TOPIC:

Really interesting posts guys, thanks. Amazing as it seems, many coaches over the years have not rated a decent ruck to their peril. Even Brownie failed to support Michael properly at South for years. 

Obviously disappointing, but Swans did at least play out the game. However, not playing a ruckman was ludicrous. Who is on the selection committee? Some might say that Glass in the ruck in the last quarter did result in drive out of the middle, but it is a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Germs, though not my favourite was a better option, and if we are not careful, he will also take the journey home like Morris down the Forrest Highway.

Claremont complete outfoxed Swans, and it is these 'smarts' - difficult to define - that Swans must also develop. Claremont had the three umpires wrapped around their fingers for the entire match yesterday, and Swans must also learn the limits of how far one can push the umpires' patience or gullibility before giving away free-kicks. Yesterday Claremont pushed, scragged and took players to the ground at leisure and we didn't, knocking us off our game - we have to adapt better to the adjudicators' abilities whether incompetent or sound.

Germs was listed as out for the League due to soreness but played Reserves, one must assume our selectors must not have thought he was fit enough to play against the mobile Eastland & big bodied Gowdie.
But with Doc Blakely out for the season injured it did leave us deficient in the ruck.
SH Claremont have received 304 Free Kicks (the most in the WAFL by some way) and only given away 253 despite their regular  antagonistic tactics off the ball. Now you could say the umpires fall for it all of the time but surely their coaching staff should be also letting them know this is their regular tactic and not to get "sucked in" by that shite week after week???!!!
Furthermore it is time Swans as a club stand up to this nonsense!

The club is very fond of 5 year plans so here are the results from the past 5 years
Wins:35 Losses:46. Winning percentage 43%
Average points for: 66   Average points against: 71
One final (2021)

Not the worst record in the world but nowhere near the best teams in the competition. That is the crux of a game plan that has not significantly changed in the past five years. Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

The club needs to have an internal attitude and cultural rethink rather than whinging about umpiring, over physical opponents or the bad luck in losing close games. They are just excuses.

Well said Mike.
I’ve seen most games this year and have no idea what is our game plan is, any team that is more efficient and well drilled beats us easily and we rely on effort to win our games.
Our coaching staff don’t rate ruckmen or tall forwards, our game plan gives our forwards no chance.
And as hard as Jesse Turner tries I have no idea why as a wingman he is allowed to run all over the ground chasing kicks when Claremont, East Perth and East freo in our recent losses kick out to his wing every time to a free player, dumb coaching

Beasley Hutton wrote:

Germs was listed as out for the League due to soreness but played Reserves, one must assume our selectors must not have thought he was fit enough to play against the mobile Eastland & big bodied Gowdie.
But with Doc Blakely out for the season injured it did leave us deficient in the ruck.
SH Claremont have received 304 Free Kicks (the most in the WAFL by some way) and only given away 253 despite their regular  antagonistic tactics off the ball. Now you could say the umpires fall for it all of the time but surely their coaching staff should be also letting them know this is their regular tactic and not to get "sucked in" by that shite week after week???!!!
Furthermore it is time Swans as a club stand up to this nonsense!
 

I didn't necessarily consider the umpiring poor yesterday BH, but I thought Swans' performance just showed our inability to adapt to the conditions. Mike, we all dancing to the same tune, and cultural change from the top down is necessary before we can even consider mixing it with the likes of C and not repeating what we saw yesterday.

All Swans people are sick to death with our plight of being in this constant realm of at best 5th to last position on the ladder!
In the last 33 seasons we have won just 1 Premiership (by 1 point) and only played in one other GF (2008) with a team made up of once in a generation teenagers most who went on to long successful AFL careers.
The last time we finished on top of the ladder was 1984 (40 seasons ago) and the last time we won the Rodriguez Shield was 1980 (I was a pre schooler).
I could list a myriad of reasons/excuses for that poor record above eg zones, financial, poor decisions on and off field, poor football etc but the above are actual factual stats!

Yes our playing style at times has me shaking my head, our skill level even worse at times, our decision making ditto.
We can blame all of the coaches and footy staff but at the end of the day I think we have a squad that should be doing better than 7th and an 8-9 record.
Although I was somewhat shocked at Pruyn's appointment as coach I want to see him succeed in the role as a Swans man.
Our best football is very good but it is only fleeting and not consistent enough hence our position.
Some questions that finally need addressing from my view though are-
Does our playing squad believe in themselves enough?
Are they desperate and ruthless enough at all of the key moments in games?
Do we have the on field leaders vocally driving the team to be set up properly to not allow easy opposition transitions as happens far too often in games?

Until we see progress in these areas we will forever be a middle of the road to bottom side and I sometimes feel we are happy to exist in that realm?

For me, enough is enough, the time is now (2024) to FINALLY get serious about being a top side in this WAFL competition (not in 5 years or a decade or any other pie in the sky plan) otherwise we are all just wasting our time!

On another note it’s very poor that over the course of the season we have not had one update to members or on the website from the coach, football manager or football director.

MarkOlsen wrote:

On another note it’s very poor that over the course of the season we have not had one update to members or on the website from the coach, football manager or football director.


 

I would love and attend a regular members forum where we could hear from the coaches before, during and a review after the season, to see where things went right, what went wrong, how we will fix those problems etc?
At least keeping us members who fork out their hard earned every year informed and up to date with the on field matters of OUR TEAM!

Just to add to some of the above, historically, here are a few more observations --
SD one of three teams to have gone through a season with one win
no premiership coach appointed since 1977
SD shares the no first finish with Perthfc
Stalin and Hitler had five year plans never football clubs
the one with Barassi failed outright as did one with Bunton snr
Buntsjr, suceeded but only because Carisle, reportedly threatened the players
As posters above have stressed the board needs to show where the most recent five year plan has been a success on the field. Which begs the important question? Why will another five year plan governed by the same people be different/more successful.