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Spot on DW, that was the most pumped up I have been after a game for quite a while. The team showed real grit and determination to hang in there in a game where Peel were threatening to blow us out of the water for most of it. Even when Peel were  on top which was for large portions of the game, the Swans guys managed to sneak a goal against the run of play or repel an opposition attack or lay a good tackle to slow down a Peel player.

Speaking of tackles I compared the tackle figure from yesterday to that of last week when I had the feeling that we allowed the Eagles too much uncontested ball which in turn kept them in the game. In the Eagles game Swans laid only 37 tackles, yesterday the figure was 85! We played with so much more intensity and deprived Peel of space to use their skills. The conditions probably contributed to this somewhat but this tackle diiferential made a huge difference to the outcome IMO.

Jesse Turner is now an elite midfielder at WAFL level and he must have accumulated quite a few Sandover medal votes this season. Fisher, Clarke, Watson and Cipro were all prominent. Agree with you about O'Donohue, he really gets in there and competes, he just needs to tidy up his kicking a little bit as I noticed he was missing his targets on occasions.

The defence held up pretty well as always, they are turning into a bit of a "team within a team" . Notte and Erceg lead them well. Even though we lost Noble and Edwards, Jones and Palmer both played really well and provided enough options in the forward line as well as a few contributions from the mids as well. Germs and Ireland held their own against two absolute monsters in Meek and Tracey.

Overall Swans showed a ton of character yesterday against a team with a lot of AFL players. They certainly have had abundant practice playing in close games this year. Our biggest win in 8 games has been 20 points, our biggest loss has been 15, 6 games with margins under 2 goals.

Just a mention about Conor Blakely. He played a fantastic game for Peel yesterday and I found myself hoping that he might have a few years back home at Swans when his AFL career is done

To be honest Mike, Blakely should request a trade from Freo. I've always had a lot of time for him as a player and at 26, he's in his prime as a midfielder and could be playing regular AFL footy at say North Melbourne or even West Coast with Shuey, Redden, Gaff and co nearing the end.

Yes Conor has certainly fallen out of favour with the Freo hierarchy over the last few years. I think he was on the trade table last year or the year before and unless the Dockers suffer a spate of injuries later in the year his chances of getting into the AFL team are not great. I remember an incident a number of years ago, think it was when Lyon was coaching where he went surfing rather than attending training and his opportunities seem to have dried up somewhat since then. Don't know if that was co-incidental but I agree he would be a walk in to the Eagles team at the moment.

The defence held up pretty well as always, they are turning into a bit of a "team within a team" . Notte and Erceg lead them well. Even though we lost Noble and Edwards, Jones and Palmer both played really well and provided enough options in the forward line as well as a few contributions from the mids as well. Germs and Ireland held their own against two absolute monsters in Meek and Tracey.

The defence is good - and getting better - despite a few out and Jones' shift to full forward. As DW stated, O'Donohue played well and gets better with every match. But does anyone know what has happened to Stephens?

Yesterday young men such as B. Watson, Ehlers and Hewett did their bit without being flashy. But working in a team environment that's characterising Swans' recent playing style is good for those that are inexperienced. 

SH Stephens did his hammy in Kalgoorlie vs Subi and hasnt played since but he was the runner yesterday which hopefully means he is not too far away as he usually takes the slippery goalsneak Knott when we play WP as he is one of the few we have that has the pace to go with him.
Edwards was missing with concussion and his strong marking presence was missed while Noble was missing with h&s protocols I believe. Spackman who has been the runner so far this season must be getting close to returning from his knee which he did in May last year. Ottaviano injured his finger so hopefully it is not too bad, E.Hewett will be away with the 18s crew for the next month or so whilst Waite, Watson and a host of others on the periphery of the League side are out at the minute as well which is hurting our depth abit.

Beasley Hutton wrote:

SH Stephens did his hammy in Kalgoorlie vs Subi and hasnt played since but he was the runner yesterday which hopefully means he is not too far away as he usually takes the slippery goalsneak Knott when we play WP as he is one of the few we have that has the pace to go with him.
Edwards was missing with concussion and his strong marking presence was missed while Noble was missing with h&s protocols I believe. Spackman who has been the runner so far this season must be getting close to returning from his knee which he did in May last year. Ottaviano injured his finger so hopefully it is not too bad, E.Hewett will be away with the 18s crew for the next month or so whilst Waite, Watson and a host of others on the periphery of the League side are out at the minute as well which is hurting our depth abit.

Thanks BH - I thought you'd know.