TOPIC:

2nd last game at Bassendean. It seems like ages since we beat the Tigers to win our first game of the season but it has been a long year for all Swans players, coaches and supporters and the end of 2016 is finally at hand. Claremont are hanging on to flickering finals hopes which will be kept alive if they beat us and East Perth and Peel don’t muck it up by drawing their game.

We can always hope that Claremont kick appallingly like the last time they visited Bassendean and virtually handed us the game, but to be honest, it won’t matter a fig if Swans can’t kick any more than 5 or 6 goals themselves which has been the case far too often this season.

My thoughts are now turning towards 2017 and what Swans can do to catch up with the rest of the competition, because let’s face it they are a long way behind the others in skill and class this year. The inclusion of Ellard and possibly Crowley as experienced bodies in the midfield will help but will this be enough?

It’s all very well to say that young players should be given games but they also need a core of experienced players to show them the way. So it will be vital that guys like Notte, Simpson, Ames, Blight, Banfield, Clutterbuck, Faulkner, Howard, Jetta, Rogers, Cary, Jukes and Ugle set an example and provide the guidance that the team needs.

If Clancee Pearce and Jamie Bennell are delisted from their AFL teams perhaps they could be also persuaded to come back to add to the depth of the group. I do have concerns about whether Ames, Blight and Ugle will go around in 2017, the last two because they seem to be so injury prone. Tallen is close to 250 games so that may persuade him to come back for one last season. I’m sure they all would not like to go out if at all possible with the sour taste of 2016 as their last season.

The other guy I forgot to mention was Nathan Blakley and it would be a massive bonus if he decided to play on next year. Yukich and Hodge have been good finds as big men this year and throw in Nuich and Cary and our tall brigade is starting to look formidable.

Anyway back to the reality of 2016 and Claremont this week. Well we can only hope……..

Mike a massive improvement is needed in skills, fitness, strength, determination, application....I could go on and on.
Gaining players back will have some effect on improving the standards but that needs to go hand in hand with a vast lift in what I have listed in the previous sentence!

Maybe another topic needs to be started for this discussion but this is what I think will happen re:2017 ins outs. Blakely - highly unlikely to play.
Ames - struggled this season 50/50
Ugle - yes
Blight - yes
Simpson - 70/30
Crowley - 100%

And I'm confident these guys will return if delisted.
Bennell,Pearce,Gault

Supporters may not realise but the set up of the team at the moment appears to be planning towards next year as evidenced with Howard playing mid/fwd last week and a few youngsters given some big roles.

It's very hard to watch atm but I can envisage a quick turnaround with some local products returning.

Mad Dog wrote: Maybe another topic needs to be started for this discussion but this is what I think will happen re:2017 ins outs. Blakely - highly unlikely to play.
Ames - struggled this season 50/50
Ugle - yes
Blight - yes
Simpson - 70/30
Crowley - 100%

And I'm confident these guys will return if delisted.
Bennell,Pearce,Gault

Supporters may not realise but the set up of the team at the moment appears to be planning towards next year as evidenced with Howard playing mid/fwd last week and a few youngsters given some big roles.

It's very hard to watch atm but I can envisage a quick turnaround with some local products returning.

That being said,I'm in total agreeance when it comes to our physical preparation! We need to be bigger and fitter. The drop off from a lot of players compared to recent years is quite noticeable imo.

Grassy wrote: Will you knock 'Em off in the Colts,Mikeh?

Do you think they'll play Sam Petrovski-Seton in Claremont's Colts or their League Team?

Big 3 weeks for the colts team in that they will be playing the 3 sides above them in that time, Claremont, South and Perth. Victory in all 3 of these games would probably give Swans a double chance in the finals. Conversely, defeat in all three could mean that Swans miss finals altogether depending on other results. Many of the Colts have been playing in League and reserves in recent times and I think that that some of these guys may go back to colts to stabilise the team in the lead up to finals and ensure the team finishes as high as possible on the ladder. Does Petrovski - Seton need to play more games to qualify for the Colts finals? If so he may play in the early game although like Logue he is good enough to play league now.

I believe we will have yet another local zone debutant this season playing on Saturday maybe even 2.

Ugle & Hodge both injured early last week & Jetta suspended are the outs at this stage.
Smith & Maguire are both chances to debut for the Black & Whites vs Claremont.

Beasley Hutton wrote: Ugle & Hodge both injured early last week & Jetta suspended are the outs at this stage.
Smith & Maguire are both chances to debut for the Black & Whites vs Claremont.

Smith will play! Hoping for a couple of new blokes to get a look in in the last few games instead of a couple that pass through the revolving door.

Smith is in for sure, hopefully kicks a few.
Ethan Maguire has come back well from his knee injury last year and hopefully can get a game before the end of year, was superb in the colts in 2014

If Smith and McGuire both play that will make it 43 players who have pulled on the league jumper in 2016. Best of luck to them both! Even though it is good that players are being tried out and there is some experimentation going on in the last few weeks of the season, from a supporters point of view it would be really great if we could win one of the last four games, just to send us all into the off season with the belief that next year will be a much better one for the club. I am confident it will be anyway but a win would give everyone a lift from the Coaches, players, members and supporters. Looking at the fixtures, I think that the game this week and the Perth one in 2 weeks is the only possibility of this happening. I don't fancy our chances against the Doggies at Freo or West Perth at Joondalup.