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Dolye to step up for Swans
By TIM MORRISSEY
11jul03
STEPHEN Doyle has not played footy since the Swans opening game of the 2003 season but the giant ruckman is looming as the Ace up Sydney coach Paul Roos's sleave for the AFL finals.
Roos believes the towering 203cm bigman has the potential to become an immediate major impact player despite the fact Doyle will be chronically under done.
The 21-year-old injury plagued Swan is still another two-to-three weeks away from playing after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on April 9 to repair knee cartilage damage sustained against Carlton in Round One.
If the club's latest prognosis is right and Doyle finally returns from injury to the line-up by Round 17 he will have just five games to prepare for the finals.
However, with Roos intending to play Doyle exclusively at full-forward in short stints a high level of match fitness won't be essential.
"(Doyle) is the sort of player who has in the past played in the seniors at very short notice because of the nature and type of player he is," said Roos.
"He can go to full forward and play 10 minutes and come off the ground.
"He's a bit like Mick O'Loughlin although they're both very different in the way they play Stephen can also be an impact player.
"He doesn't need his fitness if we stand him in the goal square so Stephen is certainly one player you can play a lot earlier in a general sense than most of the other guys."
Although the Swans could do with Doyle's long reach in the ruck area camping him in the goal square at full-forward causes match up problems for opposition coaches.
It forces them to put their tallest defender on Swans bigman which opens up the forward line for Roos's key strike weapons in Barry Hall and Michael O'Loughlin.
"We saw against Carlton this season when Stephen came on and kicked two goals and last year against Port Adelaide," said Roos.
"So his presence is going to change the structure of the opposition team."
Doyle is currently on the Swans long term injury list, however, he has to be back on the senior list by Round 18 if the Swans want him to be eligible for the finals.
The Swans currently have the luxury on having a spot open on their 38-man senior list which means they don't have to drop a player to make room for Doyle.
While Roos is quietly confident Doyle is on schedule to make his return the Swans mentor won't gamble on playing his Ace this year unless he's certain the knee is ready to stand up to the pressures of AFL football.
"We are going to have to decide where Stephen's at," said Roos. "His knee is the priority of course so we are not going to take any chances."
IN other Swans news, rookie Mark Powell and Rowan Warfe were dropped from the team that beat West Coast last Sunday to make room for the return of key defenders Jason Saddington and Ben Mathews to play St Kilda tomorrow night at the SCG.
Saddington hasn't played since injuring his hip back in Round Seven while Mathews only missed the West coast game due to an ankle strain.
By TIM MORRISSEY
11jul03
STEPHEN Doyle has not played footy since the Swans opening game of the 2003 season but the giant ruckman is looming as the Ace up Sydney coach Paul Roos's sleave for the AFL finals.
Roos believes the towering 203cm bigman has the potential to become an immediate major impact player despite the fact Doyle will be chronically under done.
The 21-year-old injury plagued Swan is still another two-to-three weeks away from playing after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on April 9 to repair knee cartilage damage sustained against Carlton in Round One.
If the club's latest prognosis is right and Doyle finally returns from injury to the line-up by Round 17 he will have just five games to prepare for the finals.
However, with Roos intending to play Doyle exclusively at full-forward in short stints a high level of match fitness won't be essential.
"(Doyle) is the sort of player who has in the past played in the seniors at very short notice because of the nature and type of player he is," said Roos.
"He can go to full forward and play 10 minutes and come off the ground.
"He's a bit like Mick O'Loughlin although they're both very different in the way they play Stephen can also be an impact player.
"He doesn't need his fitness if we stand him in the goal square so Stephen is certainly one player you can play a lot earlier in a general sense than most of the other guys."
Although the Swans could do with Doyle's long reach in the ruck area camping him in the goal square at full-forward causes match up problems for opposition coaches.
It forces them to put their tallest defender on Swans bigman which opens up the forward line for Roos's key strike weapons in Barry Hall and Michael O'Loughlin.
"We saw against Carlton this season when Stephen came on and kicked two goals and last year against Port Adelaide," said Roos.
"So his presence is going to change the structure of the opposition team."
Doyle is currently on the Swans long term injury list, however, he has to be back on the senior list by Round 18 if the Swans want him to be eligible for the finals.
The Swans currently have the luxury on having a spot open on their 38-man senior list which means they don't have to drop a player to make room for Doyle.
While Roos is quietly confident Doyle is on schedule to make his return the Swans mentor won't gamble on playing his Ace this year unless he's certain the knee is ready to stand up to the pressures of AFL football.
"We are going to have to decide where Stephen's at," said Roos. "His knee is the priority of course so we are not going to take any chances."
IN other Swans news, rookie Mark Powell and Rowan Warfe were dropped from the team that beat West Coast last Sunday to make room for the return of key defenders Jason Saddington and Ben Mathews to play St Kilda tomorrow night at the SCG.
Saddington hasn't played since injuring his hip back in Round Seven while Mathews only missed the West coast game due to an ankle strain.
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