Sydney Swans Qualifying Final Win Report Card
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Big congratulations to the Swans for their victory over the Giants at the SCG. It did not look like happening for much of the afternoon, as GWS were on top for three quarters. The Sydney Swans Qualifying Final win report card must pay the ultimate honours to Isaac Heeney for his enormous four quarter effort. The blonde bombshell is all class and finished with 30 touches, 3 goals, and mark of the year.
Heeney was on from the first siren and never stopped lifting his team over the victory line. At times he was a lone hand, however, and there were too many passengers this afternoon.
The Report Card For The Swans In Their Q Final Victory
- Isaac Heeney AAA+ – Absolutely brilliant!
- Jake Lloyd AA – Produced a great game full of leadership at the clutch moments.
- James Rowbottom AA – The feisty heart and toughness of the Swans midfield who tackled hard all afternoon.
- James Jordan A+ – Stuck to his task all afternoon and was one of better players over 4 quarters.
- Dane Rampe A – Showed leadership and occasional dare from the back line.
- Will Haywood A – Classy forward who finished well when he got his opportunities.
- Tom Papley A – Got better as the game went on and won some vital contests when it really mattered.
- Braeden Campbell A – Was terrific when he came on as the sub in the last quarter and made a massive difference. He should have played the whole match.
- Harry Cunningham A – Was the best defender all game and showed composure when it mattered.
- Brody Grundy B – Tried hard all afternoon and made a contest. Got better as the match wore on.
- Chad Warner B+ – Had a great last quarter and helped the team get it done.
- Errol Gulden B – Was well held for much of the game but never stopped running and contributed a lot in the final term.
- Logan McDonald C+ – Never stopped running, trying, and although could not provide any aerial power did kick a great goal.
- Joel Amartey C – Poor performance but kicked an important goal at the death.
- Hayden Mclean C – Failed to mark anything and was poor as a forward.
- Lewis Melican  C+ – Lacked composure down back but did a few good things too.
- Tom McCartin C – Tom was pretty average and did not always provide solid defence.
- Nick Blakey C+ – The Lizard lacked his usual mercurial dash and panache but never stopped trying.
- Ollie Florent C – Not his usual high standard and we missed his run for most of the match.
- Matt Roberts C+ – One of his poorer games and maybe did not handle the final’s pressure as he would have liked.
- Luke Parker C – Luke was not at his best.
- Justin McInerney C – Jazzy needed the run and was never quite with it.
- Callum Mills C – One of his poorer efforts and the final’s atmosphere was beyond him. This season has been a fail for him due to the time out with serious injury from a recreational activity. Coach Longmire shared post-match that Mills had a gastro complaint going into this clash.
Sydney Beat The Giants But Tall Forwards Go Missing
The Sydney Swans tall forwards and big men, more generally, were crap in the air. The GWS controlled the aerial game to the detriment of the Swans. Hayden McLean needs to give more and show more desperation to win contests. Amartey and McDonald are young, but also, must lift, if the Bloods are going to win the Premiership. It is a tough ask when you cannot take contested marks around the ground and especially in the forward line.
Marking and contesting aerially is about positioning and somebody needs to teach these guys how to position themselves properly.
Swans Defence Were Pretty Ordinary Against The Giants
Harry Cunningham was great and gave a four quarter effort. Dane Rampe had good moments and was composed when it mattered. McCartin and Melican tried all night but were rattled at times and off their best. Nick Blakey has had better games but gave effort all match. The Swan’s defence have not been top notch all season and will need to do a lot better to win the Premiership. The defence coach at the Swans has been pretty ordinary as adjudged by the results.
Qualifying Final Win By Swans Thanks To A Special Few
The Sydney Swans Qualifying Final win report card indicates that they won this game on the back of towering efforts by a few of their senior best players. Heeney, in the main, Warner in the last quarter, Lloyd, Cunningham, Rowbottom, and Campbell in the final segment of the match.
The Bloods must have more winning contributions from more players in the coming Preliminary Final. Paul Roos used to say the defining difference for Premiership winning teams is the performance of their bottom 6 players in the 23.
The Swans need a big lift from at least 18 of their 23. Now, is the time for all these players to give more. Don’t waste 2024!
Getting The Offence Vs Defence Balance Right
Modern AFL football is about getting that balance between offence and defence right. This sounds simplistic but it impacts how you win the ball and how you defend when you don’t have the ball. Effort and belief drives your performance in winning contests but how you are set up around the ball determines second efforts and whether you win the ball back. GWS were better at systematically linking up around the ball to distribute effectively down the ground. Too many times Swan’s players did not support their team mates via second efforts to win contests. Why I don’t know, perhaps John Longmire does? Good teams hunt the ball in packs. Think of Collingwood last year at their best. GWS did this far better than the Swans in this Final.
The Swans must rediscover this team attack if they are going to go all the way in 2024.
Around the ball ups in the midfield if the Swans did not win the initial contest they had no plan B. This is driven by the amount of offensive vs defensive structure in these set ups. Sydney need to have more than James Rowbottom creating pressure on opponents around these centre bounces. Tom Green and co were able to break away too easily in the first 3 quarters of the game. GWS were real good around the ball. Chad Warner is an offensive weapon but he was well held for most of the match. I expected more from Luke Parker to nullify the GWS midfield and to get hard ball gets out to the outside runners – this did not happen.
Conclusions To Be Drawn
Longmire shared post-game that Amartey rolled his ankle and nearly did not play. Mills had a gastro bug and was not at his best because of this. Braeden ‘BJ’ Campbell lost his grandfather during the week and was carrying a bit of an injury, which was why he was not selected in the 22 and was the sub instead. https://twitter.com/sydneyswans/status/1832554440043213114?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Taylor Adams may have a door opening for him on the basis of the poor efforts by many Bloods in this stirring come from behind victory. Robbie Fox might be in a similar position on this basis. The big holes in this last gasp winning performance were:
- Not enough winning contests over 4 quarters by too many in the side.
- A lack of aerial power to mark and spoil all over the ground.
- More pressure on the ball by all members of the 23 for 4 quarters.
- Poor positioning by the tall forwards in marking contests. How about making a plan like intentionally kicking short to contest so that forwards know to get out in front? Be predictable to assist their efforts wherever possible.
- Getting the offensive vs defensive balance right at centre bounces.
- Give more, like there is no tomorrow, because in 2 weeks’ time this will be the case. Don’t die wondering!
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
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