TOPIC:

Tough ask for you guys now, WP next week while Peelmantle have WCER so they will win by plenty, unless you can upset Joondy, the last game v Peelmantle wont mean much and Peelmantle will slither into the finals with the ability to load up with unrestricted AFL players numbers while Freo stay in the AFL finals. I wouldn't want to end up in 4th spot and have to face a loaded Peelmantle in the elim final. A sad state of affairs.

I was watching East Fremantle yesterday and remembering that they were a long way behind us 2 years ago. Bill Monaghan has done a fantastic job to develop the team in that time to the extent that they are now genuine contenders. They have caught up with and surpassed Swans, whereas we seem to be playing the same level of footy that we were in 2020 when the team came out of a long lean period and were looking like developing into a successful combination.

This year we seem to have gone backwards a little from 2021. We lost Riggio, Howard and Jetta amongst others. Anderson has been a big out, he was a significant factor in our midfield last year. Fisher has been playing injured for a lot of the season, we have very little physical  presence in the centre. That number 26 for the Sharks completely beat us up yesterday for example. Jesse Palmer has had a poor season, Kemp hasn't really met expectations. There has been too much reliance on the defensive unit  and mids like Aiden Clarke and Jesse Turner who now appear to be feeling the strain.

So given that it is likely we will now finish 6th ( which is probably where we deserve to be) my question for Swans supporters is "where to from here?" What do we need to do to improve enough to be in the conversation for a premiership in 2023?

Success Hill made a good point when he said we need to find a way to get our share of centre clearances and that was highlighted by the sharks in a brutal manner yesterday. An experienced ruckman would be a good get. Germs then would have someone to work with and learn from rather than take all the responsibility himself. 

Pickering has now had 5 years as Senior Coach and has taken the team part of the way down the road to at least be competitive ( until yesterday) but is he going to be able to take them forward given that they seem not to have progressed in the last 2 years?

Some speculation around Nic Natanui today and whether he will sign a new deal with West Coast. He is having some surgery on his knee and may be holding out for the results of that.

In the event that he decides not to continue his AFL career, I wonder if he could be tempted to play a season with Swans where the demands on his body would be less. He would also be a great mentor for some of the young ruckman at Swans.
What a boon that would be for the club and the WAFL generally. His presence would certainly encourage more people to get along to the footy.

Gee it would be fantastic to get Nico back to Swans both from an on field presence and also a marketing perspective for the club.
He would also be a great mentor for our young rucks Germs & Morris.
But in reality I think he would go around again for WCE and or another afl club.