Again excuses for Saints loss. Swans lost Cunningham and McInerney to COVID protocols just hours before the game. But no mention of how well, in patches, the Swans played. Or how badly Saints handle pressure. This is more what Saints problems are about, pressure. Swans piled on the pressure and if they had taken advantage of 30 inside 50’s in the first half they would have been 10 up at the half. In the third it seemed as though the Swans, as a group, just realised the Saints pressure was dropping off and shifted a gear. i think it took them by surprise because some of the early third quarter disposal was scrappy.

A little one line about how badly Saints have fallen. You might like to give credit to the side that beat them. Oh, not beat them, murdered them but should have annihilated them. The Saints could not withstand the first half pressure. If the Swans had used most of the 30 inside 50’s they had in the first half instead of 33% then they would have been 10 up at the half. By 10 minutes into the third the Swans had finally realised how demoralised the Saints were and piled on the pressure, on the scoreboard. But like true gentleman footballers from the North we took the foot off the pedal in the last to let them score a couple of sausages.

No mention of some of the scintillating footy played by the Swans in the third quarter or Blakey’s dash or die. No mention of Jones’ hit to Parker’s jaw that would have shattered Tony Mundine. I mean he might have just lined Parksie up for not calling him after he was sent packing back to Vic. No mention of how Heeney is not playing well but scoring on average 2 goals/match. Fair enough.

I think Judd was a selfish player at Carlton. Everything revolved around him. But that is probably because of his huge ego.

1.Essendon have some major problems but the main one is lazy mids. I mean, Sheil, McGrath & co do not work hard defensively. They are also trying to develop a forward line on the run. Jake Stringer and McDonald-Tipungwuti may be the key to the mids. They are seen as undersized but stick one of either of these two in and they have a huge mid in there each stoppage.

2. Kelly is a very good player but the reality is Neale got one first and early second paid to get him to Brisbane. To get Kelly Eagles paid two first and two second, that was way overs. The money paid on his contract contracted the space in the salary cap as well. They had an already ageing list and losing so many early draft picks has not helped. The salary cap pressure hasn’t either. If Kelly and the Eagles had waited a year he would have been out of contract and the compensation would have been far different. I know Kelly wanted to get back to the West and the Eagles might have mistakenly believed Freo were actually interested. They weren’t, their development was going in a far different direction, draft picks.

3. This is definitely the worst fixturing ever. You state that the big teams in Victoria draw the television crowds. But this year that has not been the case. The Hawks, even though a big Vic team, have been down and had a very mediocre year last year as they developed. This year they arevdrawing crowds because they play exciting footy. Swans, Dees, Saints up until last week, Freo (although they play more defensive than the others), Lions are all rating very well. TV audiences are down, even though Victorian so called drawing teams are in prime slots.

4. Please be accurate. Cairns is in Dry Season. The wet has gone but the humidity will linger year round. So, there will always be a sticky aspect to the game. Best to get up there early and practice in the conditions.

5. Sheil’s much maligned kicking is not so much a problem. But his lack of defensive pressure is. In today’s game you can’t afford even one loose mid. He would not do well at Sydney. He would find himself playing reserves because of his lack of defensive pressure, see Tom Mitchell.

6. While the season has so far been ok. The coaches have dome it again and ruined the game for people who like a high scoring game. The majority of the footy has been defensive and boring for long periods. The side who are emerging as a potential third placed team, Freo, are one of the most defensive teams in the comp. Low scoring, a bit like Sydney in 2005, and their play is not exciting at all. Dees are exciting, so are Lions. But Cats, Freo, Tigers etc are boring. Hawks are exciting and so are Sydney. Saints a bit of both. Port are lucky to even be in the talk.

There is a huge gap between the good sides and the bottom three. GWS are inconsistent. They put on such a great show against Adelaide. When Cameron allows his players some leash and they stop playing that boring defensive kick and hold slow game they are good. But too often against good sides they play safe.

