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Wayward Swans heed Roos' roar
28 July 2003 AFL
By TIM MORRISSEY
A RARE outburst from coach Paul Roos jolted the Swans into a come-from-behind win over Fremantle at the SCG yesterday.
Roos, who is usually calm and composed, gave his players a calculated spray during the final break after a dreadful third-quarter performance.
While his outburst didn't match the ear-scorching decibels of predecessor Rodney Eade, it had the desired effect as the Swans produced a six goals to two final term to snatch victory.
"We just had to sort out our structure a little bit. We just went away from it and we needed to get that sorted out," Roos said.
"I think sometimes players, in the course of the game, need a little jolt, just as a bit of a reminder of how we play our best footy.
"But they responded really well and we played really good footy in the last quarter."
Sydney trailed by eight points at the final break and then 14 before tagger Brett Kirk kicked his third goal of the match to spark the revival that virtually guarantees the Swans a finals berth.
Rugged full-forward Barry Hall, who was almost invisible as Sydney built a 17-point halftime lead, produced a dominant final term, kicking three goals.
The atmosphere created by the crowd of 30,228 was electric as Sydney stormed home to consolidate second place on the ladder and leave the Dockers (10-7) in a dogfight to advance to the finals.
"I though it was a really gutsy, courageous win," Roos said.
Victory came at a cost after the Swans lost ruckman Jason Ball in the first quarter with a dislocated left shoulder.
Sydney was already down a tall player after youngster Lewis Roberts-Thomson strained a hamstring at training on Friday.
With Ball booked in for a scan today, Roos is sweating on the return of ruck Stephen Doyle, who hasn't played since injuring his knee in Round 1.
Daryn Cresswell broke his nose in the second term after colliding with teammate Adam Goodes' knee, but the veteran midfielder returned to kick a goal and finish with a game-high 25 disposals.
Kirk was also outstanding, holding Fremantle captain Peter Bell to just three touches at halftime and 15 for the game.
Apart from Richmond, no team that has posted 12 wins has missed the finals since the top-eight format was introduced in 1994.
The Tigers finished with a 12-10 record in 1994, and again in '98, but missed the finals on percentage.
With five rounds left, the Swans have a genuine shot at a top-two position, which would guarantee two home finals and the all-important double chance.
However, Roos continued to sidestep the finals issue by talking about the weather in September rather than the football."It's a really nice month normally the weather is beautiful," Roos said.
"People might find this a little bit hard to understand but what we are doing is working and I'm not about to tamper with anything that's made us successful at this stage.
"I mean I'd be an idiot to do that because what we are doing is working."
The Swans gritty performance yesterday again showed critics waiting for Sydney to crash that they shouldn't hold their breath.
"We're ahead on the ledger, our destiny is in our own hands. We've just got to make sure we don't lose sight of where we've come from and where we want to go," veteran midfielder Paul Williams said.
28 July 2003 AFL
By TIM MORRISSEY
A RARE outburst from coach Paul Roos jolted the Swans into a come-from-behind win over Fremantle at the SCG yesterday.
Roos, who is usually calm and composed, gave his players a calculated spray during the final break after a dreadful third-quarter performance.
While his outburst didn't match the ear-scorching decibels of predecessor Rodney Eade, it had the desired effect as the Swans produced a six goals to two final term to snatch victory.
"We just had to sort out our structure a little bit. We just went away from it and we needed to get that sorted out," Roos said.
"I think sometimes players, in the course of the game, need a little jolt, just as a bit of a reminder of how we play our best footy.
"But they responded really well and we played really good footy in the last quarter."
Sydney trailed by eight points at the final break and then 14 before tagger Brett Kirk kicked his third goal of the match to spark the revival that virtually guarantees the Swans a finals berth.
Rugged full-forward Barry Hall, who was almost invisible as Sydney built a 17-point halftime lead, produced a dominant final term, kicking three goals.
The atmosphere created by the crowd of 30,228 was electric as Sydney stormed home to consolidate second place on the ladder and leave the Dockers (10-7) in a dogfight to advance to the finals.
"I though it was a really gutsy, courageous win," Roos said.
Victory came at a cost after the Swans lost ruckman Jason Ball in the first quarter with a dislocated left shoulder.
Sydney was already down a tall player after youngster Lewis Roberts-Thomson strained a hamstring at training on Friday.
With Ball booked in for a scan today, Roos is sweating on the return of ruck Stephen Doyle, who hasn't played since injuring his knee in Round 1.
Daryn Cresswell broke his nose in the second term after colliding with teammate Adam Goodes' knee, but the veteran midfielder returned to kick a goal and finish with a game-high 25 disposals.
Kirk was also outstanding, holding Fremantle captain Peter Bell to just three touches at halftime and 15 for the game.
Apart from Richmond, no team that has posted 12 wins has missed the finals since the top-eight format was introduced in 1994.
The Tigers finished with a 12-10 record in 1994, and again in '98, but missed the finals on percentage.
With five rounds left, the Swans have a genuine shot at a top-two position, which would guarantee two home finals and the all-important double chance.
However, Roos continued to sidestep the finals issue by talking about the weather in September rather than the football."It's a really nice month normally the weather is beautiful," Roos said.
"People might find this a little bit hard to understand but what we are doing is working and I'm not about to tamper with anything that's made us successful at this stage.
"I mean I'd be an idiot to do that because what we are doing is working."
The Swans gritty performance yesterday again showed critics waiting for Sydney to crash that they shouldn't hold their breath.
"We're ahead on the ledger, our destiny is in our own hands. We've just got to make sure we don't lose sight of where we've come from and where we want to go," veteran midfielder Paul Williams said.
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