TOPIC:

You make a fair point about picking boys who have not been quite ready for League footy MO.
We just should be picking our best 22 on form each week regardless if they are 17 or 32 not on potential only.
The talk of getting rid of the WAFL Reserves is just ludicrous as it is a vital part of the footy and club fabric, the guys are developing and learning their trade whilst also a part of the match day experience.
I think we played around about 35 or 36 players this season in the 8 games, this year was one of the few I can remember in the last 20 years or so where we didnt promote any boys straight up from Colts to League during the year remembering DGB played a League game last year as a 17yo.
The Reserves despite finishing last were in every game during the season I think the biggest loss was only a few goals but foot skills (along with decision making) killed us across the board for most of the year, it needs to be addressed over the summer.

BH that last sentence I say of yours sums up EF predicament as well...poor foot/hand skills and dodgy decision making....though EF reserves some how finished 5th, despite receiving one or two floggings....which ultimately cost them a finals spot % wise. Without a reserves comp, how do these kids make the jump from colts to league...very short sighted of the comp decision makers if the reserves comp gets culled.

I wish EF coaching team picked their best 22, irrespective of age....surely the likes of Jackson, Rivers and Ruscoe were club best 22 last year....can think of Carroll and B Walker this year, who both will be drafted along with DBG and Trew in November....Perth took a plunge on McDonald and O'Driscoll and it's paid off big time....the energy provided by these kids is infectious, lifting team morale....

The WAFL Reserves/Development comp not only helps in the big transitional jump from Colts to League Freeze but it also helps to build team work and comradery with their fellow club players many of whom you would hope become League regular teammates in the years ahead.
Farming out 30 odd boys to Ammo clubs who dont make the League 22 each week doesnt build any chemistry let alone the team playing style the clubs might be trying to indoctrinate them with.

A very pleasant way to finish the season. Two wins and two season high scores in a row made for very good viewing. Great that both sets of players and supporters gathered at the end to pay tribute to Griffin and Payne.
Swans won the game really by restricting the Sharks to only 2 goals in the 2 quarters they were kicking with the breeze. Then when it was our turn in the 2nd quarter we played fast direct football which yielded 6 goals. This is the footy that we need to play a lot more of next year. The last quarter was a bit wasteful but the game was over by then.
Great contributions from Turner, Fisher, Gault and Anderson in the midfield. The backline was very solid with many intercept marks although the Sharks made it a bit easier by bombing the ball into their 50, particularly with the breeze. EF actually had more inside 50s than us but they really lack a presence in their forward line which would be a priority for them in the off season.
Good to see Blaine Boekhurst looking fit and he played well against his old team.
Overall a season of improvement for Swans and the positive end has left me with a sense of optimism for 2021

Ended up winning 3 of our last 4 Mike after copping a horror draw to start with and a shocker against EP at Leederville.
Certainly an air of optimism now heading into 2021 but we still need to do the hard work and work on the areas we need improvement on to take that next step.

hopefully the coach and the players focus on the style of footy that gives us a chance to score instead of the possession rubbish.
how good was it yesterday to see the long kicking to our tall forwards.

It was a breath of fresh air the last 2 weeks of kicking long and direct to our forwards especially with the breeze at your back.
We have all been saying to play like that all along, god knows why the modern day footy types want to reinvent the wheel all the time, when there is a longstanding way to win football matches and that is to hit the scoreboard consistently and relentlessly and you do that by playing football fast, long and direct when you have the football and defend like hell when you dont!

Crazy to think if you have those tall forwards at your disposal, your entries aren't always the effective quick, long and direct route. Obviously opposition pressure dictates inside 50 efficacy as well. BH, I guess in some ways if SD had had the opposite fixturing and failed to beat the likes of Peel, EF and Perth, playing that less then direct footy style you mentioned initially, then your run home would of been even worse, resulting in you guys heading into 2021 on a less positive note. If EF had had some decent forward presence in those 3 close losses, turning them into wins, things would be less bleak for us EF fans going into 2021....4/4 looks better then 1/7....definitely a fine line between despair and hope.

SD look like they have the core of a very hard working midfield in Turner, Fisher and Anderson, all players who know how to find the footy....add in Hampson when fit too. Gault seems to play as a mid too now, very much Gawn and Grundy like, picking up plenty of his own ball as well as hit outs. Pity DBG is on his way out, because he definitely would of been that tall intercepting defender like McGovern, who instigates a lot of a sides offensive thrusts....SD may not be far off developing a nucleus of players capable of going deep next year.....is someone like Fisher a chance for the draft?...thought he came over here for just exactly that.....ditto Anderson.

You can add Cipro, Bayok & Riley to that midfield mix of Turner, Fisher & Anderson you have named as well Freeze.
Fish would be an outside chance to be picked up for sure but who knows what is happening re the list sizes of afl clubs with a reduction supposedly on the cards?
I wonder if any SD boys currently on afl lists might be calling it a day or delisted at seasons end and may want to finish up back where they got their start at Bassendean Oval?.......L.Jetta, N.Jetta, Broad, Lynch, Rance?

Fisher and Anderson have been massive additions this year, they are both class players and have taken the pressure off Jesse and the other mids. Also they seem to be good leaders. Costigan didn't get much of a chance to show his value before his injury. I am crossing my fingers that Riggs will decide on a retirement transition plan where he would play one more season as a forward next year and also assist with coaching the younger guys.

So we would lose Payne and young Grainger-Barass but hopefully noone else so that the core of the team that played yesterday would continue into 2021. Also some of the other young players who got a taste of it this year such as Bright, Farrant, Edwards and More will hopefully also be developing and pushing for selection.

Generally looking back over the season I have walked away from all but one game feeling that the team were improving and there were positives to be taken ( the exception was the East Perth match). I can't help wondering though how differently the season may have panned out if we had been able to hang on to that West Perth game in round 1.

My tip for the Swan Medal? Probably Cory Gault but wouldn't be surprised if Jesse Turner snaffled it.