WB Game Day V Sydney Swans R17 2021

[bornadog]

We seemed very flat this week, like last week, except Sydney are a better team than North. Sydney played a very good tackle game, being patient with their switching the ball around, short kicks to find players and then moving the ball quickly when they got out of our defence.

Sydney crowded our forward line so it was difficult to pass to a player on their own or to lead out. We just bombed it in thinking Naughton was there to take the big grab. Bruce was constantly surrounded and when the ball hit the deck, they took the ball away easily.

This was out weakest team this year and really need Stef Martin, Dunks, Wood, and Treloar back

[jeemak]

Talk about being outworked. Allowing so many uncontested possessions/ marks is OK against a team like North, sometimes, but teams like Sydney are too well drilled not to capitalise on it in some way and make you pay a price.

I was watching on a dicey TV, but it looked to me like Tim English failed to make the distance from forty metres out at one stage. Was that the case? I need to have this clarified before I can move on and think about more elements that sucked today.

[Ghost Dog]

Was a good opportunity for fringe players to stand up and be counted. Sadly, most missed their opportunity.

[GVGjr]

Swans were way more athletic and used the ball better and this wasn't a master class from Buddy that brought us unstuck.
They switched the ball wide and made the ground bigger which gave them a chance to use their athleticism and skills to better effect.

They employed some tags and a lot of their lesser lights just outperformed us. We can't say they weren't impressive.

I don't agree with the notion that we were flat when really we were outplayed and if we are flat lets see if we bring in more than a change or two for next weeks game? Our Footscray boys finished the game strongly so I don't think we are flat as a playing group.

Our forward line was a shambles today and didn't look effective. Weightman flew from behind for marks when when Bruce was in the best position and I think he essentially spoiled a marking opportunity for Bruce with an impetuous act. Bruce had just 5 kicks and 3 marks for the game and didn't perform. JUH couldn't handle the pace of the game and clearly wasn't ready and Wallis really can't find the form that he had last season. Hannan looks OK at times but he isn't adding much from what most of us can see. Perhaps it's some intangibles that Bevo rates. If anyone really needs a break it might be Scott who has done a mighty job all season but needs to find more of the footy at Footscray for a couple of weeks.

[soupman]

Credit to Sydney, they played well. Really clean, barely missed a target with their kicking around the ground and their structure and setup was great. They were a hard match up for us, their defenders are generally all good mid sized players that are good in the air, and they play with real intent and make it hard to just overwhelm them as we do with lesser sides.

That showed the limitations of our forwardline without Naughton, we lack another option who can break the stalemate. Bruce is not an aerial guy and he was super poor tonight, and English wasn't down there enough to have the impact we would've wanted and still had 3 set shots.

Hannan and Wallis should both be dropped. I know they are just about the only mid sized marking targets on our list but I think we can survive without them. Hannan is failing to have an impact in neither the air or the ground, doesn't get the ball in dangerous positions and has zero hurt factor when he does. I like some of his attributes and think there is hope yet but atm he is a less face palm worthy Gowers. Wallis I love but I don't know what his role is in this side aside from ending up with the ball 20 metres from goal (from memory most of his goals this week and last have been from being the last and deepest in a chain instead of beating his opponent in a one on one). He hasn't added anything to our forwardline and isn't even marking it atm which was his one point of difference.

JUH was poor today, double grabbed everything. I suspect he will be dropped, the long stint on the bench in the last usually indicates as such, but I'd be very open to giving him another week where he isn't competing against a team full of good aerial defenders with nothing other than a 2020 form Bruce as support. A road trip to Qld and a game not in front of a crowd hanging onto your every move might give him a chance to bond a bit more with the team and take the edge of a little too. Unsure if he lacked confidence today or if this is his usual style but was very half pace in his attack on the footy, his first kick in space where he got run down was a good example of not playing with the intensity required.

Young has to stay, I've been really impressed with him these last two weeks. Covers the ground well, but more importantly has been really strong in the contest and has been playing with intent, especially his spoiling.

Garcia I thought was encouraging, works really well in tight and can find the ball. Reminds me a bit of Hunter in tight with the way he can spin and shuffle his way through small spaces but still find a kick.

[comrade]

Today all the bad Cody Weightman traits were on show, flying for everything, flailing about trying to draw frees, minimal pressure. Let's hope 4 goals against North hasn't gone to his head and this was just a down day.

[Eastdog]

Disappointing today but you have these kind of games. The Swans played quite well. We were playing catch up for a lot of it. Just struggled to really get a look in inside forward 50. We didn’t have that 4-5 goal burst that could have turned this game.