Small is not the problem. Swans have a smaller midfield but they are not soft. In fact they are very hard. They got beaten by another midfield that were about the same size. Neale is not big but he is effing good, hard and strong. The Essendon mids on the other hand are just soft, lazy and do not defend. Even Stringer, when the ball is in opposition hands eases off.

If I was Essendon I would put a rocket up Stringer, move McDonald-Tipungwuti to the mids when he returns. This would give them two hard, strong and big boys in there to help the little guys. But bombers problems go much further. They go to who they drafted and why. Sheil has always been lazy. He has never been a player who has a defensive side. Same goes for McGrath and Smith. At the Swans if you do not work defensively, Stephens at times, you end up back in the reserves.

Essendon have a lot of problems, some which involve developing players, their forwards, some like lazy mids, not easily fixed.

McCartin does not have concussion. He came back and played the game out. Sure, it would be terrible to see him gat a concussion. The player who we missed due to injury and showed just how much last week was McInerney.

I agree and for the Editor to say the Medi-Sub is the reason the Swans beat Norf is demeaning. Justin McInerney had 13 disposals in the last. Not a word about the vile umpiring. Howler after howler. If the Medi-Sub rule nearly won it for the Swans then the extra 3 players nearly won it for Norf. I mean more soft freebies than a Snugglies sale.

As to winning premierships. There needs to be a hardness and cohesion. The Cats are going to tire as the season goes on due to all the old cattle. Can they sustain the run and carry game or will the other sides be ready come mid season? Isaac Smith has been the catalyst to this style. His run is imperative. Take him and two others out and the run stops. They will return to the stop start footy they have become known for, the most boring team in the AFL. But of course if they can diversify, keep all their players on the park and off walking frames they might be a contender. But they would want to get a bit harder yet. By the way, they won at GMHBA, Lions have not won there in 19 years.

Round 4 is a little too early to say who will play the last 4 in September action. A lot can transpire. Injuries can take their toll. Take the Swans, they missed Hickey hugely. Ladhams was nowhere near as good as Hickey. In fact in the first half he was woeful. Papley’s injury has been a real worry for the Swans too. Luckily, two young blokes are now showing their promise in Ronke and Bell. Ronke has been murdered by injury in the last two seasons. Add to that the fact the Kennedy move to the backs has been an abject failure and needs to be addressed. Other sides like GWS have had many outs, Eagles more than most but their list is probably just a bit past it. Essendon have lots out too. This season is the survival of the fittest not the most brilliant. Now Carlton have some big injuries this will be a huge challenge for them.

What’s with the bang it long at all costs this year. All sides seem to be bombing the ball into the forward line. Now, this is probably because Melbourne do it all the time. But let’s be realistic, they have the cattle to make it pay. They have one of either Gawn or Jackson, then two of Brown, McDonald or Weideman, then Fritch as marking targets. Then the ball hits the ground and they have Neal-Bullen & Picket at ground level. Not to mention the likes of Petracca when resting. When you have that sort of talent you can bomb. But most sides do not have that level of talent.

Not at GMHBA they won’t. It will be at The G if they qualify for it. They actually have to win enough games and win a Qualifying or Elimination Final first. They have to finish 1st or 2nd to qualify for a home Qualifying final, then win that to qualify for a home Prelim. Too much speculation at this stage.

Cats have played the tempo game for several years now. It is boring footy. Last weekend was the first time in a long time I saw the manacles removed. They played exciting footy. Teams can no longer play the full tempo style, they get caught out eventually and turn the ball over. If not that they just don’t score enough to win finals. This was a major problem with the Cats game. During the off season they changed assistant coaches and brought in some people with new ideas. It has worked.

Several tactics no longer work:
The total slow tempo game.
Playing the total defensive zone, not picking up opponents.
Slow ball movement always down the line.
The short handball game is now being picked off.
Scruffy footy, by this I mean the total chaos footy Richmond play. Teams are ready for it and their pressure forces scruffy footy and the turnover.

