Good morning all, it's Tuesday and that means another SwansCast podcast for your enjoyment, on the back of another emphatic victory, this time at the expense of the hapless Dockers.
Saturday afternoon was another study in snoozing in the first quarter, with the Swans trademark "blitz" in full flight. They made a habit of smashing teams in the first quarter in the finals last year, and while they've struggled to break the ton since round 9, they did it so convincingly against Fremantle.
Ross Lyon said after the game that the Dockers didn't give up, they didn't meekly surrender and played the game out.
"In the third quarter we actually had more shots. I thought there was enough character that got shown. We just didn’t totally surrender, so that was important," he said.
He's got a point there. The third quarter was far from the best the Swans have produced all season, and even then, they still won the quarter with Fremantle kicking two late ones to peg the margin back from beyond 90 points.
Reflecting after the win, Longmire said that the way the boys ran the game out was pleasing, despite the drop-off in the third quarter.
"We dropped away a bit in the third term, but to the players’ credit they really rammed it home in the last quarter and finished off incredibly strongly," he said.
“We spoke at half time about keeping our focus on working through the defensive aspects of the game and keeping the team in the front of the mind.
“When you have a significant win and you’re able to keep that pressure on the opposition to the point where you can out-tackle them, it's a great sign."
The stats in the end told one part of the story - Fremantle had their chances, and the Swans always give their opponents chances. But the way they brought the ball forward and hacked it inside 50, they were never going to have good chances, just dumb luck, like Geelong had in the first half last week.
But for all the recent criticism Franklin endured, he shut his critics up with a scintillating game, quite frankly absurd performance that hasn't receive the appreciation it deserved, until today.
Why the AFL had to start a poll on Twitter to ask fans whether Jenkins or Franklin should be in the team of the week beggars belief. I don't want to go overboard, or criticise people in their jobs, but if you're asking that question, you're living under a rock.
It was a freakish display of absurd magnitude, that simply smoked his opposition and left all in his wake. He had better numbers than most midfielders, and better numbers than most forwards, all in the same game.
We had to give him a 10 in the player ratings, it was the best performance he's had for quite some time, and still yet, didn't even kick a massive bag.
Don't know who gets BOG, but I'd wager Buddy gets the 3 votes for this match, but it really is a toss-up. Blistering first half with 4 goals. Finished with 24 disposals, 12 contested, 8 marks, 3 contested, 4 clearances, 3 tackles, 10 inside 50s and a quite franklin ridiculous 13 scoring involvements and 567 metres gained!
His first half was so good, it was the 2nd best first half performance of any player since 2010 when the AFL started recording player ratings, bested only by Steve Johnson in round 19, 2011.
But still, barely gets a mention, and Hamling gets credit for keeping him goalless after half time, despite Franklin moving higher up the field and killing it in the midfield.
The cheering and bandwagon support against the Swans in the commentary team is infuriating, and that's another topic for another time.
In other AFL related news, there's the comical situation involving Brad Hardie, Nathan Buckley and Ross Lyon, all to do with a "suggestion", a "rumour" that Ross's management sought out Collingwood for the coaching position, which has been categorically slammed by both senior coaches.
Even McGuire weighed in on the subject on radio.
“That is just made up,” McGuire said.
“Has Ross Lyon spoken to Collingwood about wanting to be the coach of Collingwood or has Collingwood spoken to Ross Lyon? Definitely, unequivocally no.”
It's just another instance of zero accountability in the media for journalists, who stir the pot, make things up, start rumours, just so they can get their headline soundbites and generate discussion.
I loved Buckley's reply, because I've been waiting for someone to get stuck into the media ever since Ross Lyon ripped Shane McInnes to shreds, for a bizarre and inappropriate line of questioning.
“You guys have to have a good look at yourself — and your constituents,” Buckley said.
“No, no. The key question is how can you allow someone to come up with absolute fabrications," Buckley said when asked if he would speak with Lyon.
“Who is in your industry? That is the key question. That question (of needing to speak with Lyon) would not be there if you answer the first question (on Hardie’s role in the media).
“You do it … or wait for Gil to start taking accreditations away. That would be handy, wouldn’t it?”
Ross's reply was even more emphatic. Classic Ross, love it.
“I am bitterly disappointed that such so called journalism even sees the light of day.
“I have contacted Brad Hardie directly and voiced my disgust at his comments. They are totally without foundation and not based on fact in any way, shape or form.
“Such an erroneous and reckless claim should be exposed for what it is — a complete fabrication and a falsehood. It is also important for our members and supporters to know that I couldn’t be more be committed to what we are trying to achieve as a club at Fremantle.
“I can assure our members and supporters that I am totally focused on returning the club to sustained finals success.”
Even more laughable was Hardie's retraction of what was a blatant lie and rumour mongering attempt, basically killing off any reputation he had as an aspiring journalist.
"I don't take too kindly to Bucks (Nathan Buckley) questioning my integrity and my due diligence.
"You don't survive in this industry unless you have great knowledge and you have great contacts and you trust those contacts implicitly, and I do on this.
"I'll stick by my story."
When Asked if there was any chance Lyon might coach Collingwood next season Hardie said:
"No, not a chance in the world now."
What an idiot.
Ross Lyon at his best
In this weeks episode, I'm joined by Matt Janssen from Twitter and we discuss the weekend's results, the terrific Swans win, have a bit of a chuckle at Richmond's expense and look at the road ahead.
As always, it's another great episode, so kick back, enjoy a coffee and listen to us discuss the Swans.
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