Tweet
Swans wary
19jul03
THE Denis Pagan factor has been the main topic of conversation among the Sydney coaches during their preparations for today's clash against lowly Carlton.
"We spoke about the fact Denis Pagan-coached teams have the ability to bounce back from games like Carlton had last week against West Coast," Swans forwards coach John Longmire said.
Carlton weren't just beaten badly by the Eagles at Subiaco Oval, they were humiliated by a record 116 points, leaving the Blues' season in disarray.
In a case of adding injury to insult, the Blues lost key forward Lance Whitnall for the rest of the season after suffering medial ligament damage during Tuesday's training session.
Whitnall's loss followed the midweek retirement of Carlton skipper Brett Ratten due to a shoulder injury.
On top of of that, the in-form Swans handed Carlton a 74-point thumping at Telstra Stadium in round one.
But Longmire, who played under Pagan at the Kangaroos for seven years, has witnessed big turnarounds under his old coach.
"Denis rises to those types of challenges," Longmire said. "I can remember plenty of examples when I was playing at the Kangaroos under Denis when we weren't favoured to win but we did.
"I remember a game when we were facing West Coast in Perth after three consecutive loses and no one tipped the Kangaroos.
"But we got up and won. Denis is capable of getting his players to do that.
"I know Denis, he'll be determined to have the boys fired up and he's made a number of changes so he's certainly shaken things up at Carlton."
It's not in Pagan's make-up to give in to adversity or walk away from a fight.
That was established 37 years ago when he was sacked by then Carlton coach Ron Barassi as an under-19 player.
Pagan shrugged off Barassi's snub and carved out a 143-game playing career at North Melbourne (now the Kangaroos) and South Melbourne before turning his hand to coaching.
In 10 years of coaching at the Kangaroos, Pagan won two premierships and earned a reputation as one of the most influential coaches of the modern era.
But his first year back at Carlton is likely to be his worst season in coaching, with the Blues only one spot off the bottom with only four wins to their credit.
Despite Carlton's year of woe, Longmire still believes the beleaguered Blues have the potential to upset the Swans today.
"Carlton are a proud club and I'm sure they'll come out fired up in the first quarter," Longmire said.
"They've got some quality players and Carlton's forward line is especially dangerous.
"They have Corey McKernan, Brendan Fevola and they might put Matthew Lappin up in the forward line as well, which will make them strong.
"And Laurence Angwin is a young kid who's dangerous, so if Carlton gets enough of the footy they could give us some headaches."
19jul03
THE Denis Pagan factor has been the main topic of conversation among the Sydney coaches during their preparations for today's clash against lowly Carlton.
"We spoke about the fact Denis Pagan-coached teams have the ability to bounce back from games like Carlton had last week against West Coast," Swans forwards coach John Longmire said.
Carlton weren't just beaten badly by the Eagles at Subiaco Oval, they were humiliated by a record 116 points, leaving the Blues' season in disarray.
In a case of adding injury to insult, the Blues lost key forward Lance Whitnall for the rest of the season after suffering medial ligament damage during Tuesday's training session.
Whitnall's loss followed the midweek retirement of Carlton skipper Brett Ratten due to a shoulder injury.
On top of of that, the in-form Swans handed Carlton a 74-point thumping at Telstra Stadium in round one.
But Longmire, who played under Pagan at the Kangaroos for seven years, has witnessed big turnarounds under his old coach.
"Denis rises to those types of challenges," Longmire said. "I can remember plenty of examples when I was playing at the Kangaroos under Denis when we weren't favoured to win but we did.
"I remember a game when we were facing West Coast in Perth after three consecutive loses and no one tipped the Kangaroos.
"But we got up and won. Denis is capable of getting his players to do that.
"I know Denis, he'll be determined to have the boys fired up and he's made a number of changes so he's certainly shaken things up at Carlton."
It's not in Pagan's make-up to give in to adversity or walk away from a fight.
That was established 37 years ago when he was sacked by then Carlton coach Ron Barassi as an under-19 player.
Pagan shrugged off Barassi's snub and carved out a 143-game playing career at North Melbourne (now the Kangaroos) and South Melbourne before turning his hand to coaching.
In 10 years of coaching at the Kangaroos, Pagan won two premierships and earned a reputation as one of the most influential coaches of the modern era.
But his first year back at Carlton is likely to be his worst season in coaching, with the Blues only one spot off the bottom with only four wins to their credit.
Despite Carlton's year of woe, Longmire still believes the beleaguered Blues have the potential to upset the Swans today.
"Carlton are a proud club and I'm sure they'll come out fired up in the first quarter," Longmire said.
"They've got some quality players and Carlton's forward line is especially dangerous.
"They have Corey McKernan, Brendan Fevola and they might put Matthew Lappin up in the forward line as well, which will make them strong.
"And Laurence Angwin is a young kid who's dangerous, so if Carlton gets enough of the footy they could give us some headaches."
