TOPIC:

Potential banana skin game this one. On the surface Swans should win but West Perth are still a dangerous team, especially on their home ground. They have had a few narrow losses this year including a 4 point loss to Peel two weeks ago and only 5 weeks ago they dominated us at Bassendean in the first half before we overran them.
Swans won at Joondalup last year but that was only their second victory at the ground in the last decade, so West Perth have certainly had the wood over us.

On a positive note the team is playing really well as a collective at the moment despite their lapse in the last quarter against the Eagles. The defence is a real "team within a team" and Rokhar and Chalcraft would have to be the best recruits that Swans have had for many a long year. Together with the return of Pasini who is the heir apparent for Tony Notte, the team is a vast improvement from 2023.

The only change I would envisage (assuming no injuries) would be for Hewitt or Cartwright to come in for Chipper who just doesn't seem up to league footy at the moment. He made a lot of mistakes last week and was also not doing basic stuff like chasing. Maybe a couple of games in the 2s will help him get his confidence back.

If we can get a win here we will go 8-4 to be in touching distance of qualifying for the finals and also set up a massive clash with Claremont at Bassendean next week

You will win this by plenty, we have a decimated defence, almost all your forward 50 entries will be scores of some sort. Swans by 80+

To be a genuine contender this is simply a game we should not lose!!!

You rock up with clear intent, Jebb goes straight to Meadows, and you make a statement early, be harder for longer and break their hearts. 

it will be a decent breeze to the right of screen but it can’t be simply flicking a switch when it’s our turn! First to the loose ball and this should be our highest tackling game of the season so far.

Strongly believe that if we win this we will play finals, lose and it opens the door for Claremont and EF. 

This match is being covered by the SportFM commentary team I believe.

Biggest victory ever at Arena Joondalup in the 30 years they have been playing there, This year Swans have now won at 3 grounds that have been hoodoo places for them in the past decade. A long way to go but this team is really building its credentials as a contender and we haven't been able to say that much since 2010. They were ruthless in the way they disposed of West Perth today.

It would be a long time since Swan Districts kicked over 20 goals in a match, I'd think. Interesting to note West Perth had 6 goals on the scoreboard in the first quarter and then only manage 5 for the remainder of the match. And with Claremont defeating South Fremantle, it sets up an interesting dual with SD v's Clmt next week.

In those conditions today that's outstanding by Swan Districts.

Congratulations Swans. You just keep on winning and I think you have exceeded most people’s expectations for this year. Good job. 

Swans most complete and ruthless performance in a long, long time and it was clinical after qtr time.

Signs were ominous early with Kietel getting going and Knott kicking a freakish goal. When those 2 are up and about WP are a vastly different team. Importantly though we were able to go head to head with them and score just as easily the other way and somehow there was only a solitary point in the game at 1/4 time. 

From there Swans controlled the game and while both defensive units were being scored against with ease it was evident that Swans were slowly taking over with better ball use and the defenders and mids having more impact. 

And come the 3rd qtr Swans just blew the game open kicking 6:5 to 1:2. It was an impressive display coming off a 6 day break and the form continued into the last kicking another 5 goals to 1.

What has been evident to myself is the way in which Swans have adjusted some roles and the style of play from the opening 3-4 rounds when the season was hanging by a thread.

Clarke has added to the midfield in recent weeks when it seemed we were trying to find a spot for him a month ago (think he even had a stint at half back). Edwards had been superb in Kohlman’s absence and is playing more for the team rather than trying to take mark of the year at each contest. His role yesterday allowed Kohlman to dominate whereas in the early rounds they were both wanting to be the target i30. Edwards is a tough match up who can obviously take a grab but as evidence yesterday his agility and athleticism is what can actually set him apart. 

Our game style also has a much more up tempo brand to it on both sides of the ball which is allowing our fwds more 1v1 contests. Our tackle counts still aren’t great and is an area to improve in but there are many more pressure acts which is allowing us to create turnover. 

Seems like each game has been big for the last 5-6 weeks but next week is a huge clash! Beating the Tigers will give us a 2 game gap on them plus % and if Peel beat EF then that’s a 3 game gap on them. It would also set up a game for top 3 security after the bye against South. 

No AFL game to compete with next week and Tony and Jesse celebrating milestones, country week folk in town, so with some good weather it should be a decent crowd. 

Whinnen wrote:

You will win this by plenty, we have a decimated defence, almost all your forward 50 entries will be scores of some sort. Swans by 80+

Reasonably accurate call, and a 75 percent conversion assuming that all of Swans' 37 scoring shots came from inside 50m. It was a point the difference a few minutes into the third, but a characteristic of Swans' game over the last few weeks - constant pressure - saw WP wilt.

Since the SF game, I have noticed oppositions' inability to match up on McLachlan in the forward line, but his style of play would make it hard, for one moment he is a very short CHF and next he is crumbing in the square like a HFF. He was outstanding yesterday.

I sat with SD supporters at C in the first round at a time when the team was playing inconsistently. The conversation amongst a few was that Pruyn was on his last legs. One supporter stated that the coach expected players to do things that they are incapable of doing, and at the time I tended to agree with the general belief that coaching was poor. However, since the WP game at Bassendean he has out-coached his opponent with moves like O'Donohue into the middle (vs. WP), McLachlan  to CHF (vs. SF), and Blakely whose game style has changed in the last month. Yesterday Cipro secured on the left wing and kicked the ball with the inside of his right boot resulting in it curving around the boundary and straight onto McLachlan's chest. Never seen Cipro with such class before, but it is unlikely he learnt that skill recently. Maybe Pruyn's skills as a coach are just giving player's confidence to perform on the field with the abilities they already had. Early yesterday it looked like Keitel was going to rip Collins a new one, but no move was made and in the second half Collins was on top - what a learning experience for Collins, and a great example of the coach's faith in his players.

My only fear - let's hope the injury list stays low.