The big games keep rolling around for Swans and their faithful in what has developed into a season of opportunity. But while opportunity awaits Swans can ill afford to look too far ahead as one or 2 losses in the next fortnight could yet put their finals position in jeopardy. Conversely, a win down in Freo keeps hopes alive of a top 3 finish, and, or even better.
The break came at a good time to freshen up and reset before a huge 5 games to finish the regular season while South had a dominant win over Subi.
Still of a major concern to myself is the hit out/i50 discrepancies which I feel will be our Achilles heal come the business end of the season. It’s unlikely to change so hopefully we can continue to evolve and find new strategies to counter the opposition as teams will eventually “figure them out”.
It was of no coincidence that their victory of Subiaco was built off Schloithe, Winder and Parker all having huge games - the best 3 players they have, surely Jebb to one of the 3!Last time around those 3 had quieter games which went a long way towards a Swans win. And while it seemed we were quite dominant on the day we got destroyed at hitouts and the i50 count but our backs were outstanding and had high possessions counts.
If that flow continues on this occasion and as it did in the most recent game against Claremont then our run of luck may come to an end.
Hopefully a return of G-M helps with the ruck battle but you’d be silly to risk in the hope of a finals tilt if not 100%.
Reidy and Hewitt could be possible inclusions while Howard, Ireland and Erceg should be edging closer to returns that you’d think would come via a week or 3 in the 2’s with the long layoff.
A Swans win here should secure a finals berth, here’s hoping!
Danger Schoithe had a dominant game but the Subi “brains trust” inexplicably decided not to put a hard tag on him at any time during the match so he did what he wanted, he is in red hot form so will cut up any opposition if they dont go hard at him.
Massive in for the club with Noble named in the reserves to play his first game of the season. It will be interesting to see what shape he’s in and you’d assume he wouldn’t entertain a return at this time of the season if he hadn’t put in a body of work that could see him potentially playing League footy in the coming weeks.
No Glass-Mccasker again this week, so it looks like Swans are going to go with the same risky ruck combination that they used against Claremont and got away with, may not be so lucky this time.
Great to see Noble back, he could be very handy come the back end of the season if he can get himself match fit.
I think it’s great that Caporn is getting a second run in the league side.
Named on the interchange apparently.
Not sure why he’s been in the Reserves for so long.
I thought his first league game in round 15 quite servicable, and I think scored a goal too.
Caporn made a promising start for sure and deserves more opportunities but he hasnt got the height or physical strength to be a back up ruckman.
This game is a pivotal one for Swans. If they can win it will pretty much lock in a finals berth and give us a 2 game gap over the chasing pack. A loss won’t be disasterous but it will mean Swans will have a bit more work to do in August to secure a top 3 spot.
Don’t be shocked if Noble plays League today. Not saying it will happen and I think it’d be a massive risk but there is a little whisper on the grape vine.
[quote=“Danger post=236927 userid=2084”]Don’t be shocked if Noble plays League today. Not saying it will happen and I think it’d be a massive risk but there is a little whisper on the grape vine.
[/quote]
Obviously decided it was too much of a risk, he’s playing ressies
Firstly well played Souths for fighting back from 19 points down half way through the last quarter and having a chance to snatch the win at the end.
Our guys went too defensive too early and should have been pushing for another goal which would have iced the game. Instead they resorted to zig zagging the ground and silly short passes in the back half which cost them dearly
It was a scrappy sloppy game which never reached any great heights, the best part of the day for me was Tony Nottes mark when he was lying on his back! Outstanding effort and Tony was up to his usual standard all day
Our forward line was pretty dysfunctional today with the South defenders shutting down Kohlmann and Edwards. Unfortunately the opportunities they got were missed but the Doggies missed a lot of easy shots as well. Thank goodness for Watson who nailed his goals when he got a chance.
With Claremont winning today, the fight for the top 5 is still very much a 6 team race and Swans may well look back later on this lost opportunity to consolidate their position in the top 3 and regret their fade out.
