Membling
Brownlow Medallist
Well last time I did this, we got rolled by Essendon so second time’s a charm…. Right?
Also I cannot draw goodly unlike Banyo Bloods so here is a link to his majesty:
(3) Preview - North Melbourne Kangaroos v Sydney Swans Sunday Aug 7th - 1:10 PM @ Marvel Stadium | BigFooty Forum
So without further ado, a wall of word.
Last time I explained why Essendon game was a danger game and well…. It was. So just to make everyone that bit more nervous, I present:
WHY THIS GAME IS SO DAMN IMPORTANT
Quite simply, we win this and we are likely to be top two (barring an absolute mauling in the Bris v Melb game). This means home ground advantage and a double chance. Really, cannot understate how important this game is.
Lose this game and out of top 4. Simple really.
Now for Saints, Max King effectively pissed away their chances by spraying shots that really should be gimmes. However, that are a mathematic chance. If all else fails, most teams like to give finals aspirants a black eye on their way to bowing out.
Last time we played:
This is our lovely double up game in rather close proximity. Last time we played was in round 15, a whole eight weeks ago. Swans won by 51 points, kicking a relatively accurate 12.11 83 to 4.8 32. Saints were absolutely deplorable in that game kicking 2.6 18 up to three quarter time. It was one of the previously rare four quarter efforts from the swans who thrashed the saints in all facets of the game, including free kicks. We had a nice spread of goal kickers with Heeney getting three and the highest disposal getter in Lloyd, The Liz and Florent which shows our dominance coming out of the HBF. From memory The Liz was electric.
For the Saint, Ross and Steele were the top possession getter with 31 and 20 (from memory Ross had 20 to the half), however, it was Marshall who was probably BOG for them with 23 disposals and 42 HO however, was matched around the ground by RJ.
The only real downside of that game is that I was one disposal from Parker from getting a juicy payout from the bookie. Que cera cera.
(Also, I got hhhuuuuggggeeee flash backs from writing that after doing the Dons review)
The Saints:
The Saints did the most St Kilda thing they can this year. Get themselves to a very nice 8-3 win loss record prior to going on a downward slope right after the bye recording 3-8 to sit 11-11. What precipitate this huge fall? May have been Steele injuring his shoulder and being out for weeks, or Paddy (Ryder variety) being in and out as well. Or maybe it was the loss of Gresham in round 18. Could also just be the Bye. Either way, something happened, or did not happen in the coaches box.
Now, they are currently a chance to get into the eight and play finals but will need Blues and Dogs to loss by a lot whilst winning, probably by a lot. I am talking 10 plus goal thumpings. Unlikely to say the least.
A look at their last few games:
Last Five
LWWLL
Average losing margin: 29.3 points
Average winning margin: 20 points
Last game
Lions 12.9 81
Saints 9.12 66
Bad kicking is bad footy and my word did Max King play some bad footy. He kicked 0.5 and if I remember rightly, they were all infinitely gettable. The look of despair in the crowd was from long, long term fans who had seen this script a lot of times. Mason Wood had the game of his life and was actually relevant kicking 4.0 for the evening, with Membrey kicking 3.2. S Ross did his usual, wracking up 32 disposals without really being damaging with Crouch and Sinclair having similar games. We did see the emergence of Windhager as a genuine shut down option against Neale, grabbing 21 disposals himself with Neale held to a modest 16.
This Saints team really took it up to the Lions, being in front in the fourth, prior to the inconsistent and mercurial Rayner going ballistic in the last. I am really not sure whether this is the “True Saints” or if it was a last gasp roll of the dice.
Hopefully for this week, it is the latter.
Swans recent game:
Well, I wrote in my last preview
” Our best, is arguably the most electric and skillful movement and finishing in the league and I will stand by that statement. However, our worst is insipid garbage that allows teams to get multiple goals scored, usually in a flurry.”
Annndddd…. Then we had that pile of utter tripe game in which we put the cue in thinking it was done at quarter time to finally be reeled in by a terrible side who wanted it more.
Fast forward six weeks and we have done the following:
W by 53 v dogs
W by 17 v freo away
W by 33 v crows
W by 73 v gws
W by 38 v roos
W by 27 v pies
Our form going forward has been the best it has been the entire year and surprisingly it is not hyperbole. We have a settled team who are now putting in four quarter efforts. Against all the above opponents we been in control bar vs freo in the first quarter. We have showed that there are multiple avenues for us to win and the method that we can do it.
Well done to Horse and the coaching staff.
Now onto last weeks game.
It was a belter with Swans looking in control for the entire match. Every Collingwood surge was stopped and then countered. Everyone did their job.
Flu, academies, Ginnivan being booed, having to play us at a venue that they request because they want the big Vic clubs in Melb…. Do not care. We got it done.
