The Wrap Up | Round 11 v Sydney

Written by Nathan Sepe



The same old story from the boys in navy blue, with the mental weakness yet again the killer in getting us over the line against the Swans, 15.10.100 to 11.12.78. The Swans did what top eight teams do best in closing out games strongly and playing four quarters of football. Where it mattered, most the Blues visibly seemed outdone and looked to have given up early into the fourth quarter. 

There is no question on whether there is talent within the list or not. The Baggers were able to match the Swans throughout the whole match; as per usual conceding red time goals, bringing the Swans closer than what it should have been with the dominance we carried for the first two quarters. With a poor quarter in the third, we were able to excuse it all considering we went in three points down. So as we sat in our living rooms for the most of us Melbournians in lockdown, we braced, hoping this was finally the breakthrough. Three quick goals in succession for the Swans and the game was over. The heads went down from the boys donning the navy blue jumper and the sense of pride seemed to have disappeared out of the window. Accepting mediocrity. 

The loss now sits the Baggers 4-7, a season that is finished in regards to finals. So where to now for the Blues? With one more game against the Eagles in Sydney before the bye, the Baggers need to regroup quickly and focus on improvement. In retrospect to the Adelaide Crows of last season, they were in a consistent struggle, with a game plan prominent, however poor execution. Whilst you can say our team has no relation to this Crows team, the idea is change, cultural change. The Crows found their rhythm late in the 2020 season and built on it, whereas we have the skills with no rhythm.  The bye will be a critical time for change, building a team cohesion where each knows each other’s roles inside and out. 

Statistical Overview 

The Swans beat the Blues in most areas statistically. When we look at the stand out areas, disposal efficiency stands out the most, with the Swans going at 78% disposal efficiency, six percent above their season average. On the other hand, the Baggers capitulated under the pressure, going at 66% disposal efficiency, four percent under average. However looking at the inside 50 efficiency, you are able to understand the Baggers dominance, with 52% inside 50 efficiency for the Baggers in comparison to the Swans 43%, much better ball use by the Blues going inside 50, however the Swans capitalised when it mattered. 

Hit outs are becoming a major issue for the side, with 14 more hit outs for the Baggers not making a significant difference come the end of the match. Whilst the Baggers had the fourteen more hit outs, only 32% were to advantage, a stat that seems to stay stagnant throughout this season without little improvement. Pittonet only had 26% hit outs to advantage and De Koning a little better 47% hit outs to advantage.  

The Swans completely dominated the Blues with their uncontested possessions, tallying 223 in comparison to the Baggers 158. Where this was evident on field was the Baggers lack of defensive transition that often left larger gaps open for the Swans to penetrate and find runners overlapping down the ground. The ease for the Swans to play their style highlighted the Blues inability to halt the runs of their opposition and pressure the opposition into switching their own game plan. 

A fundamental skill to our game in tackling was not on display for the Baggers, being out-pressured by the Swans, only tallying 53 tackles, 29 less than the Swans 82. For the Baggers this was below average; however, the average is still extremely low for the Blues at 52 per game average.  The pressure let the Baggers down significantly throughout the second half, with the Swans able to overlap and find easy hit up options deep in their forward line such as Heeney or Buddy. This lack of pressure was evident in the marks inside 50 with the Swans taking 14 marks inside 50, nearly four per quarter. 

The players who stood out for the Baggers included Cripps with 27 disposals, 18 of those contested possessions. Cripps also had 6 ground ball gets as well as 18 pressure acts around the ground, bringing real ferocity to the ball. Alongside Cripps, Harry played his role fantastically again kicking three goals, although should have been more with his inaccurate five behinds. 

What Went Wrong?

Transition Trouble – A problem that has stuck with this team throughout this year has been our ability to transition defensively in an efficient manner. The Swans were able to work the ball easily out of our forward 50 and transition down the ground without very little contested possession. The visual worry from the supporter perspective is a heap of confusion when having to focus on two things at once, this being the ball and their direct opposition. Our transition seems undisciplined going back with an overlap always catching us off guard. You could have counted on one hand the amount of times we stopped the Swans in transition down the ground and made them switch their play. Whilst you could have put a significant amount of blame on the players for the first part of the season, it is clearly a coaching issue now, with little communication or poor coaching methods the reason behind our rather clueless method of defensive transition. It is a major area of the game separating us from becoming a top side or staying down the bottom. 

Mental Madness – Obvious to the whole footballing community, culture is our problem. The side has unfortunately let us down all year in the crucial stages of big games against the top eight sides. The Baggers were able to match the Swans throughout the whole match and were able to override the Swans game plan for most of the first half, however got taken down a little in the third. Much like the Bulldogs, the game was in our hands but the mental anguish of the past became too much for the Baggers and the crumbling started almost instantly in the fourth. Kennedy kicked the first goal for the Swans early in the fourth and the body language immediately dropped, along with heads. Our pressure almost switched off and Swans players were left free all over the ground leaving easy forward 50 entries open. The players seemed down and out and had given in to another loss, accepting that they could not do it. So how does a team fix this? With a practically wasted season, changes have to be made come the season’s end. Personnel change within the inner sanctum of the club needs to change or the confidence and mentality of our 22 on game day will forever remain the same as a losing club.

The Baggers move on to another top eight side next week against the Eagles, a game that should be winnable on paper, but confidence says otherwise. But hey, prove us wrong?

Goals: McKay 3, Cripps 3, Betts 2, Silvagni, Williams, De Koning