Only saw the last quarter when he often got it on the flank and snapped forward, so nothing particularly special. Others should have more insight.
I didnt see any of the game, but noted from the AFL website stats that Gerreyn had 17 disposals with 7 marks.
Could someone who saw the game please comment on what position he played and how you viewed his performance?
At one stage they kicked the first 8 goals and lead by 50 points, end result of 23 points not so bad.
3 Likes
Played as a tall defender against a 16 year old. He was decent, but it’s a pretty big caveat.
2 Likes
Worth mentioning said opponent was Aidan McCartney, son of Jason but also a swans academy player. I’m sure north supporters would be totally fine with losing another father son player to the swans.
3 Likes
Swans 14 AFL - Ess 7 AFL players
Vigo - after a slow first quarter found his mojo and got the chocolates against Green - same size, same draft. Green 2023 #16 - Vigo 2023 rookie, so I count that as a big win.
Unwin- Played in the guts, a slow start, not strong enough yet to tackle. But by the second half he found confidence, has a lot of tricks and our most influential player. Probably our best overall.
Davey - another great game down back, some great anticipation and interceptions, also in our best. We have very few list spots but would love to keep him - his body is just starting to get chunky enough to play against men.
Johnson - a tad off the pace but still a good game
Gerreyn - played down back and in his second game in this position has already passed Hoare. He made a few blunders but took seven marks and his skills by foot make him an interesting package. One of our best.
El-Hawli - a good game like Johnson but would like to see him impose himself on situations more.
ADW - another one showing glimpses. Strong in the contest but could get to more.
apart from the first quarter, a decent showing from a depleted side in slippery conditions.
21 Likes
Sounds like an ok game by Unwin. Could we get the full house of debutantes from last year’s draft with with him and Gerreyn.
Next week is a write off v Geelong but surely v St Kilda and v Carlton there’s a great opportunity to debut Unwin and Gerryn against sh-t opposition.
2 Likes
Johnson: Rarely misses by foot but a transfer across goal missed El-Hawli and the turnover led to the Swans’ first goal. In the third quarter he also missed Gerreyn as a target coming out of defence. He copped a whack in the face when he laid a strong tackle in the first quarter—Went off with a cut lip. In the third quarter he went back with the flight and got a hit to the kidneys or thereabouts. He is a competitor. I think this bloke is a 200-gamer. For mine, in terms of career, he will be second only to Kako of all the debutants from the year—by virtue of his position and style, he will be a more consistent player too. He is composed, moves well, and most often kicks beautifully. He worked hard and got a lot of it in the back half today.
Davey: Busy with ground balls in defence in the first quarter. Pushed forward late in the opening quarter to win a shot at goal—nice balance and balk to get clear for the shot on goal, but he missed. He ran hard and covered a lot of ground—coming out of defence with the ball or moving up to force interceptions. A run-down tackle in the last quarter (briefly) prevented a Swan shot on goal. Today he was quite good, but this game won’t get him into the seniors. The back-half experience is good for him, but unfortunately I suspect it is too little, too late.
Gerreyn: Was somehow granted a mark that came off Hoare’s hands deep in defence in the first quarter. Gerreyn’s kick was a turn-over that resulted in a Swans’ goal. Gerreyn and Hoare shared the duties on Francis early—a good learning experience for Gerreyn because Francis was firing. Gerreyn took an intercept mark and got a fifty-metre free in the final quarter. His set shot for goal was awful, but he is usually a reliable kick—the rain didn’t help in this instance. He moves really well, but he was wrong footed by a Swan running through the middle a minute or two later. As I have said before, I think this bloke will be an AFL 150+ gamer—there is a lot to learn, but so much to work with.
Unwin: Started in the middle and gave a handpass to O’Neill for the opening clearance. He then kicked the Bombers’ first goal with a long set shot in the second quarter. As well as winning the ball and using it cleverly, he had four tackles in the first half. It was the best half he has played this year and, for mine, his best game of the season. He was out-bodied at clearances on occasions—the Swans were a stronger, harder unit, but he was busy and looked lively around the centre. He played in the middle all day, but pushed forward to be dangerous there too, as was the case with a long snap in the last quarter than narrowly missed.
