Inside Football on 'why we'll slide'

[GB85]

Law of probabilities would say when you finish in the highest possible position the chances are extremely great that you are going to slide. Its just a matter of how far you slide.
One thing we have on our side is heart. Carlton and Collingwood are two teams who might have pride in their jumper but you could not say they have the heart that the players at our club have and this will keep us from slipping too far.

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by Sanecow
Captain and #2 ruckman. Perfectly fair.

Very very weak argument... (most particularly on the captain comparison).

[Sanecow]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Very very weak argument... (most particularly on the captain comparison).

Maxfield had Grand Final experience, a better 2004 than Cousins and 50 games more experience. A massive loss which RWO didn't feel because they were too busy putting the boot into Maxfield early this year.

[Tuesday]

Originally posted by TheHood
Worst footy mag EVER!

I happen to like it.

There's something I like about the paper and their anti-Swans sentiments published each week (barring the sections Jim Main writes). They are entitled to their opinions, and I like reading them, content in the knowledge that they generally have no clue about us. Freelancer Tom Wald being the exception, but he strictly reports and refrains from commenting.

It's totally Melbourne-centric and it fuels the rivalry within. You just have to take it all with a grain of salt and learn how to deal with someone sprouting criticisms of your team. By distancing yourself, it actually tends to be quite funny.

[BayesysLeftBoot]

Originally posted by Tuesday
I happen to like it.

There's something I like about the paper and their anti-Swans senitments published each week (barring the sections Jim Main writes). They are entitled to their opinions, and I like reading them, content in the knowledge that they generally have no clue about us. Freelancer Tom Wald being the exception, but he strickly reports and refrains from commenting.

It's totally Melbourne-centric and it fuels the rivalry within. You just have to take it all with a grain of salt and learn how to deal with someone sprouting criticisms of your team. By distancing yourself, it actually tends to be quite funny.

Well said, the biased opinions of the so-called experts who are no more than dinasours from the VFL era only serve to make it an even more entertaining read.

[punter257]

i love it when the football world doesnt rate us

[SimonH]

Number of matches lost to injury, or even numbers lost by 'automatic selection' players, doesn't tell the story.

If Crouch, Mathews and JBolt were to all miss all of next year to injury (touch wood they won't), we'd hurt, but we'd have a decent chance of covering them. We could go all the way without 'em if Moore, Bevan, Malceski, McVeigh all stepped up and had good years. But wipe out Leo Barry, BBBH and Jolly for a large swathe of the year? Making the 8 would be about all we could hope for. Grundy might come on quickly, Vogels could continue his 2005 form and both Doyle and Chambers could play to the better end of expectations, and we'd still be a significantly weaker side.

Therefore, to say that Sydney's run with injuries in 2005 is unsustainable is wrong-- at worst, there are only 5 or so players whose absence will really hurt us even if their replacements play to the best of their ability. I wouldn't want to hazard a bet about odds, but it's entirely possible that they'll all either play every game, or only miss a few games and be available for the finals.

Which is why the current news re the Dogs is so devastating for them: I know they would have only been outsiders to win the flag this year anyway, but with a guy knocked out for the year who's both their #1 ruckman and a crucial on-field leader (in a relatively young and short side), in one fell swoop it now looks beyond them.

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by SimonH
Number of matches lost to injury, or even numbers lost by 'automatic selection' players, doesn't tell the story.

Of course not, but that was apparent by the list - only a few players, not many games, not so critical, and generally not all at the same time.

at worst, there are only 5 or so players whose absence will really hurt us even if their replacements play to the best of their ability.

That's pretty much the case with most sides though.

[Piobaireachd]

Re: Re: Inside Football on 'why we'll slide'

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Not an unreasonable view.

for any team to win a premiership they need a reasonable run of injuries. That's the norm. It's the freakish teams that can win a Premiership injury riddled. so I say WHOGAF what IF says.

[Eala ?ireann]

I'd be surprised if we won again this year, but obviously I'm hoping we can. It took super-human feats of footy heroism and more than a pinch of good luck in 2005 - I don't know how often you can do that.

[giant]

Quite rite, unpronounceable. To say that the Swans might struggle coz they might have more injuries than this year is trite & valueless insight. Every side in the competition is susceptible to losing a number of its key players. At least with the Swans there is good evdence to suggest our medical team have a better chance of getting our players out on the park that some other teams.

[cruiser]

Originally posted by BayesysLeftBoot
the biased opinions of so-called experts who are no more than dinosaurs from the VFL era

So true!

[Go Swannies]

I think Stewie did more to create the spirit required for a Premiership team than Cousins has ever shown. But Cousins does have better underworld contacts.

And we have a number of so-called mediocre players who are deservedly Premiership players. Buchanan and LRT would now get a start in ANY team. Fossie and Jude - and Benny - are now elite players. Brett Kirk has gone from ordinary hard worker to Premiership team powerhouse. Jolly is now one of the better ruckmen in the league - and better than the bloke who held him out at the Dees. Crouch showed he is close to a match for Judd. Craig Bolton is both good and reliable. Leo Barry. God only know what Baz will be able to do when he can see the ball! He has to be favourite for the Coleman in 2006.

So, far from playing to the max, a whole bunch of players are just reaching their potential. Yes, we need a good run with injuries but Swans supporters are going to have to adapt to the fact that we currently have one of the best teams in the competition. We should be top 4 in 2006 and from there anything can happen.

[Nico]

I happen to think that we can improve in 2006 for the following reasons.

1. They elevated 3 rookies who can play. I expect Grundy and Vogels to show genuine improvement and Shaw maybe a little longer. But can play.
2. Buchanan was a remarkable success story in 2005. He still has a lot of improvement in him.
3. Hall can now see.
4. Dempster is becoming a very good player.
5. The 2 Boltons are playing at their peaks with Jude significantly improving his disposal in the second half of 2005. No reason to believe they will drop off.
6. Jolly is relatively inexperienced for a ruckman. Must be improvement in him.
7. Fosdike may very well have realised that he can play.
8. Goodes was coming off a very bad injury. Why cant he go to his Brownlow level next year.
9. Kennelly - believe it or not he is still improving.
10. LRT - could be something special.
11. Malceski - has the goods.
12. We all talk about Moore. Has a lot of talent. After his second pre season, look out.
13. O'Keefe - He is about to peak in 2006. Ready to explode.
14. Barry, Kirk, Ablett, Crouch, Davis - all talented and all in the peak years of their careers. Doubt any of these will go backwards in 2006.
15. The coach has another year under his belt and has retained his coaching staff = stability.

[Doctor]

I agree with Nico. The only main issue of concern for me is how Paul Chambers/Stephen Doyle go as back-up ruckmen to Darren Jolly. One of the reasons for our success late in the season was the relentless pressure the Jolly/Ball combo put on opposition clubs who didn't have the one-two punch that we did in the ruck. If the 06 support players do their job there's no reason we shouldn't be high up the ladder once again.

The other factors are in our favour IMO. WE have stability in the front office, the coaching staff and the playing roster; we have lost only one genuine first team player from 2005; the players will have gained immesurable confidence from winning the Premiership, despite other clubs wanting to aim up when the play us this year I still see it as a positive, especially at home; most players are not past their best; we'll have a much bigger and more vocal supporter base this year in both Sydney AND Melbourne; the improvement in some of our squad late in the season (eg Fosdike & Schneider) should continue into 06.


To win the flag you need that undefinable combination of all the right things happening at the right time but we should be able to put ourselves in the position of being one of the teams ready to take advantage of that should it fall our way come next September.