2006 Burning Questions Answered?

[FredFlintstone]

http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=244564

Some predictions here are right but others i hope are clearly wrong(1st one especially)!

[hammo]

None of the "experts" tipped us to win the flag in 2005 so who cares if they tip us this again this year.

I'd be happy to fly under the radar again.

And just on the comment on the lock-down style, who's to say we won't be far more attacking in their style this year now that there is plenty of confidence and self-belief at the club.

[cruiser]

But it will be tougher for the Swans to play their lock-down style of football this year following the rule changes bought in by the AFL to keep the ball moving

I must have been down the beach when the rule changes were announced. Can anyone enlighten or link me please?

Applying his reasoning as to why Adelaide may go 'all the way' in 2006 would surely also apply to Sydney, who he thinks will just make up numbers in the finals. Whatever. I like Sydney being underdogs.

It's still one of football's greatest mysteries how the Eagles ended up empty-handed last year - when they lost both the pre-season and AFL grand finals - despite winning 22 of 29 matches for the season, supplying the Brownlow Medalist (Ben Cousins), the Brownlow Medal runner-up (Daniel Kerr) and the Norm Smith Medalist (Chris Judd).

No mystery to us.

[Pommie Swannie]

Originally posted by hammo
None of the "experts" tipped us to win the flag in 2005 so who cares if they tip us this again this year.

I'd be happy to fly under the radar again.

And just on the comment on the lock-down style, who's to say we won't be far more attacking in their style this year now that there is plenty of confidence and self-belief at the club.

I think the comment on the Swans' 'lock-down style' is a bit misguided. I won't argue that in the first half of the season, the Swans were not at all pretty, and were content to rely on locking down the midfield and relying on the talent of the forward line to do damage.

However, once the side had got a solid base, I think Roos gradually let the reins looser, where the opposition warranted it. There was a lot more run from the midfield towards the end of the season, and I think we'll see this pattern repeated in '06. Although against teams with significantly more talented midfields, such as West Coast, I think Roos will revert to trying to stifle their run.

[liz]

Originally posted by Pommie Swannie
... and I think we'll see this pattern repeated in '06. Although against teams with significantly more talented midfields, such as West Coast, I think Roos will revert to trying to stifle their run.

I reckon that's pretty much spot on.

Roos knows the strengths of his team and its weaknesses but also has a healthy and realistic respect for other teams' strengths. I suspect Neil Craig is the same.

On the other hand, I suspect Worsfold and Thomas are more inclined to back their teams to play their preferred style in the belief that if they can play close to their best they will win, regardless of the opposition. To some extent they are justified in this belief given the breadth of raw talent on their lists, but it does mean they're a little vulnerable if not at their absolute best.

[NMWBloods]

Yep, I agree. Could make for a very interesting season with possibly 6 teams relatively even in terms of overall chances.

[The Undertaker]

Originally posted by hammo
None of the "experts" tipped us to win the flag in 2005 so who cares if they tip us this again this year.

I'd be happy to fly under the radar again.

.

So would I.

No expectation and another premiership.

Sounds good to me!

[Nico]

I love reading this clap trap about us.

Is there a rough chance that Paul Roos might just change his game plan a tad to adapt to the rules. Fair dinkum these blokes trot out some absolute dribble.

Every side is going to try to adapt to the rules.

I would love to see us come out with a completely revised game plan that works that will dumbfound these boofheads.

They try to predict based on the status quo. Rarely have a I seen a genuine in depth analysis of lists to see if there might be genie in the bottle at some clubs.

[ROK Lobster]

2006 questions my arse. I'd settled in for a good long read.

[goswannie14]

Originally posted by hammo
None of the "experts" tipped us to win the flag in 2005 so who cares if they tip us this again this year.

We all know what an expert is...a drip under pressure.

[liz]

However Craig might just be the AFL's next great coach. His background in fitness and sports science is a huge plus to the Crows - who just don't seem to suffer the major injuries that other teams do - while it's also clear Craig is a great motivator who has got his players playing for him. And with Mark Ricciuto and Andrew McLeod still at the peak of their careers there is no reason Adelaide, which also has the best defence in the league, can't go all the way in 2006.

I love this bit about the Crows in the context of how easily dismissed the Swans were.

So the Crows' lack of injuries is due to Craig's background while the Swans lack of injuries is generally accepted to be luck.

Craig apparently has the players playing for him. And Roos doesn't?

Hall and Goodes are as much at the peaks of their careers as McLeod and Riccuito, and while the Crows pair have performed at a high level over a longer period of time, their best is comparable to the Swans' stars best.

The Crows are well served by having the best defence in the comp, while the Swans' second best defence will be brought undone by rule changes?

I'm by no means arrogant about the Swans chances. I think they should start the season on the second rung of challengers, just below the Saints and Wiggles. But there are probably more similarities between the Swans and Crows than between any two other teams in terms of how they choke other teams up and consistently get the best out of the most.

[TheHood]

Originally posted by liz
I love this bit about the Crows in the context of how easily dismissed the Swans were.

So the Crows' lack of injuries is due to Craig's background while the Swans lack of injuries is generally accepted to be luck.

Craig apparently has the players playing for him. And Roos doesn't?

Hall and Goodes are as much at the peaks of their careers as McLeod and Riccuito, and while the Crows pair have performed at a high level over a longer period of time, their best is comparable to the Swans' stars best.

The Crows are well served by having the best defence in the comp, while the Swans' second best defence will be brought undone by rule changes?

I'm by no means arrogant about the Swans chances. I think they should start the season on the second rung of challengers, just below the Saints and Wiggles. But there are probably more similarities between the Swans and Crows than between any two other teams in terms of how they choke other teams up and consistently get the best out of the most.

I loved the bits about comparing Sydney to Port in 2004.

He cites Sydney's potential achilles as the Rule Changes...what rule changes killed Port's style of play in 2005?

At what point have Sydney floundered under Roos when it comes to adaptability? with the last 3 starts being 3, 5 & 1...if Sydney were a horse you would be unwise to not put good money on.

Although I am more than happy that we fly under the radar of Melbourne media, you start to wonder if these guys really are "experts". They have such mickey mouse jobs that they can laugh and larrikanise their way through the day and never try and get inside the complex make up of the premiers.

Sydney is being dismissed as the Collingwood of 1990. Gee as an expert, how come you're intelligent when you can make throw away lines as to why Sydney won a flag...shallow and uninformed. It's their job to be informed.

[Zlatorog]

They are proving the fact that they are biased against Sydney. As long as they believe that Sydney is not a worthy Premiership team articles liek this will pop up constantly. What would you expect from Melbourne jurnos anyways?

[stevej]

It will be harder to stay under the Radar this year but it has served us well in the past couple of seasons. I love ready stuff like this..... Underestimate us "AGAIN" at their own peril!!!!!

[Pommie Swannie]

Originally posted by stevej
It will be harder to stay under the Radar this year but it has served us well in the past couple of seasons. I love ready stuff like this..... Underestimate us "AGAIN" at their own peril!!!!!

It's one thing if the media underestimate the Swans again. However, I don't expect that any of the other teams in the comp will make the same mistake ... unfortunately!