Scoring 100 points a must if Swans want chance at finalsFriday, August 21, 2015 - 11:31 AM - by Chris Pike

THE WAFL finals start early this Saturday at Steel Blue Oval and Swan Districts coach Greg Harding has put it on his team to score 100 points if they want to beat Claremont and keep their 2015 hopes alive.

The only way Swan Districts can now play finals in 2015 is by beating Claremont at Steel Blue Oval this Saturday and then hoping the Tigers go on to lose to the second place West Perth in the last round at HBF Arena.

With Claremont having a superior percentage, the only way Swans could still make finals if the Tigers beat West Perth is if the black-and-whites hammer Claremont to gain a greater percentage.

But that is the one area that Harding believes Swans need to improve in given they haven't been able to put big scores on the board throughout the season which has led to a host of close games, and them not having the percentage they might have hoped.

While Swans possess Tim Geappen, Ricky Cary, Matthew Jukes, Matt Rogers and at times Tony Notte, Dylan Nelson, Ryan Davis and Todd Banfield in the forward-line, big scores haven't been the order of the day in recent times for the black-and-whites.

Harding now wants Swans to improve their ball movement, hit more targets and put some score on the board if they want to beat Claremont on Saturday and keep their season alive.

"The one stat that shows up the most is that we've kicked more than 80 points only three times in the last 12 outings and it's very, very hard at any level of footy to win games when you just can't put scoreboard pressure on the opposition," Harding said on 91.3 SportFM.

"That will be the aim this week, we need to kick 100 points to give ourselves a chance to win because when the small errors come with ball use or defensive breakdowns, it puts us under enormous pressure on the scoreboard because we never get separation and that's why we've been involved in so many close games."

Claremont remains the only team that Swan Districts is yet to beat this season and Harding knows that Swans need to try and limit the influence of the Tigers talls including Mark Seaby, Mitch Andrews, Beau Maister, Kepler Bradley, Haydn Busher and Anton Hamp.

"No doubt they've got the best tall man brigade in the competition which poses a different problem for each and every WAFL team that comes up against them. Darcy Cameron has been in fantastic form all year, but we expect Kepler Bradley to come back in to play so we might see those two and Mitch Andrews all in the team," he said.

"With all that, Mark Seaby has been playing forward so they've got five or six of the best ruckmen/forwards in the competition and we've battled with that in our two games already this season.

"Last time we played them and we thought we had a really good day, but then late Kepler and Maister really did get away from us, and Seaby didn’t play and Andrews was one of the better players on the ground.

"Their talls pose a massive threat so we go into the game thinking we wouldn’t mind a bit of rain or wind to curtail their talls, and they have a good mix around those talls as well. Richardson and Bradshaw are two of the best small forwards in the competition and they've got Murphy, Yeo, Neates, Lim and Swift in the midfield so they are a really good football team."

One player who will again have a big say in Swans' chances on Saturday against Claremont and in the finals if they make it is Ryan Davis.

Davis has now played 134 games for the black-and-whites including the 2010 premiership, but he has continued to get better just about every season and now he's in the middle of a remarkable 2015 campaign.

That has already seen him claim the State game Simpson Medal and there's every chance he'll had a Sandover Medal to that as well, but Harding has marvelled at his ability to perhaps become the best attacking and defensive pressure player in the competition now that he's a permanent midfielder.

"Ryan has been such a fantastic player for us over a long period of time, but he's probably more known for his offensive play and his bustling work forward of centre, and his ability to come up with goal assists and goal scoring efforts," he said.

"But this year the thing that has defined his game is that he's gone to a new level with his efforts for the team and club. He is showing amazing leadership week in, week out. He probably hasn’t put up the massive numbers in games like he did last year where he had games of 36 touches and three goals, but he's been more influential to our success this year than he's ever been.

"When he's at his absolute best with ball in hand, I don’t think there's a better player in the competition. And when he really gets his teeth into a contest, there's no better player in the competition with his ability to will himself into the contest to make sure you don’t lose. We've seen that so many times the last two years when we've needed genuine strength and leadership to stand up."

Another veteran and 2010 premiership player who will have a big say in Swan Districts' fortunes is Justin Simpson whose form the past three weeks since returning from a thumb injury has been outstanding in the back-line.

The 27-year-old will now play game No. 149 for Swans this Saturday against Claremont and it could be a fitting way for him to reach 150 if he gets there in the finals to earn life membership at Swan Districts.

"It's quite incredible really with the way Simmo can perform for us. In terms of endurance athletes, he's not the worst but he's certainly not the best and he is a big, strong boy so he's not really built for running," Harding said.

"To be out for the length of time that he was he had barely done any training, but he just said that was playing in that Claremont game. There was no doubt in his mind that he could get through, he was adamant that he wanted to play and I thought he would have punched me at one stage if I didn’t play him.

"We chucked him in and he was fantastic, and then he has continued on the last couple of weeks. He is the heart and soul of our footy club, he's a local High Wycombe boy and whole zone loves him, his teammates love him, the coaches love him and I think he has the respect of the whole competition."