What does work;
Fast movement
Elite midfield ball handlers
Elite kicks like Gulden, Walsh, Petracca & co. The teams who’s players have lower disposal efficiency will be sitting on the bottom half of the ladder
Kicks to position with swift movement
High rotation of the midfield. The game is far too fast for mids to stay in there for long periods. It is obvious when a midfield has been in too long. They tire and start losing the clearances big time.
Having dead eye dicks forward. The teams who kick inaccurately are going to lose more than win. This is not new.

You are right. Kennedy was good, so was Paddy. JMac was sensational. But on the inside Rowie changed the momentum of the game with his ferocious attack on the ball in packs and his ability to push the ball to a teammate to get the clearance. I thought the mids, Rowie, Parksie, Ollie, Millsie, Chad, Heens & Gulden were really wonderful. They got 13 more clearances than their opponents and contested ball was a win too, both things we struggled with last season.

It was 2013. Macca was BOG

T McCartin will be ably helped by his brother, Paddy. Heeney will play mids. We have drafted a hand full of mids last draft and Matty Roberts is a big bodied mid from South Adelaide who starred for them in the SANFL finals. His form in the trial against GWS was encouraging. Melican was not drafted as a key defender, he was drafted as a third defender, who runs into space creating an exit strategy. He has had to fill the role of monster minder and I am pretty sure it doesn’t suit him. Paddy and Tom are far more suited to this role.

Trading Ladhams in gives some flexibility to the ruck and forward marking targets. Reid has been a a relatively good player but lacked that polish and ability to kick goals in a pinch. For a tall forward his output is quite poor and his kicking is sometimes lamentable. Having Amartey and McLean in the wings to swing in when Bud or Hickey have a rest is a huge bonus. How the Swans replace Dawson is the key. I think people underestimate how good he really is. At this time Campbell has gone back but I can’t see this as a long term solution as he will transition to the midfield. Gould could be an option in the long term if he comes good, around the same height and kicks the ball nearly as well.

If the Swans can manage to replace Dawson then they have a huge chance of taking the next step. It all depends on the game plan and some of the lesser lights stepping up. As in 2011/2012 the Swans are developing into a very cohesive unit. I think in 2012 Swans won a flag a year early and that affected their growth and even though they went the extra metre in 2014 & 2016 they were not successful due to some team decision making and overconfidence. I don’t think this time around the mistakes of the past will be repeated. For a start Longmire has several brilliant tacticians as assistant coaches. Whether the Swans go early and achieve greatness in 2022 or achieve it in a year when their list will be in the premiership age window is the only question. Dees, Dogs, GWS, Lions, Port are in the way and will all be hard. The Cats will be a hard home & away team but as usual finals will desert them.

You are spot on. Reid is training with the defenders. Paddy is signed and will be a defender. But there is still Barry O’Connor, 196, and Will Gould, 191.
As to Reid, he kicked like an Aus Kick 6 year old at times. His kicking was atrocious. Going forward I would rather blokes who can actually get the ball between the goal posts, like Amartey & McLean. Reidy has been a great player but now he is over 30 and with his injury history, things just aren’t going to get better. He was sensational in the 2012 GF. That goal straight down the guts was just super.

The height in the defence is not a problem with paddy Mccartin coming in to play there. We have also moved Reid to defence. We also have 196cm Barry O’Connor, 191cm Will Gould.

McDonald will play more games this year. He did not have the tank last year, got rested, got injured. but this year I see him kicking at least 40, possibly 50. Heens move to the mids will mean Parker, Kennedy etc spend more time forward. Hayward kicked 28 last year. I think he has a 30-40 in him. Kennedy started out as a HF and scored pretty well. Parks can kick goals and take a pretty good mark. I think the young talls are another facet. Amartey and McLean can take a pretty big grab and kick goals. So, even if we take Heens out for periods to run in the mids the replacements are pretty good.

Our big challenge has been our midfield and replacing the champions who have driven the mids for a long time. Kennedy will finish up this season. But by drafting Sheldrick, Roberts, Warner and Rankin we have given more depth there. The developing boys; Warner, Florent, Stephens, Campbell, Gulden, Rowbottom are all on the right track. Another preseason will make them even better.

