Good evening everyone, it's Thursday night and that means it's time for another instalment of your favourite Swans preview show, the SwansCast Extra!
The team announcement was made at 6.25pm tonight, certainly to a mixed reception, a joyous and confused one you could say, with Tom McCartin making his debut this weekend against the Hawks. He's been killing it in the NEAFL and it was a matter of time before he made his debut.
The other change that's baffled a few punters and fans is Robinson coming in for Fox. Given Fox has displayed great skills and ability, and a clean pair of hands, dropping him for the Hawks match for Dan Robinson has raised a few eyebrows.
Robinson coming in shouldn't be surprising when you look at his NEAFL form. Perhaps the Geelong game was an outlier, but AFL form over his career suggests that he's really not cut out for for level. The last time he played against the Hawks, he came in at the last minute as an emergency and didn't play very well.
He still has time and opportunities on his side. He hasn't been ostracised in his career, certainly not maligned. Since he doesn't have the runs on the board and isn't an unlikeable player, but doesn't have an awful lot going for him either. He can play, he can find the ball and he can do a lot with it, but for one reason or another, he simply hasn't been able to do it at AFL level.
Steve touched on it in the cast and posed a question, whether or not he's still mentally affected by shoulder injury. He's certainly not the first and won't be the last to deal with such injuries and have to overcome his mental demons to return to his best.
As far as games go this weekend, this is as close to a 50-50 game there is. Both sides stack up side-by-side in most statistical categories, with the Swans nudging the Hawks in clearances, but the reverse in tackles.
Will Langford and Ricky Henderson are good ins for the Hawks, while the Swans have decided to stick with youth and inexperience. It's going to be a great test for the young Swans, who've certainly looked to play a style and brand of football that could function better on larger grounds, like the Tigers at the MCG.
It's just Round 8, there's a long way to go to finals, but it's worth asking. In any case, I'm joined by Steven Park in this weeks' episode. We preview the Swans match against the Hawks, chat about Hannebery and Franklin and where they're at, what we're looking forward to, match-ups, key points, team changes, give our predictions and the weekend forecast.
It’s another great episode, so give it a listen, send us feedback, and if you love it, chuck us a review on Facebook or Whooskaa, our podcast platform.
Enjoy the week and the episode! As always, hit us up on social media using the tag @theswansblog, or the hash tag #SwansCast and #SwansCastExtra.
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