Post Match. Swans end Pies' run. All comments.

[Mr Miyagi]

[Pies2016]

Any criticism of Callum this game is totally unwarranted.
I get the human nature that comes with honing in on one’s preferred whipping boy and then refusing to see any good but let’s not lose our total objectivity about an individuals performance. Compare his half game to Carmichaels full game and their performances were chalk and cheese. Not knocking Carmichael who has done brilliantly well just to be playing AFL but he wasn’t up to the pressure on offer on the weekend. At least Callum Brown was.

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

[Piesnchess]

Lloyd has the Swans in the GF, im not with him on that. Sure, the beat a tired Magpies team, shredded by flu to top players, who lost best mid fielder pre game, no Tay, then Ginnivin off early. Despite this, with Buddy going nuts an wanking up the chardonnay set in the swans sickening crowd, despite having most of the play, on that mini shithole ground, they did not smash us by ten goals or so. They play well up there on that shitty small ground, but get them on the big wide, MCG, and be very different story.

[LaurieHolden]

We've beaten Sydney once in the last 4 outings at the SCG, it's not a ground we, or anyone else for that matter play consistently well at.
Sydney have dropped one match at home, against the Lions. They've won 6 on the trot since having a brain fade against Essendon at the MCG. They're in great form, so give them some respect, they're a good side.

We were going to be up against it from the get go without our two mid-field contested bulls.
A reality check for those thinking Carmichael could have gone up against Melbourne's midfield let alone Sydneys.
Macrae is honing his craft in the VFL and in some good touch. T.Brown too looked great in the VFL, but struggled in the seniors. Carmichael might be doing the same if JDG and Adams were fit.
All will continue to look great in the VFL, but they'll get chopped up by hardened footballers in the same position in the seniors.
Give these kids time to develop. When they come in, they'll roll between the flanks until such time as they've built up the frame and tank to do it over 4 quarters.
If they look a bit lost when they come in, it's because they've been taken out of the position they've been playing well in, before getting slotted into a position like the half-forward flank, which takes time to adjust.

If we expect to stay in contention next year, we clearly need a Tarranto or Hopper on our list.

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

Did anyone notice the rugby leagues line markings still on the SCG in the Sydney Collingwood match was very confusing must say and the ground was like churned up
I wasn’t sure if it was AFL or nrl
They had both on the ground
I have not seen something like it before
I know Sydney roosters and South’s use the SCG for their games most times on the same weekend as well

[piedys]

[eddiesmith]

[winpies]

[Dark Beanie]

[dalyc]

[Pies4shaw]

[Presti35]

"the loss we had to have" I heard that a bit after the game and made me feel sick.

If we beat Carlton, and somehow get up over the Cats in week 1 of finals, then I'll say the loss to the Swans could have been a blessing in disguise.

But we've put ourselves under pressure now to beat Carlton.

[Boot]

I don't know if anyone else noticed but there appeared to be a lot more of very poor handball by Collingwood during the Swans game. For some reason there was a high number skill errors in putting poorly delivered handball's from players not under pressure to players who were immediately under more pressure than the guy who handballed it to them. Maybe it was the perceived pressure the team felt from a very good Swans team but even when players were feeding off to running players who were well open I noticed numerous times the ill-directed handball missed the target resulting in the loose player having to stop and backtrack to take possession by which time momentum was lost and the opposition were able to catch up to pressure the receiver. Such skill errors really stifled any chances to take the initiative in this game. Hopefully the team will be able to better execute this important skill a lot better over the next month.
Also I thought there was far too many interference between our own defenders spoiling their own team mates in our defense on Sunday afternoon. Moore & Howe still need to be better coordinated with team mates when flying for marks. Not sure there was the necessary "connection" with the defensive team vs Swans and again the looseness of our defenders was shown up by a very good Sydney team. Not sure if I should blame the players or the coach i.e. Leppitch for this apparent slackness in covering loose opposition forwards ?
Also I hate to say it, but am I the only person seeing Pendlebury fumbling more often than he has ever before done? One of Pendlebury's great strengths was his sure hands in tight situations but I think there has started to be a worrying signs that our great champion is getting on in age and maybe the twilight of his stellar career will see a gradual drop off from his very high benchmark of performance. I was hoping for some more stellar performances from the great man to help drive and lead the Pies to the premiership this year. He'll need a lot more support than he got on Sunday if that dream is to come true!

[Pies2016]

^^ ^

There’s some fair points, Boot. We generally focus on our own players failings in a loss but the reality is every win or loss is as much about the opposition as it is Collingwood. The Swans are a very good side with an average winning margin of 40 + points up there. You don’t return those numbers without applying relentless pressure on the opposition for extended periods. The first indication of any team not handling the pressure, is not handling the ball well.
It’s also a competition that doesn’t lend its self to extended winning streaks and at some point, there will always come a day when a playing collective subconsciously gets a little comfortable and the foot comes off the accelerator ( notice our poorest “ effort “ came immediately after knowing we’re going to play finals )
The players don’t mean to relax but it just happens in most elite environments. If it didn’t, then we’d never have upsets. I’m not saying thats why we lost but I am saying we are certainly capable of being much better than what we saw against the Swans, particularly elsewhere.
I think we will continue to be competitive against the best anytime we play on the G and why wouldn’t we because our game style revolves around that grounds dimensions.
We are going to learn a lot more about this group on the rebound and that’s something we haven’t seen for nearly three months now.
Bring it on.