by skilled players having to much space was very hard to counter. Richards was game trying to play Jack in front and outrun him to the ball was good. A bad missed call by the umps padded Jacks first term goal count. Jack got on top of him at the finish but despite the count I’d say they broke even.

Point 5: Yes we bombed it in long but there was a lack of creative leads. Reid was guarded by h is man and a watcher and they were able to use this when it hit the ground to clear with the overlap. Richmond half back would flood to a one kick and White would lead right to it. Everett in the 2nd term was a bit better on this but went missing not long after

Point 6: This is still the coach who set up a win against the Hawks rather well and were still 5 wins from 7 games. The big killer was a lack of early intensity rather than Strategy here me thinks.

 

[Xarb]

I hope this is food for thought anyway, and slows the criticism of individual players.

Great analysis, makes a lot of sense.

 

[The King!]

5-2 is an exceptional start, feels a bit like doomsday in some posts.

The problems are

the 2 losses are the 2 most recent games
lost to the bloody crows again!
lost a home game
lost another bloody mcg game
and lost to a side in richmond again who most people would agree we are meant to be better then.
we lost without goodes
forward line sucked again.

I can accept even in a great dare i say premiership season we would more than likely lose at least 6 times minimum usually, so as I said 5-2 is great.

But its the factors above that have me very concerned, we didnt just lose 2 games and can go oh well lets move on, we lost with the same problems as per usual that I feel need to be addressed.