The first drawn game of the season.
I am not sure what to make of this match.
Swans with their noses in front after quarter time, only to go into too cautionary mode in the final term and have the lead they had eroded away. The black & whites can count themselves lucky the Souths player muffed the shot on goal at the final siren. Would have been a good match to see.
Many down on form today so two points are better than none, but Swans’ turnovers were costly. Sloppy handballs - Clarke’s toss over his head to a teammate didn’t work, while Stephens’ and Chipper’s old weakness of inconsistent disposal by foot were also evident.
What a few have feared occurred today - Kohlmann and Edwards got in each others way in the forward line, and in the last quarter flew too often for the same high ball. That’s needs sorting immediately, but what an outstanding second half performance by Watson. Lucky that Blakely passed the concussion protocol test as his removal from the game would have left us with no recognised ruckman. All up, a bit lucky, and we missed a golden opportunity to rise above EP who now have a percentage lower than ours after their mauling by C. Swans better be aware of another big cat next week…
Edwards needs to play as a half forward rather than getting into Kohlmanns space. The problem is fhat Tom has gone back to his early season habit of trying to take Hollywood style marks and kick goal of the year rather than do the team stuff like he has been performing so well in the last few months.
I think a bigger problem for Swans is their ruck stocks. As SH said there was some momentary panic in the 2nd quarter when Doc didn’t reappear but I guess my question is where do we go if he gets an injury that keeps him out for a number of weeks? Germs I suppose but it appears that the coaching staff have no confidence in him
Glass-McCasker can fill the role as a support ruckman. Caporn is not even that, he is a decent footballer but is being thrown to the wolves having to come up against massive blokes from the opposition every week. Much more suited to a forward role. Who else is there? Ireland has been absent virtually all season, I assume through injury. We just have to hope that Doc stays fit for the next few months.
The top 6 is so tight now that Swans need to keep winning to stay ahead of the chasing pack. Subiaco next week is a must win as we have 2 difficult away games after that.
I heard yesterday that Noble’s appearance in the seconds occurred not because of his wish to put a black and white guernsey back on but because the club contacted him and asked he return to help solve the ruck issues. If true, this is also a short term fix - similar to Caporn. However, if the club is seeking a former player, go for a drive down the Forrest Highway and speak to Morris who was sidelined at a time when Germs was thought the next number 1 ruckman.
What they will probably do is play Germs against EF and PT, where we will get beat, and then proclaim once again that he’s not up to it or it doesn’t work. Germs who was significant when our undefeated run started, the second half turnaround against WP, yesterday went head to head with Branchi in the 2’s and won the hit out contest. Clearly the hit out numbers are not the be and end all but when mids can’t get on the front foot because of a clear disadvantage then the flow on from that compounds any other downfall. It would also likely bring an imbalance to our fwd structure but yesterday was the day to play both imo. Noble returning, if he gets up to speed this late in the season, is only going to be an upgrade on Kaporn in the fwd half. He will also battle to have any influence at stoppage and our mids will face the same conundrum. And we are none the wiser on G-M who is integral in all of this of course.
The other selection error was bringing back Chipper in favour of Kelly and Cartwright. Not only is Chipper a less skilled and damaging player but he also lays little to no tackle pressure. I personally think they are better options than Reidy too.
Look, 2 points is obviously better than none but it was a massive opportunity lost and hopefully it doesn’t come back to bite. The disappointment was clearly evident after the game so it’s important to reset quickly and move on to a big danger game against Subi. With 2 games to follow, that I expect us to get beaten in, we simply must win against a side that is out of contention or we could be playing against a Perth team in the final round which decides not if we have a home final but if we play finals at all.
Some word on Erceg, Ireland, Hewitt and Howard would be welcomed.
I was hearing some whispers yesterday that the East Fremantle game could be played at Joondalup. If this is true this will suit Swans style of play and I would have quite a lot of hope that we could get one back on them for that last minute heist at Bassendean earlier this season