TOPIC:

Thus far in 2019
Swans have done a Total of 2556 Ball disposals for. The league average is 2966.
And had 3070 Ball disposals against. The average being 3014.
They have the lowest Kick and Handball count in the competition.
Swans have currently the second lowest Disposals inside 50 count which would be another concern.
Their Total tackling count is currently 572 being the second lowest in the league. The average is currently 615.
Currently played 6 Home games and week 1 for 278 Disposals and 343 Against
Week 3 against Perth was only 10 Disposals less.
3rd Home fixture has Swans with 90 less Ball Disposals
Week 6 saw Swans over 50 less ball disposals
Week 7 being similar with about 30 less.
And todays match against Claremont is Swans having 106 less Ball Disposals.
Swans have currently played three Away games along a similar vein. And only out possessed the opposition once on the road.
Noticed that last season too whereby Swans just seem to be not getting enough of the ball.
Not sure if they are turning the ball over too easily or what is happening?
Have heard a lot of people mention they are having a good try. Just cannot seem to run matches out for some reason.
Despite the discrepancy in the Total ball disposals, Swans losing margins have not been all that big (apart from today).

WAG in essence we have too many players who dont get anywhere near enough of the footy and when we inevitably turn it over we dont have anywhere near enough players putting pressure on the opposition to win it back off them!
I find it staggering that you can consistently have 100 less disposals but also lay 30 less tackles unless you are just not prepared to work hard enough at WAFL League level.

we dont have the quality mids to win enough of the footy, that is plain and simple.
the pressure side of the game is something that can be fixed though, we lack some pace up forward and have nobody that can break into space and create a goal or run and tackle someone.
unless our big blokes take a mark we dont look like kicking a goal.

As an example of the work ethic required to be successful, you could look at Kane Mitchell who had 38 touches yesterday and also laid 11 tackles, more than any of our mids. Mitchell has played at AFL level and is one of the better players in the WAFL but he works his butt off both when he has the ball and when he is trying to get it back. No matter how much or little ability you have ,you can still work hard and obviously there are too many Swans players who are not prepared to put in the effort.required.

that starts on the training track though Mike, Mitchell is 29 and an elite runner - you cant expect young blokes to keep up with him if they are not conditioned to do so.
if you look at our young mid-fielders Jesse Turner is the only one that runs all day, you look at the reserves game and Dean, Daniels, Bain all got taught a lesson from the Claremont mid-fielders in reserves, Maguire was the only one that ran all day.
we dont have much competition for spots as our blokes are not fit enough.
Howlett is no star but i can see why he plays, he goes all day and laid 10 tackles and whilst doesnt get a lot of the ball he works hard

mikeh wrote: As an example of the work ethic required to be successful, you could look at Kane Mitchell who had 38 touches yesterday and also laid 11 tackles, more than any of our mids. Mitchell has played at AFL level and is one of the better players in the WAFL but he works his butt off both when he has the ball and when he is trying to get it back. No matter how much or little ability you have ,you can still work hard and obviously there are too many Swans players who are not prepared to put in the effort.required.

Mike he's also like Swooper was to us.He coaches on the ground.Screaming at players to get in the right positions and pick up opponents when free.

So if it comes back to lack of fitness and the inability to run all day, that is an indictment on the pre season program and the coaching staff. Claremont have a lot of young blokes who are fit enough to run out 4 quarters because they have obviously done the work prior to the season. Questions need to be asked about Swans training program.

I also noticed Howlett tagging Mitchell which was an abject failure. An inside mid can easily have 20 tackles on a wet day if that’s all you want. I like the bald headed boy running hard and actually being proactive, we are desperate for that at EP also.

the worse moment in the game was when SD actually broke 'the off-side trap', one player kicking into space hoping that two team mates could run on to it, but it ended up going through for a point. The problem with such a style is that, it requires more skill and luck then just leading up as Hutton would have done. It is harder, by definition, to mark a ball which is coming over your shoulder on the run, and if the player can't mark it, one is relying on luck in terms of where the bloody thing bouncers.

mike - you forgot to mention player responsibility.
Jesse Turner got dropped for the colts final in 2014 and has now played more league footy than any player from the team that won the flag that year.
for all the talent in that team none have come through cos they dont want to work hard enough and its an issue with other young players at the club.