Reserve player ratings: Swans vs Suns NEAFL Preliminary Final, September 2nd 2017

The Swans NEAFL team on Saturday put the Suns' reserve team to the sword, with an emphatic 68-point victory that threatened to well and truly blow out.

A superb first-half was the difference between the two teams, with the Swans extending the lead to an even 100-points before the final break.

With the game well and truly won, the Swans put the cue in the rack while the Suns racked up 6-goals-to-1 in the last quarter, bringing the margin within 12 goals.

With most of the list having played AFL football, a good performance was expected, and most delivered with the best first-half of the season from the NEAFL team.

B: S. Murray, J. Maibaum, A. Aliir
HB: C. O’Riordan, J. Laidler, H. Marsh
C: D. Robinson, H. Cunningham, B. Jack
HF: T. Leonardis, S. Edwards, S. Fisher
F: J. Rose, M. Talia, O. Florent
Fol: S. Naismith, J. Dawson, J. Foote
Int: B. Ronke, A. Johnson, T. Pink, J. Osborne, S. Wicks

1: James Rose
8
Superb when he has the ball, or when the team is attacking. Finished with 4 goals, 23 disposals and 9 marks. Really poor defensively though.
2: Alex Johnson
6.5
Hurt his shoulder in the 1st quarter and played out the match. Did OK overall, finished with 12 disposals.
6: Jordan Foote
8
Really good in the midfield at times, disposal crisp and on point. Finished with 21 disposals and 4 clearances
7: Harry Cunningham
8.5
Really good first half, kicked a goal in the first quarter out of midair, finished with 2 and generally looked threatening. Finished with 24 disposals, 6 tackles and 7 clearances, highest rated Swan on the ground.
11: Jeremy Laidler
8
Hard to knock this guy, he's been a great leader in the NEAFL and his first half was superb.
13: Oliver Florent
7
Still developing and playing off the half-back line, his influence was tempered somewhat.
19: Shaun Edwards (R)
8.5
Ripping first half, was dynamic and looked threatening whenever he went near the ball. Shocked if this guy doesn't get a new contract, given he's played virtually every position this season, and done it well.
21: Jack Maibaum
7
Another solid game from the young full back. Looks like a great future Heath Grundy-prospect.
25: Ben Ronke (R)
6.5
Had his moments, did some OK things, kicked a goal in the 2nd and finished with 10 disposals.
27: Dan Robinson
8.5
Great first half and lead the way for the Swans all day, finished with 28 disposals, 7 clearances and a goal.
30: Tyrone Leonardis
6.5
Wasn't great, wasn't poor, just on the periphery for much of the game, still has a way to go.
31: Harry Marsh
8.5
Along with Laidler, completely shut down the Suns for the first two & half quarters. Outstanding defending, and his rebounding was a delight to behold.
32: Michael Talia
7
The commentators and tweeters were certainly raging early about his performance, and the Swans were going to him regularly enough, and he did enough to bring the ball to ground. As the match wore on his influence waned to the points where he was a passenger for most of the 2nd half, despite their dominance.
33: Brandon Jack
7.5
Finished with 25 disposals and 7 clearances, and had a decent game. I hope he picks it up in the grand final though, he really needs to.
34: Jordan Dawson
7.5
Not quite the dominating game we're used to seeing from young Dawson, but still played well. Finished with 2 goals, including a tasty set show from the boundary, and 22 disposals.
35: Sam Naismith
8
40 hit outs in his first match for over a month, set up a number of scoring opportunities with his tap work and looked sharp around the contests. Will be better for the hit out.
36: Aliir Aliir
7
Had some of that trade mark dash out of defence, then followed it up with either terrible decision making, or just bad skill execution. Overall, decent game, but needs to step it up if he wants to play senior finals.
38: Colin O'Riordan (R)
7
Not bad from the Irishman, not bad at all. 16 disposals, 7 marks.
45: Sam Fisher (R)
8
2 goals in the 2nd quarter, looked good between the arcs, finished with 23 disposals, 7 clearances, 3 inside 50s and 2 rebound 50s.
46: Sam Murray (R)
7.5
He's got a bright future, showed some characteristic dash and bravery at times, setting up a goal with a ridiculous shimmy in the third quarter. But where there's brilliance, there's a bit of coal, but certainly bridging the gap between his best and worst.
47: Toby Pink (R)
6.5
Did OK, finished with a goal from 9 disposals, 6 tackles and spent a bit of time in the ruck relieving Sam Naismith. Didn't look like he wanted to be there, and certainly didn't win a hit out. Has to do better against the Lions.

Bonus ratings:
Jarrod Osborne (Academy): 4.5/10, the step-up in opposition looked a little bit too much for the 18-year-old, who struggled to find his way into the match, despite the Swans' dominance

Sam Wicks (Academy): 7/10, played a pretty good game, finished with 13 disposals, 4 tackles, 2 inside 50s and a superb goal in the 3rd quarter that had everyone standing on their feet.

https://twitter.com/theswansblog/status/903816644778012672

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Justin Mitchell

Justin is a passionate AFL and Sydney Swans supporter, and football blogger since 2016. All articles are of his own opinion. You can reach him by twitter and Facebook at @theswansblog

Melbourne, Australia https://theswansblog.com

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