Tweet
Swans make critics eat words
By Tim Morrissey
May 15, 2003
IT's still too early in the season to be dishing out the humble pie, but the Swans are happy to see those critics who predicted that Sydney would take the wooden spoon are starting to eat their own words.
"It does feel good to prove those people wrong," Swans captain Stuart Maxfield said.
"But it's certainly not something we strive for."
Coming off the back of three stunning wins, including the prize scalps of last year's grand finalists the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood, the Swans are suddenly sexy.
And they are finally gaining credibility in the eyes of the Melbourne critics who overwhelmingly and enthusiastically wrote off the Swans at the start of the AFL season.
"I think their assumptions were based on an absence of big-name players," said Swans standout tagger Jared Crouch.
"It's a Melbourne thing that you've got to have big-name players in your team to be successful.
"But footy is about 21 or 22 doing their job each week and they're the most successful sides."
Despite the standout performance of super roving ruckman Adam Goodes and the huge impact of flashy forward Michael O'Loughlin -- who has scored eight goals in his past two games -- the Swans are producing unlikely heroes at unlikely times.
Last Sunday it was Crouch who banged in a clutch goal from 55m with 10 minutes remaining in the final quarter against reigning premiers Brisbane, setting up a 20-point victory.
Crouch conceded yesterday he thought the Swans were ahead by two goals at the time instead of three points.
But the pint-sized, durable 25-year-old defender admitted he would not have had the guts to even attempt the massive kick if he had not felt empowered by Swans coach Paul Roos.
"I can't remember a lot about it. You get the ball, look around, think, 'I'm on 50, it's going to test me a little bit, but just have a go'," Crouch said. "Maybe it was part of the new Paul Roos coaching regime of just having a go. I did and the rest is history."
Despite the resurgence by the Swans that has propelled the club into finals contention, Maxfield says the focus is still firmly on rebuilding.
"As good as it was to beat Melbourne, Collingwood and Brisbane, if we lose to Geelong on Sunday we will have gone backwards," Maxfield said.
"We really do have to set ourselves up for another win.
"Making the finals isn't something we have discussed, not even in the last 48 hours.
"And it's probably something we won't discuss in the coming weeks, not to say that isn't what we want to achieve.
"In the back of every player's mind is they want to play finals footy. We do but it's just not something we want to discuss.
"You really can't get ahead of yourself."
By Tim Morrissey
May 15, 2003
IT's still too early in the season to be dishing out the humble pie, but the Swans are happy to see those critics who predicted that Sydney would take the wooden spoon are starting to eat their own words.
"It does feel good to prove those people wrong," Swans captain Stuart Maxfield said.
"But it's certainly not something we strive for."
Coming off the back of three stunning wins, including the prize scalps of last year's grand finalists the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood, the Swans are suddenly sexy.
And they are finally gaining credibility in the eyes of the Melbourne critics who overwhelmingly and enthusiastically wrote off the Swans at the start of the AFL season.
"I think their assumptions were based on an absence of big-name players," said Swans standout tagger Jared Crouch.
"It's a Melbourne thing that you've got to have big-name players in your team to be successful.
"But footy is about 21 or 22 doing their job each week and they're the most successful sides."
Despite the standout performance of super roving ruckman Adam Goodes and the huge impact of flashy forward Michael O'Loughlin -- who has scored eight goals in his past two games -- the Swans are producing unlikely heroes at unlikely times.
Last Sunday it was Crouch who banged in a clutch goal from 55m with 10 minutes remaining in the final quarter against reigning premiers Brisbane, setting up a 20-point victory.
Crouch conceded yesterday he thought the Swans were ahead by two goals at the time instead of three points.
But the pint-sized, durable 25-year-old defender admitted he would not have had the guts to even attempt the massive kick if he had not felt empowered by Swans coach Paul Roos.
"I can't remember a lot about it. You get the ball, look around, think, 'I'm on 50, it's going to test me a little bit, but just have a go'," Crouch said. "Maybe it was part of the new Paul Roos coaching regime of just having a go. I did and the rest is history."
Despite the resurgence by the Swans that has propelled the club into finals contention, Maxfield says the focus is still firmly on rebuilding.
"As good as it was to beat Melbourne, Collingwood and Brisbane, if we lose to Geelong on Sunday we will have gone backwards," Maxfield said.
"We really do have to set ourselves up for another win.
"Making the finals isn't something we have discussed, not even in the last 48 hours.
"And it's probably something we won't discuss in the coming weeks, not to say that isn't what we want to achieve.
"In the back of every player's mind is they want to play finals footy. We do but it's just not something we want to discuss.
"You really can't get ahead of yourself."
Comment