Really, at this point our team should be “Revenge of the whipping boy”. Clarke is locking down on HBF and strangling transition whilst making the best HBF also be accountable. Players are getting moved off him to shake the tag. Rowbottom is becoming a contested machine and is living his dream of being a dispenser of angry hugs (also eight clearance, 19 possies and a goal). Reid is having a new like as a ruck/fwd and giving RJ a chop out. As I mentioned in the autopsy, it is your bottom six that is what carries you to a GF and we are looking very good in that respect.
Mills had a relatively disappointing game with 29 possies, 9 marks, 7 tackles, 6 clearances, 535m gained and 5 i500s. Yes, it does sound stupid. However, he was not as efficient as the Swans faithful want and expect with six turnovers and looking a little bit lethargic at times. Our standards are a little skewed sometimes. Warner was damaging and Heeney was mercurial.
However, the star of last weeks game was the defence. Hands down. Played to the structure, got in front, Rampe channelling Heater. It was all there. For the first time in a long time I feel oh so comfortable with our backline. Thank you Fox for unlocking Florent, Lloyd and the Lizard. Simple as that.
Match ups:
Clarke gloving Sinclair
This will happen. Clarke has a lovely variety of stuffed trophies in his living room and Sinclair is already in there. So why not make it a pair?
Last time they met Sinclair had 17 disposals and 300m gained which is 10 disposals and 214m down on his season average. That is insanely effective. He will definitely get this match up again because why not go with something that worked?
Warner v Windhager
After his last outing vs Neale, I reckon Windhager is going to give The Chad some attention. Mostly because he is our most damaging player with the ball in his hand. He gets the ball things happen. Now, Chad has been down from his 35 disposal highs, however, he is still managing to affect the match. Windhager has the athleticism to go with him but will he have the nous?
Max King vs Himself
All jokes aside, Max King is a talented kid. Like freakishly so. However, he constantly gets in his own head and psyches himself out when kicking for goal. Hopefully the saints take him up on Lloyd’s offer. Would be smart.
But asides, I see T Mac going with him and Paddy doing the one two to cut off space in front. Limit the easy ball in to dangerous areas and Kind will be mostly nullified. However, he always snags one or two contested marks a game
Ins/Outs
Swans:
Nil
Saints:
Out: Webster inj
In Byrnes? Bytel?
Unsure with this saints team
TL;DR – Swans hitting form at right time, saints have a tiny sniff.
Swans by 21 points
Also I cannot draw goodly unlike Banyo Bloods so here is a link to his majesty:
(3) Preview - North Melbourne Kangaroos v Sydney Swans Sunday Aug 7th - 1:10 PM @ Marvel Stadium | BigFooty Forum
So without further ado, a wall of word.
Last time I explained why Essendon game was a danger game and well…. It was. So just to make everyone that bit more nervous, I present:
WHY THIS GAME IS SO DAMN IMPORTANT
Quite simply, we win this and we are likely to be top two (barring an absolute mauling in the Bris v Melb game). This means home ground advantage and a double chance. Really, cannot understate how important this game is.
Lose this game and out of top 4. Simple really.
Now for Saints, Max King effectively pissed away their chances by spraying shots that really should be gimmes. However, that are a mathematic chance. If all else fails, most teams like to give finals aspirants a black eye on their way to bowing out.
Last time we played:
This is our lovely double up game in rather close proximity. Last time we played was in round 15, a whole eight weeks ago. Swans won by 51 points, kicking a relatively accurate 12.11 83 to 4.8 32. Saints were absolutely deplorable in that game kicking 2.6 18 up to three quarter time. It was one of the previously rare four quarter efforts from the swans who thrashed the saints in all facets of the game, including free kicks. We had a nice spread of goal kickers with Heeney getting three and the highest disposal getter in Lloyd, The Liz and Florent which shows our dominance coming out of the HBF. From memory The Liz was electric.
For the Saint, Ross and Steele were the top possession getter with 31 and 20 (from memory Ross had 20 to the half), however, it was Marshall who was probably BOG for them with 23 disposals and 42 HO however, was matched around the ground by RJ.
The only real downside of that game is that I was one disposal from Parker from getting a juicy payout from the bookie. Que cera cera.
(Also, I got hhhuuuuggggeeee flash backs from writing that after doing the Dons review)
The Saints:
The Saints did the most St Kilda thing they can this year. Get themselves to a very nice 8-3 win loss record prior to going on a downward slope right after the bye recording 3-8 to sit 11-11. What precipitate this huge fall? May have been Steele injuring his shoulder and being out for weeks, or Paddy (Ryder variety) being in and out as well. Or maybe it was the loss of Gresham in round 18. Could also just be the Bye. Either way, something happened, or did not happen in the coaches box.
