TOPIC:

Make no mistake, this is season one the line!

There will be no miraculous runs like last year and even the most ardent Swans fan couldn’t be heading to Freo with much optimism. 

The team seems miles away in all facets. Admittedly lacking some quality but the players aren’t fit enough (size,speed,strength), skills/decision making are lacking, the method of play in the first 2 weeks hasn’t worked nor has it given the players hope and for mine there’s a big question mark on selection integrity. 

Cartwright and Taylor both dropped after 1 week for a couple of debutants that weren’t ready and didn’t allow for team balance and then named in the 25 this week??? The ruck debacle!!! With Evan Smith not yet up to standard and looking uncompetitive we may actually be better off playing Yukich and Blakely together. Can’t believe I’m saying that as neither are WAFL standard and it’s unlikely to work. But maybe ruck Taylor? (doubt he makes the 22) . Kaporn isn’t getting a look despite being emg in R1 and would help with fwd structure as well. 

So far this year we’ve won 2 quarters out of 8 and we’ve lost both tackle counts despite getting flogged. On top of this we’ve lost th i50 count by 8 and 16. This needs to change. 

What I want to see this week is a more attacking mindset! No spare behind the ball, keep our 6 fwd ahead of the ball instead of pushing one or both half fwds up to the contest and if we lose then so be it. Our aim should be to score 80-90 points and trust the defensive structures/values that surely we trained over the summer. If we get done by kicking 12,13,14 goals then so be it.

So, throw Notte fwd to help Kohlman and give us another genuine marking option. Odonahue goes straight to most dangerous mid and Clarke also spends some time fwd. 

If we aren’t set up to kick a winning score, and the players intent isn’t clear early then serious questions need to be asked of the coach and some others in the footy department. 

 

Apart from the strange selection decisions, I think the thing that has disappointed me most so far about Swans is their complete lack of energy and desire to take on the game. This is the total opposite to the way they played last year in their march to the preliminary final. They were brave and ran in numbers as a team and the results were there to see.

This year they have been so passive and trying to follow a defensive game plan that they are struggling to implement. There was a brief spark of 2024 in the 3rd quarter last week but that cue was quickly put in the rack when they went into damage limitation mode in the final term.

I really can't see any way they can beat South tomorrow unless they can magically rediscover their mojo. Aiden Clarkes return will help but the question remains of how they are going to kick enough goals to win the game. 
Chipper is also back but they have named Smith, Yukich and Blakely in the team, surely a bit top heavy. Also Jebh O'Donohue didnt get a spot which mystifies me.

Danger wrote:

Make no mistake, this is season one the line!

There will be no miraculous runs like last year and even the most ardent Swans fan couldn’t be heading to Freo with much optimism. 

The team seems miles away in all facets. Admittedly lacking some quality but the players aren’t fit enough (size,speed,strength), skills/decision making are lacking, the method of play in the first 2 weeks hasn’t worked nor has it given the players hope and for mine there’s a big question mark on selection integrity. 

Cartwright and Taylor both dropped after 1 week for a couple of debutants that weren’t ready and didn’t allow for team balance and then named in the 25 this week??? The ruck debacle!!! With Evan Smith not yet up to standard and looking uncompetitive we may actually be better off playing Yukich and Blakely together. Can’t believe I’m saying that as neither are WAFL standard and it’s unlikely to work. But maybe ruck Taylor? (doubt he makes the 22) . Kaporn isn’t getting a look despite being emg in R1 and would help with fwd structure as well. 

So far this year we’ve won 2 quarters out of 8 and we’ve lost both tackle counts despite getting flogged. On top of this we’ve lost th i50 count by 8 and 16. This needs to change. 

What I want to see this week is a more attacking mindset! No spare behind the ball, keep our 6 fwd ahead of the ball instead of pushing one or both half fwds up to the contest and if we lose then so be it. Our aim should be to score 80-90 points and trust the defensive structures/values that surely we trained over the summer. If we get done by kicking 12,13,14 goals then so be it.

So, throw Notte fwd to help Kohlman and give us another genuine marking option. Odonahue goes straight to most dangerous mid and Clarke also spends some time fwd. 

If we aren’t set up to kick a winning score, and the players intent isn’t clear early then serious questions need to be asked of the coach and some others in the footy department. 


 

Season over or are we an outside chance of making the top 8?

Much better effort yesterday but the reality is that scoring 50 - 60 points is not going to win games, no matter how good a teams defence or midfield is. Swans had 12 more inside 50s than Souths yesterday (44-32) but only managed 8 goals 10  They need to look at what other avenues are available for potential goal scoring, Caporn would be an option, he can throw his weight around and also take the heat off Kohlmann a bit. If they could increase their scoring output to around 80 points they will then be able to win more games. So another 4 goals per game basically.

I also think that they need to give Cartwright an extended run in the team rather than dropping him every 2nd week. I think he has the potential to be a 2 goal a game player if the coaching staff put their confidence in him. IMO he is a talented player who is not being used properly. There are also a few other guys in the reserves putting their hands up, Ehlers, Hilton and Harvey

They have a chance to beat Peel at home next week given that Peel are not travelling too well at the moment either and are struggling with injuries. They hopefully can build on the better performance yesterday and grab a win

I missed last week's match against EP, but got reports to suggest we were up for hiding yesterday. While this did not occur - and we were not as bad as against WP in round 1 - we were still extremely rusty. However, there were some good signs that the WD40 is taking affect. Yukich is an immovable object, and for the first time in a while I thought we were par in the ruck - but surprisingly C. Blakely did not get much of the ball, and unsurprisingly nor did Clarke in this first run. Smith played well, and attracted some nervous attention from SF defenders that gained a few free-kicks, but we have no crumbers in the forward line - pace is not Chipper's forte, but Harvey and Alforque (although having an average game in the seconds) might be an answer. I agree with Mike, Caporn as a tall forward should be tried, with his three yesterday in the seconds at crucial times match winners in the seconds. Good seeing McLaughlin getting a few touches yesterday for the first time in the season. 

The game against the entitled club next week will be a test.