First of all, well done to Subiaco, they were far too good on the day. They are obviously playing at a level that is a long way below their best but are still chalking up wins which to me is the sign of a very good team. The thing is you don’t win flags in April and there is plenty of time to iron out any flaws in the game plan.
Having said that the Lions were still good enough to turn on the afterburners for 15 minutes at the start of the 3rd quarter and blow Swans out of the water with some slick ball movement. I still think though that this year is looking far more competitive than 2015 and there are at least 4 teams capable of challenging Subiaco for the flag.
As for Swans, their endeavour was spot on all day, every player committed to contests and they managed to pressure Subiaco into mistakes and turnovers, particularly in the first half. I think some of the execution of skills (hand and foot) and decision making cost us dearly at various times during the match.
Swans carried a lot of confidence from last weeks victory into the first quarter and the start was very good. We had our share of midfield ball but delivery into the forward 50 was extremely poor and gave our forwards little chance. The return of 4 points did not reflect the play they had in this quarter. The Lions were also wasteful in what was a battle of attrition in this period. Losing Blight early did not help our cause.
In the 2nd quarter our ball use improved and the goals started coming, however our decision making at times baffled me. It’s OK to make a mistake when under extreme pressure but some of these were unforced errors. Like kicking the ball across the ground in Swans defensive 50 to a contest which I saw several times in this quarter. Aaron Elari who I think epitomises Swans attitude of “Having a red hot go” was running into an open goal in the 2nd with no Subiaco player anywhere near him thanks to a great shepherd by Matt Rogers. Instead of running into the goal square and making a certainty of it, he tried to poke it through from about 20 metres out on an angle and missed it. Its about having the composure to make the right decision at the time.
Subi flicked the switch early in the 3rd and Swans had no answer really. It was the one period in the match that Subiaco were clean with their skills and delivered the ball lace up to their forwards. I was pretty impressed with Clancy Wheeler, he is a big unit and mobile as well, he didn’t have the kicking boots on though which was lucky for us. It was a good fightback late in the quarter by Swans triggered by Ricky Carys work in the ruck but it was all uphill trying to play catch up with a team as good as the Lions.
I thought the boys fought the game out manfully in the last and didn’t let the margin blow out too much but Subiaco were pretty much cruising by then as well. I thought all our mids got their hands on the ball plenty of times but as mentioned before not all of their disposals were that effective. Jacob Burnham is a classic example of a player who needs to work on his efficiency but he’s not alone. Great to see Riggers back to his best, he is an elite player at WAFL level.
Nice also to see Robinson and Twomey seek out some of the Swans boys after the game, there is still obviously a lot of mutual respect there.
Overall I am feeling a lot more positive about Swans prospects for the rest of 2016 than I was a fortnight ago. There seems now to be something to work with in the group at least. There is still a need to develop more avenues to goal as 8 goals 8 was still not a great return for a fine day.
