Analysis Swans General Performance 2024

[Wheresbuddy]

I see your point but if Friday night demonstrated anything it is how big a role the mental side plays.

Also demonstrated if Chad and Heeney are on, we will be tough to stop. If they're not, we're worse than the 11th placed Pies.

 

[GoTheSwannies]

JMac adds another dimension to our attack and is absolutely vital to our chances imo.

Can we do it without him, sure, I don't see why not, but a fit and in-form Jmac makes us a little more unpredictable, takes some of the heat off Heeney & Warner and he can step in if Heeney / Warner aren't having a great game.

 

[JackHiscoxWasFast]

Melican back to boost defence
Mills to slot back behind the ball
Enables Blakey to get off the chain
Papley back next week if needed
Jmac hopefully ok but not sure
Bunch of players to be freshened up next week.
Benefits of the training block about to kick in

It makes me giddy with excitement how all the pieces are falling in place week by week.

Even if we happen to lose this week, cos we’ll be playing a bit bruise free, we will have 2 home finals before the granny.

Lots to be be bullish about.

JHWF, truth teller since 2023.

 

[JackHiscoxWasFast]

A 5% improvement from our top 6 is worth many times more than a 20% improvement from our bottom 6.

Yet we seem to discuss the bottom 6 many times over.

JHWF - offering friendly insights since 2023.

 

[JackHiscoxWasFast]

Melican back to boost defence
Mills to slot back behind the ball
Enables Blakey to get off the chain
Papley back next week if needed
Jmac hopefully ok but not sure
Bunch of players to be freshened up next week.
Benefits of the training block about to kick in

It makes me giddy with excitement how all the pieces are falling in place week by week.

Even if we happen to lose this week, cos we’ll be playing a bit bruise free, we will have 2 home finals before the granny.

Lots to be be bullish about.

JHWF, truth teller since 2023.

Bump

 

[JackHiscoxWasFast]

A 5% improvement from our top 6 is worth many times more than a 20% improvement from our bottom 6.

Yet we seem to discuss the bottom 6 many times over.

JHWF - offering friendly insights since 2023.

So last night, not only did our elite stand up but the bottom 6 did too !

Lots to be bullish about

 

[The King!]

We need to take marks again

Pre bye I think we averaged 112

Post Bye 85

115 last night

 

[Dubai Quacker]

DQ’s report card for our 2024 new recruits:

Brodie Grundy

4

Brodie Grundy

Age

30

Ht

202cm

Wt

105kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.5

4star

K

8.0

3star

HB

9.6

5star

CL

4.1

5star

HO

32.0

5star

D

16.4

4star

K

6.8

3star

HB

9.6

5star

CL

4.0

5star

HO

34.6

5star

D

13.8

4star

K

5.2

2star

HB

8.6

5star

CL

2.6

5star

HO

20.6

5star

: A-
A very solid performance from Brodie. Plays well with his colleagues and after moving to multiple schools in recent years, has settled in nicely - a credit to him.

James Jordon: B+
Young James has had to adapt to a new style, but has shown commendable dedication to his studies. Follows instruction, checks his work closely, shows admirable discipline and is rapidly becoming a teachers pet.

Taylor Adams

3

Taylor Adams

Age

31

Ht

181cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

24.9

5star

K

13.5

5star

HB

11.4

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

4.8

5star

CL

5.0

5star

D

20.4

5star

K

12.4

5star

HB

8.0

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

5.9

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

18.2

5star

K

11.0

4star

HB

7.2

5star

M

4.4

4star

T

3.0

5star

CL

2.2

4star

: D
Taylor is undoubtably a talented student, but his answers have shown a concerning lack of accuracy. Remedial classes may be required with final exams approaching.

Will Green: C
Will is currently learning to play with his new classmates. His major exams are still some years away, but we will continue to monitor his progress keenly.

Caiden Cleary: B+
Caiden has made a positive contribution in his first year. He is a diligent student, we are very pleased with his progress and look forward to his continued achievement.

Patrick Snell: B
Patrick has impressed his teachers and is undoubtably a talented student. Continued hard work should pay off handsomely as he works towards senior exams in the coming years.