El-Hawli: Had the Bombers’ first two inside 50s. If it were not for him, I could have set up a picnic in our goal square for most of the first quarter (7 goals to none at quarter time and that cost us the game in the end). He covered a lot of ground running up and down the wings, working forward and back (he had 7 kicks in the first quarter). His first half was much better than his second half, where he had little impact. He can make VFL football look easy though. He marks well, moves well, and usually hits his targets. He also tackles. I hope he is getting clear direction as to what he needs to improve because at VFL level he usually looks an AFL player.
Day-Wicks: Got an early possession but it resulted in a turnover. Shortly thereafter he dropped a mark and his pressured possession was another turnover. His next kick came from a clever one-handed mark, but his kick into the middle was only saved from being another turnover by El-Hawli’s strong mark—hardly an auspicious start to the game for Day-Wicks. In the third quarter El-Hawli hit him inside 50. The Day-Wicks set shot on goal swung away late. A bit of class from Unwin prevented another turn-over in the third quarter. Day-Wicks doesn’t mind biting a bit off, but his kicking needs some work. He was really strong in heavy traffic at half forward in the final term and gave an impressive second effort moments later. I quite rate this bloke given what I saw from him earlier in the year, but he is down on confidence and form in the past month or so. I’ve also said before that I think he must be playing sore—he moved better than this earlier in the season. Overall, it was a game in which he made several mistakes, but he worked hard.
Visentini: Was imposing at the ruck contests. Often won the hit-outs easily over shorter opponents and his taps to Hately and co. were sometimes excellent. He tackles (and seems to want to tackle) as much and as well as any young big man going around.
Foley: Involved in a lot of the action in the back half early on, however, he faded out badly in the second half. He copped a heavy knock and I suspect he finished on the bench. He moves beautifully. He uses it well. I’d love to see him on an AFL list because an elite system could really make a player of him. It was Aaron Francis who crunched him at centre half back in the last quarter.
Hoare: Had his hands full with Francis early but he continued to go for his marks. In the second quarter he got a goal-line finger to a Swans’ set shot which would otherwise have been a goal. Got some ball in the third quarter but against the wind and in the wet his kicking was poor. He came through and raised an elbow late in the third quarter. He might be lucky it hit nothing but wind (so might his opponent). As I have said before, he backs his intercept marking, so he can be loose at times as a defender, but he can also takes some strong marks.
Nyko: With O’Neill spending more time in the middle this week and Unwin in there too, Nyko was pushed to the periphery. Unfortunately, he copped an injury and sat out the second half. Unfortunately, that probably ends any small chance he had of getting on a list in November.
McKay: Played further up the ground this week, where he used his dash to good effect. Just as when he plays in defence, he loved to be involved in the heavy stuff.
Uerata: Has some pace and skill to go with his head-over-the-ball approach. A heavy bump (from his light frame) cleared a path for the Bombers and it resulted in a third-quarter goal to Leedham. He is showing lots of good signs and seems more comfortable and more dangerous with each game.
Sellers: Didn’t see it for most of the first quarter because he was forward and the ball wasn’t. Ditto for Busuttil, Leedham, Eckersley, and co.. Sellers pushed up the field to win a handball as his only possession for the first quarter. Foley hit him with a beautiful pass early in the second quarter, so Sellers got his first kick then. He didn’t get a lot of it and, as with last week, his kicking mostly let him down. Despite that, he kicked a long set shot goal in the rain in the last quarter. A moment later, he took a two-bite mark straight out from goal and converted again—a credit to him to have such an impact on the scoreboard at the end of what was a mostly quiet game.
Busuttil: The ball was not getting near him in the forward line in the first quarter, so he drifted up the ground and laid a strong tackle to get the body warm. He then got involved in everything by staying further up the ground. Converted a set shot for a second quarter goal. Pushed and shoved and wrestled with Taylor Adams in the centre square for a lot of the second half. He is a tough nut who competes hard.