Now, they are currently a chance to get into the eight and play finals but will need Blues and Dogs to loss by a lot whilst winning, probably by a lot. I am talking 10 plus goal thumpings. Unlikely to say the least.
A look at their last few games:
Last Five
LWWLL
Average losing margin: 29.3 points
Average winning margin: 20 points
Last game
Lions 12.9 81
Saints 9.12 66
Bad kicking is bad footy and my word did Max King play some bad footy. He kicked 0.5 and if I remember rightly, they were all infinitely gettable. The look of despair in the crowd was from long, long term fans who had seen this script a lot of times. Mason Wood had the game of his life and was actually relevant kicking 4.0 for the evening, with Membrey kicking 3.2. S Ross did his usual, wracking up 32 disposals without really being damaging with Crouch and Sinclair having similar games. We did see the emergence of Windhager as a genuine shut down option against Neale, grabbing 21 disposals himself with Neale held to a modest 16.
This Saints team really took it up to the Lions, being in front in the fourth, prior to the inconsistent and mercurial Rayner going ballistic in the last. I am really not sure whether this is the “True Saints” or if it was a last gasp roll of the dice.
Hopefully for this week, it is the latter.
Swans recent game:
Well, I wrote in my last preview
” Our best, is arguably the most electric and skillful movement and finishing in the league and I will stand by that statement. However, our worst is insipid garbage that allows teams to get multiple goals scored, usually in a flurry.”
Annndddd…. Then we had that pile of utter tripe game in which we put the cue in thinking it was done at quarter time to finally be reeled in by a terrible side who wanted it more.
Fast forward six weeks and we have done the following:
W by 53 v dogs
W by 17 v freo away
W by 33 v crows
W by 73 v gws
W by 38 v roos
W by 27 v pies
Our form going forward has been the best it has been the entire year and surprisingly it is not hyperbole. We have a settled team who are now putting in four quarter efforts. Against all the above opponents we been in control bar vs freo in the first quarter. We have showed that there are multiple avenues for us to win and the method that we can do it.
Well done to Horse and the coaching staff.
Now onto last weeks game.
It was a belter with Swans looking in control for the entire match. Every Collingwood surge was stopped and then countered. Everyone did their job.
Flu, academies, Ginnivan being booed, having to play us at a venue that they request because they want the big Vic clubs in Melb…. Do not care. We got it done.
Really, at this point our team should be “Revenge of the whipping boy”. Clarke is locking down on HBF and strangling transition whilst making the best HBF also be accountable. Players are getting moved off him to shake the tag. Rowbottom is becoming a contested machine and is living his dream of being a dispenser of angry hugs (also eight clearance, 19 possies and a goal). Reid is having a new like as a ruck/fwd and giving RJ a chop out. As I mentioned in the autopsy, it is your bottom six that is what carries you to a GF and we are looking very good in that respect.
Mills had a relatively disappointing game with 29 possies, 9 marks, 7 tackles, 6 clearances, 535m gained and 5 i500s. Yes, it does sound stupid. However, he was not as efficient as the Swans faithful want and expect with six turnovers and looking a little bit lethargic at times. Our standards are a little skewed sometimes. Warner was damaging and Heeney was mercurial.
However, the star of last weeks game was the defence. Hands down. Played to the structure, got in front, Rampe channelling Heater. It was all there. For the first time in a long time I feel oh so comfortable with our backline. Thank you Fox for unlocking Florent, Lloyd and the Lizard. Simple as that.
Match ups:
Clarke gloving Sinclair
This will happen. Clarke has a lovely variety of stuffed trophies in his living room and Sinclair is already in there. So why not make it a pair?
Last time they met Sinclair had 17 disposals and 300m gained which is 10 disposals and 214m down on his season average. That is insanely effective. He will definitely get this match up again because why not go with something that worked?
Warner v Windhager
After his last outing vs Neale, I reckon Windhager is going to give The Chad some attention. Mostly because he is our most damaging player with the ball in his hand. He gets the ball things happen. Now, Chad has been down from his 35 disposal highs, however, he is still managing to affect the match. Windhager has the athleticism to go with him but will he have the nous?
Max King vs Himself
All jokes aside, Max King is a talented kid. Like freakishly so. However, he constantly gets in his own head and psyches himself out when kicking for goal. Hopefully the saints take him up on Lloyd’s offer. Would be smart.
But asides, I see T Mac going with him and Paddy doing the one two to cut off space in front. Limit the easy ball in to dangerous areas and Kind will be mostly nullified. However, he always snags one or two contested marks a game
Ins/Outs
Swans:
Nil
Saints:
Out: Webster inj
In Byrnes? Bytel?
Unsure with this saints team
TL;DR – Swans hitting form at right time, saints have a tiny sniff.
Swans by 21 points
