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Power failure
By TIM MORRISSEY
September 5, 2003
PAUL Roos has fired off a well-aimed and subtle broadside at Port Adelaide as the Swans move to get a psychological edge for Sunday's qualifying final.
The Swans coach believes Port's frail finals record is a noose around the minor premiers' neck and they have everything to lose against a Sydney side most people have written off for the AAMI Stadium game.
Port Adelaide have won just one of six finals games and last year became just the third team in 20 years not to make the grand final after claiming the minor premiership.
While pressure is building on Port to not choke again in the finals, Roos has thrown down a challenge to his own players ? demanding that they should not be satisfied with just making the top four.
"I guess in terms of where they're at, clearly at the start of the season they would have said we want to win the premiership in 2003," said Roos.
"In that sense if you are looking at the two outcomes of the two seasons [Port Adelaide and Sydney] we are going to have a real go at it. We are certainly not satisfied with finishing fourth but I guess in terms of where both clubs are, I would've thought Port were looking at the next two to three years at the start of this season as their opportunity to win a premiership.
"In that sense there is more pressure on them. But we are going over there to win so we are putting pressure on ourselves to try and beat the best team in the competition."
The nothing-to-lose attitude the Swans have shown all season since the majority of critics predicted they'd win the wooden spoon this year has spurred the team to unexpected heights.
However, a late-season injury curse which will see the Swans go into the Port game without four key positional players ? forward Michael O'Loughlin, midfielder Daryn Cresswell, ruckman Jason Ball and defender Jason Saddington ? makes it look like Mission: Impossible.
If anything, though, that puts Port Adelaide under more pressure although Roos wasn't prepared to play amateur psychologist and judge how the Power players would react.
"It's hard to tell, it's hard enough getting inside your own players' minds let alone the opposition's," Roos said. "Port are a terrific team, they are three games clear at the top, three games better than everybody else.
"But, gee, it's a great position for us to be in to finish fourth and to be able to go over there and have a red-hot go at it."
However, any mention of Port's history of failing in the finals clearly touches a raw nerve among the Adelaide club's players.
During the week Port Adelaide defender Damien Hardwick blamed the media for the perception the Power can't handle the pressure of finals football.
"I think you can go through every side, you look at St Kilda's finals history, there's not many sides that have got a winning finals history," he said.
"Unfortunately the media seem to jump on that bandwagon pretty quickly, but if you go through many clubs' history, everyone's going to have a losing record in the finals. Only one side can win it and we're hoping to be that side."
By TIM MORRISSEY
September 5, 2003
PAUL Roos has fired off a well-aimed and subtle broadside at Port Adelaide as the Swans move to get a psychological edge for Sunday's qualifying final.
The Swans coach believes Port's frail finals record is a noose around the minor premiers' neck and they have everything to lose against a Sydney side most people have written off for the AAMI Stadium game.
Port Adelaide have won just one of six finals games and last year became just the third team in 20 years not to make the grand final after claiming the minor premiership.
While pressure is building on Port to not choke again in the finals, Roos has thrown down a challenge to his own players ? demanding that they should not be satisfied with just making the top four.
"I guess in terms of where they're at, clearly at the start of the season they would have said we want to win the premiership in 2003," said Roos.
"In that sense if you are looking at the two outcomes of the two seasons [Port Adelaide and Sydney] we are going to have a real go at it. We are certainly not satisfied with finishing fourth but I guess in terms of where both clubs are, I would've thought Port were looking at the next two to three years at the start of this season as their opportunity to win a premiership.
"In that sense there is more pressure on them. But we are going over there to win so we are putting pressure on ourselves to try and beat the best team in the competition."
The nothing-to-lose attitude the Swans have shown all season since the majority of critics predicted they'd win the wooden spoon this year has spurred the team to unexpected heights.
However, a late-season injury curse which will see the Swans go into the Port game without four key positional players ? forward Michael O'Loughlin, midfielder Daryn Cresswell, ruckman Jason Ball and defender Jason Saddington ? makes it look like Mission: Impossible.
If anything, though, that puts Port Adelaide under more pressure although Roos wasn't prepared to play amateur psychologist and judge how the Power players would react.
"It's hard to tell, it's hard enough getting inside your own players' minds let alone the opposition's," Roos said. "Port are a terrific team, they are three games clear at the top, three games better than everybody else.
"But, gee, it's a great position for us to be in to finish fourth and to be able to go over there and have a red-hot go at it."
However, any mention of Port's history of failing in the finals clearly touches a raw nerve among the Adelaide club's players.
During the week Port Adelaide defender Damien Hardwick blamed the media for the perception the Power can't handle the pressure of finals football.
"I think you can go through every side, you look at St Kilda's finals history, there's not many sides that have got a winning finals history," he said.
"Unfortunately the media seem to jump on that bandwagon pretty quickly, but if you go through many clubs' history, everyone's going to have a losing record in the finals. Only one side can win it and we're hoping to be that side."