Leedham: Think a taller, less mobile Ryan O’Connor (who, like Aaron Francis, left Essendon to go to Sydney) and you can picture Leedham. He used his massive frame to clear space for himself and then kick a goal from the goal square early in the second quarter. Took his turn in the ruck, where he competed hard. He is a willing competitor and late in the third quarter he kicked our first goal (and one of only two) against the wind.
Brodie: Played forward for a change. His first kick was a mid-second quarter left foot snap that missed. Later in the quarter he missed a chance running toward goal but late in that same quarter he kicked a long running goal—he was certainly creating opportunities and making a fist of his forward stint. He decided that push-in-the-back was not a rule in the final quarter, gave his opponent a massive shove, and then retrieved the loose ball to run in and kick his second goal. Luckily, the umpires agreed that in-the-back is irrelevant. Moments later, he won a free from a one-on-one marking tussle and kicked for goal in pouring rain, but unfortunately hooked it left. The move forward worked well—he took the spot of the suspended Scott and did it well. The change was somewhat forced, but he made the most of it and he might be better as an exciting hard-working small forward than he is as a tough nut reliable defender.
O’Neill: Playing more in the middle again after several weeks playing off half back. I think this is generally better for him and for the team because he gets a lot of the ball and he hurts the opposition more when he is forward of the back half. Got a fair share of the ball again but, considering Visentini won the ruck, the Swans took a lot of clean ball out of the middle.
Hately: Two strong first quarter tackles showed his intent after being relatively quiet last week. He had six clearances and five tackles by half time. In the second half he added a goal as he continued to get the ball and also provide tackling pressure. It was a good return to the “normal” reliable Hately we have come to expect. He led the tackles and was second only to Taylor Adams for clearances on the day.
Monteath: Played in the back half. Strong tackle held up Aaron Francis, who is much heavier than him. In every other game he has been ruck-forward, so the backline was a learning experience for him, but he acquitted himself well. He took an awkward, but strong, intercept mark in the last quarter that pushed us forward for another (missed) shot at goal. He is going to be on an AFL list next year and is going to be a very good player six or seven years from now.
Gallagher: Quiet all day after just getting back into the team. He got little of it, but I never doubt his courage or willingness.
Taha: Won a second quarter free and kicked for goal but missed everything. After a quiet first half he got involved in the third quarter and got several possessions in rapid succession.
Iacovone: Saw little of it in the first half. Took a nice mark on the outer wing in the third quarter but then kicked it out on the full. Overall, it was a quiet game.
Eckersley: Strong mark in the second quarter resulted in a missed set-shot for goal. Shortly thereafter he hit Busuttil with a pass inside 50 and it resulted in a goal. He usually manages to goal and that was the case again with a nice set shot goal in the final term.
Aaron Francis: Of course, no longer a Bomber, but interesting to watch him nonetheless. The Swans had an undersized forward line, with Francis as the biggest target. Hoare missed a big swing at a spoil and Francis doubled back, fumbled the ground ball, but eventually picked it up to dribble through a first quarter goal. He then outmuscled Hoare in a one-on-one marking contest moments later, took the mark, and kicked truly for his second goal. He kicked a third goal from a set-shot in the third quarter. He also missed some shots on goal, so he could have had a very big day. He spent time at both ends of the ground. He also worked in the ruck and covered a lot of ground. He was strong in the air and tackled well. He was very impressive. He could well be back in the seniors next week. I have watched a lot of Francis and, although this was only at VFL level, it was certainly one of the best games I have seen him play in terms of an overall effort—in the air, on the ground, forward and back, tackling and bumping. He was very good, and good luck to him.
32 Likes
My best for the day:
Hately, Unwin, Busuttil, Gerreyn, Brodie
5 Likes
Unwin is shaping up to get a game this week in the AFL.
Shush. No changes until we have Rodan!
1 Like
Great write up. Missed the game, so it’s much appreciated 
3 Likes