The bright side is we are 2nd with the best percentage and got two relatively good games coming up against Suns and Crows.

[The bulldog tragician]

I thought there were danger signs last week. Hopefully this is a match which rekindles the desire and reminds our team how easily things can slip.

I did think we were flat. When even Cody Weightman is listless, you know it’s not a great day.

It goes without saying how much we miss Naughton: not only what he himself brings, but how much better others look around him.

We can’t keep playing so many low possession forwards whose role is unclear. I’m out of patience with whatever Hannah’s role is, but if he’s so essential I don’t know that others such as Wally, Scott and JJ can be kept in these roles as none looks likely to consistently kick goals.

Strangely enough if JJ had kicked a gimme, we would have been seven points down in the last quarter, and maybe heads would have lifted. But he didn’t which was the story of the day…even playing poorly we remained within reach but wasted chances to put any pressure on Sydney.

I’m a bit amazed though people think we could drop out of top 4. We need to have faith in what this group can do. It’s been a really tough few weeks, but the returns of Naughton and Dunkley, and hopefully an end to a rotten run with injuries, and our best is still a match for anyone.

[angelopetraglia]

Disappointing day at the footy.

At the start of the day we would have taken centre clearances 15-3, overall clearances 46-26, winning the inside 50 count and keeping Buddy and Papley to a solitary goal. However, the Swans played a lot players behind the ball, ran the ball out of defence magnificently and played a great strategic game of keepings off (67 v 123 marks). They created all their scoring chances going coast to coast with a lot of open space in their forward line (which was the opposite to ours).

Our forward line just didn't function and we really missed Naughton's aerial ability. We just could not connect in our F50 and you didn't have any confidence when we went inside. They also put a lot of pressure on our handball chains and we did not get a lot of clean football.

Even with all of that and looking completely out of it, if JJ kicked that goal in the last quarter we would have been a goal down with momentum. It just wasn't our day and it was a bad game to drop as with the Lions and Port dropping games we could have put a big distance between them and us.

To be seriously competitive come September we need a fit Naughton, Dunkley, Martin. Treloar and Wood would be a bonus.

[SonofScray]

Sydney touched us up. We looked like we might scrape a result at various points because they left the door ajar and I thought it’d come, until it didn’t. On the balance of things they outplayed us, outworked us and we were certainly out coached.

A disappointing performance across the board.

We didn’t get the numbers game right, tactically, they were able to break down how Bevo has us set up. Rarely we were able to effectively pressure the second kick from their defensive 50. Our forward line were ineffective both ways.

The ruck situation is diabolical, given we had effectively addressed it this season. Just play two rucks FFS.

[Grantysghost]

I'm a little concerned we've dropped games against sides I think are very good finals type teams, who pressure well and structure up beautifully.

Dees, Swans, Tigers (what has happened to them?), Cats (to be fair unlucky).

If the Demons do us easily in rd 20 I'll have my doubts (minor at this stage : alert not alarmed) we can make a meaningful impact in finals, really need Martin to somehow conjur a Keating. English and Young just don't have the strength in aerial contests reliably.

[comrade]

I'm a little concerned we've dropped games against sides I think are very good finals type teams, who pressure well and structure up beautifully.

Dees, Swans, Tigers (what has happened to them?), Cats (to be fair unlucky).

If the Demons do us easily in rd 20 I'll have my doubts (minor at this stage : alert not alarmed) we can make a meaningful impact in finals, really need Martin to somehow conjur a Keating. English and Young just don't have the strength in aerial contests reliably.

I'm pretty nervous that our premiership chances may be hinging on the 34 year old body of a (potentially?) cooked ruckman. We should have covered that gap, I don't know....3 years ago when it was clear it was an issue.

[comrade]

The major difference was the speed and quality of the respective inside 50s. We didn't have any pace on the ball when going forward, it was stilted, and low energy. Sydney on the other hand just whipped it from deep in defence all the way up the ground, culminating in clean, fast entries. Our defence did well to hold up (Cordy letting Haywood take that mark notwithstanding).

[Happy Days]

What a bummer.

Really distinct lack of two-way running today, and I think that I can count today's fluid i50 entries to targets on one hand.

There's a lot to come back in but we got styled on again, which is a worrying trend in our losses.

[comrade]

Just re-watched the JJ 'effort' in the last after Marra gives off the deft handball. 40m, slight angle and just a diabolical miss.