You really hate the swans don’t you Don. On what do you base this prediction? We just drafted some great mid talent. We have a young, developing list, we have good experience to guide them. If any side falls off the perch it is West Coast. i think they will finish near the bottom. Your mob have been promising for 3 seasons and we waltzed past them, 16th to 6th last year. We picked up a good ruck in a trade.

So, tell me Don, on what criteria do you base your baseless predictions

The fact is Logan is very happy where he is. The Eagles have got no hope. He was not an Eagles fan, his side was Collingwood. He did not follow either Western side

Bull. He was not forgotten at all. He was rested and came back through the reserves. His tank was not good and he had to improve in that area. He came back toward the end of the season. But with a full preseason this year he will be far better off. He’s going nowhere. Clubs do not give away #4 Draft Picks.

That’s a pretty low blow about Heens hitting people. Highly untrue. He is one of the most fair players I have ever seen. He hurt his hand in a marking contest, where the hand was punched accidentally by the defender.

for your information, Reid is training with the defence, not the forwards. As to McDonald, his contract WILL be renewed. The club will negotiate with his management now that Gulden has signed for two more. They will not play all those talls anyway. Amartey & McLean will get a birth at times too but that would mean resting one ruck or Buddy, which will happen.

Who says the Swans are not developing Logan Mcdonald? In fact he works very closely with Buddy. The lad is happy in Sydney and the Swans have been putting a lot of time and energy into developing him. Just because his contract is not signed yet is not an indication he is being ignored. Think on this; Gulden just signed. McDonald is not the only one needing to be signed; Heeney, Lloyd, McInerney & Florent are major players who need signing. So, why have the Swans taken so long to sign this talent? They have to fir them into the new tighter cap. Next year Buddy and JPK will retire so some salary cap gets freed. But the club will be trying to gauge how much the AFL will increase the cap next year too and this will impact player payments.

I have Eagles at the bottom end of the ladder. Eagles play a total tempo footy style, so do Cats. If they do not change they could both be in strife. The other thing is they are both very old lists. Injuries will not get any less and both have a pace problem. Reason Cats don’t get any further than the prelims, pace or lack of. Cats have gone all out by recruiting old blokes yet again in a last ditch effort to win a premiership. If it doesn’t happen in 2022 it will be there alright, in the ditch. Cats have 12 players over 30, 3 are 28 and 1 is 29.

The teams on the way up all have four things in common. They all play exciting footy, they are fast, they have elite kicking skills and they don’t rely on flooding the backs, they can go one on one. These exciting teams all have young, vibrant lists.

The trouble with AFL media is they are asked to tow the party line and do so. For instance, the AFL was very unhappy with the media for pointing out how crappy the umpiring is. So they had meetings with the media bosses and now nobody says anything about the standard of umpiring. Which is at it’s lowest point ever in the history of the game. Several ex players were really strong in coming out against the umpires blatantly letting throws go and not penalising. But recently they have been very quiet. All because Head Office got upset and threatened them through their bosses.

So how relevant is a media that toes the party line. not relevant at all

If they don’t win it this year it will be all downhill. They have a very old list. You could also sat the same for Saints. Cats are the North Melbourne of the modern era buying in experience for the NOW factor. but with the new AFL recruiting rules about using 1 & 2 round draft picks and retaining them they will have to go to the draft sooner rather than later. They cannot continue to trade players in to keep their age profile. This will eventually blow up on them as it did with Hawks.

In saying that they are probably favourites for the premiership at this stage due to experience and age profile. But will those old legs run out of puff on GF day as they did against the Tigers last year? The premiership race is far more open this year then last as well with at least 5 possibly 6 teams being in the race. without Richmond in the race they would fancy their chances. Dogs are not going to be too much worry for this mob due to the way they play their footy. The backs will pick off the dogs long game very easily. Swans showed how it is done and i’m sure Cats will do the same. Dees can be opened up and Cats will exploit that. Port play an exciting brand but again will fall into Cats trap if they continually bomb long to Dixon and Marshall. Lions have more gaps than Wagga traffic jam and unless they can get their forward line working will be a doddle for Cats. The Swans are the one team the Cats are not sure against. Last time they played Swans were not as strong in belief as they are now. Cats had a few missing but so did the Swans. Cats like to strangle sides and foece you to kick down the line. In fact they want you to kick long into the forward line. But Swans don’t do that particularly, they share it round until an option pops up and if you guard space you will be exploited and that is exactly what Cats do.