 

[Kiama Chris]

I'm really hopeful of getting Grundy. I have little faith that Ladhams will be a reliable and effective first ruck. I think he will end up playing forward in VFL while McAndrew rucks, then get traded or even delisted. Pessimistic. If not Grundy then a solid VFL ruck such as Sweet or Voyle is the next best option but not as good.
I feel there is a strong chance that with a solid preseason Buller will overtake Amartey. It would be great if we draft a KPF but I feel a KPD is (marginally) the greater need. Maybe Ladhams is the second VFL KPF. Logan and Hayden are fine and are both pretty durable.
Heeney, Papley and Hayward were up and down this year. Let's hope they are more consistent for a number of years. I hope Hall-Kahan reaches a level where he challenges for a spot. Ditto for Konstanty.
I don't see us getting McKay. I think we have already made an offer and been rejected. So next year will be like this year with our keys coming from McCartin, Melican, Francis and Arnold. I feel Cunningham and Fox may lose their places as the season unfolds. The unit needs some refreshing and to be a bit bigger but not slower or less agile. Tricky. I think Gould is gone. Not sure what is going on with Edwards but he's a good size and athletic and I hope we draft O'Sullivan as he's quality. A Cunningham replacement should be in our minds but not necessarily a top priority. I suspect that Rankin will go. Vickery has another year to show something.
The midfield is a puzzle. We have a fair few good players but it isn't humming. Perhaps we need a new coach for that group.
We definitely need one or two who are first hands on mids like Mills or Parker. Sheldrick and Roberts should fill that role but 2024? We need to try. To do that we will need to change our midfield group and roles. We have a pretty solid outside group in Gulden (AA), McInerney and Campbell. We also have Corey Warner, Magor and Mitchell coming through. I would like to see Warner used more outside than inside. The player likely to lose his spot is Rowbottom. The others will need to take on more defensive accountability as well as ball-winning. The other "loser" might be Parker who spends more time forward at the expense of Wicks.
All in all our pipeline is reasonably healthy if we can add a KPD, KPF, inside mid and young ruck in the next two drafts. Plus we really need a reliable first ruck this trade period to replace Hickey.

I did a time travel to check on myself and was moderately pleased. The change in roles worked a treat for a while at least and I'm happy to be wrong about Rowy. But it's still an issue.
Snell looks a good pickup but he's not a KPD IMO. All hope on Edwards still.
Grundy and JJ have been terrific even if Brodie is looking tired. Adams mmm. The thinking was right but I don't think he has brought as much as we hoped. Roberts progress has been a total bonus and Melican, Papley and Hayward's return to form even more so.
If we bring our best over the next month we will be very hard to beat.

 

[RilesMacca]

DQ’s report card for our 2024 new recruits:

Brodie Grundy: A-
A very solid performance from Brodie. Plays well with his colleagues and after moving to multiple schools in recent years, has settled in nicely - a credit to him.

James Jordon: B+
Young James has had to adapt to a new style, but has shown commendable dedication to his studies. Follows instruction, shows admirable discipline and is rapidly becoming a teachers pet.

Taylor Adams: D
Taylor is undoubtably a talented student, but his answers have shown a concerning lack of accuracy. Remedial classes may be required with final exams approaching.

Will Green: C
Will is currently learning to play with his new classmates. His major exams are still some years away, but we will continue to monitor his progress keenly.

Caiden Cleary: B+
Caiden has made a positive contribution in his first year. He is a diligent student, we are very pleased with his progress and look forward to his continued achievement.

Patrick Snell: B
Patrick has impressed his teachers and is undoubtably a talented student. Continued hard work should pay off handsomely as he works towards senior exams in the coming years.

D is a bit of a harsh grade for Adams. Basically got him for nothing and brought in some much needed experience and contested ability through the door.

He's been good this year on being able to extract it out with quick clean hands and highly cover the ground/get involved in our attacks.

No doubt he's definitely been out of form the past few weeks (skills have really dropped off), so having a spell seems necessary. No world beater but has been a handy addition, I'd go a C.

 

[Adnico26Parker]

 

[Millky95]

Pre-season if you were offered to finish 1st by a game clear and be the number 1 scoring side you would take it 100% of the time

It is just a shame that we had 2 horrific losses against other top 8 sides that really killed our enthusiasm for the season.