If they don’t win it this year then they would have to look at their strategic plan and revise. do what Hawks have done and go to the draft. Unfortunately Cats have so many old players retirements withing the next 3 seasons are going to see half the line up gone.

I have been very suspicious of the Eagles so called credentials for a few years now. They mostly win in the west but have a dreadful away record. Add to that a inability to stop high scoring sides. The Cats are not exactly Hafey’s Swans, more like Wallace’s Bulldogs, yet the scored well over 100 against the Eagles. That is damning. I am not convinced by Cats either, even with all their high profile recruits. How they stay under the salary cap is very interesting.

Of the teams in the top eight many have Swans as the most likely to go out. But a reality check shows me the Swans have a far easier run the the Eagles who have failed in every test against top eight sides so far. Speed is a major problem. There is no use having all these guys who are supposedly star quality if they are continually beaten to the ball. I mean take their game against Cats. They were repeatedly beaten to the ball by one of the slowest sides in the comp. Regeneration needed

Who is this Ruckman Bell? James Bell is certainly no Ruckman. Sam Naismith (ACL), Callum Sinclair, Hayden McLean, Joel Amartey and Tom Hickey are the euckmen at Sydney.

2013 & 2015 were injury plagued for the Swans. 2016 was indeed a missed opportunity but as in 2014 the coaching staff selected players with little or no match fitness due to injury. In 2016 it was obvious Mills should not have played, same with McVeigh. So yes the coach is to blame for that. As to players not developing I think this is due more to injury and the inability of those players to rediscover form after injury. I think you are a bit hard on Ollie Florent. I think he was very good last year.

The Sydney list is one of the most talented in the AFL. You seem to also have selective memory. Sydney lost several key players to injury, Buddy, Heeney, Rampe, Hewett, Naismith (by far the best ruck St Swans) and Kennedy for about 6 matches. This loss of experience was devastating for such a young group and while it gave the coaches a chance to blood young talent it was not good for the win loss ratio.

All those players will return this season. If of course they can get Buddy’s body right, after all he must be nearly 100 by now lol. Add a young key forward and two talented kids from the Academy as well as last year’s draft crop including Will Gould and this is an exciting time for Sydney. But as you say Reid was incredibly disappointing.

You are right in asserting Longmire needs the team to climb the ladder. I think he doesn’t just need to be a couple of places better off he needs this team to be vying for a top eight spot. A ladder slide would indeed see the Horse in the glue pot. In saying that I don’t think that is on the cards with Don Pyke and Ben Matthews joining the coaching panel.

The ball is a big issue. Players who would genreally kick over 50 metres are only kicking 40 metres. some of the kicks have been dreadful because they fell well short. Yet looking at the player’s action they did everything right. This goes back to the old arguement as to what is the best ball to use in top flight footy. The Sherrin has NEVER been the best ball.. In fact the Faulkner South Australian ball has always been superior ro the Sherrin. The Sherrin has a problem with balance and always has. Now obviously those problems have gotten worse as the ball isa either too heavy or too light.

On the other hand the Faulkner footy is perfectly balanced, the right weight and the workmanship is superb. The stitching, the cutting of the four sections and the making are done with incredible skill. Whereas the Sherrin, which was already an inferior product, has gone downhill

Do you know the Vics have buried footage of that game. There are full matches, highlights and snippets of any game before or after but non of that particular game anywhere. Not on YouTube or any other Video format. Certainly not on the AFL site. I wonder if AFLNSW has a copy? Probably not now it has been taken over by the AFL.