We now rest up, get those injured players back and can show that our best is 3 games better than the rest. Because it is

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Pre-season if you were offered to finish 1st by a game clear and be the number 1 scoring side you would take it 100% of the time

It is just a shame that we had 2 horrific losses against other top 8 sides that really killed our enthusiasm for the season.

We now rest up, get those injured players back and can show that our best is 3 games better than the rest. Because it is

Yer but we also have the best top 8 record by far.

 

[The King!]

115 last night

122

keep marking


Inside 50 marks please

 

[Kiama Chris]

So the team for the QF:
Cunningham McCartin Rampe
Roberts Melican Mills Blakey
Gulden Warner Lloyd Florent
Jordon McDonald Parker McInerney
Papley Amartey Hayward McLean
Grundy Heeney Rowbottom
Adams (sub)

 

[The King!]

So the team for the QF:
Cunningham McCartin Rampe
Roberts Melican Mills Blakey
Gulden Warner Lloyd Florent
Jordon McDonald Parker McInerney
Papley Amartey Hayward McLean
Grundy Heeney Rowbottom
Adams (sub)

Papley may take Parker's starting spot and he will be sub, before people get the pitch forks out, he does play in bursts against the better teams? could handle subbing in early, and will actually impact .

 

[Wheresbuddy]

Papley may take Parker's starting spot and he will be sub, before people get the pitch forks out, he does play in bursts against the better teams? could handle subbing in early, and will actually impact .

McInerney will be the interesting one. Would've been off legs for (I think) around a month. With his usual role very dependent on his running, does he come back in a different capacity (perhaps sub) or remains out of the side to build endurance if he's not quite there yet? Obviously if our conditioning team have got him back to full capacity, he's straight back in.

 

[Kiama Chris]

McInerney will be the interesting one. Would've been off legs for (I think) around a month. With his usual role very dependent on his running, does he come back in a different capacity (perhaps sub) or remains out of the side to build endurance if he's not quite there yet? Obviously if our conditioning team have got him back to full capacity, he's straight back in.

If McInerney doesn't get up Adams will be in and one of Fox, Campbell or Cleary will be sub. If Papley doesn't get up Cleary is a big chance.

 

[caesar88]

McInerney will be the interesting one. Would've been off legs for (I think) around a month. With his usual role very dependent on his running, does he come back in a different capacity (perhaps sub) or remains out of the side to build endurance if he's not quite there yet? Obviously if our conditioning team have got him back to full capacity, he's straight back in.

I love McInerney but I could see Horse not playing him if we don't absolutely have to (ie he finds it hard to drop someone to fit him in.)

It's a fair while on the sidelines to come straight back into a big final.

 

[Dangas]

So the team for the QF:
Cunningham McCartin Rampe
Roberts Melican Mills Blakey
Gulden Warner Lloyd Florent
Jordon McDonald Parker McInerney
Papley Amartey Hayward McLean
Grundy Heeney Rowbottom
Adams (sub)

Are we sure JMac gonna be fit?

 

[Kiama Chris]

Are we sure JMac gonna be fit?

Only going by what Horse said.

 

[wills2g]

So the team for the QF:
Cunningham McCartin Rampe
Roberts Melican Mills Blakey
Gulden Warner Lloyd Florent
Jordon McDonald Parker McInerney
Papley Amartey Hayward McLean
Grundy Heeney Rowbottom
Adams (sub)

Adams is a big time finals player

Against Adelaide he was hunting hard against the oppo - maybe he thought his spot was in peril but either way that hunt is what you need in a final

we need work horses to apply pressure to let the stars shine

regardless who is sub, itll be stiff and we'll be robbing some part of our game

 

[The King!]

115 last night

131 last night and best we looked in a while

 

[Mister B]

Yeah, look. I’d like to say the general performance has been reasonably good this year. Better than average one could say.

 

[Ticky009]

Surprises for the season:
Roberts & JJ.

Whilst I had high hopes I did not think Matty would keep his spot, the slump was expected as it's a long season, but he fought his way back in within a few weeks and hasn't looked even close to stepping out of the team. Extremely happy and he's a long-term player in our backline if we can keep the SA teams away from him. He's a ripper.

JJ: Snuck in under the radar a little bit at season's start where all the focus was on Grundy & Adams. Think he's surpassed both in regard to his impact on the team.