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This was in this morning's The West Australian:
Sydney the dark horse to pinch flag
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By Ben Allan
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IT'S time to go out on a limb. Sydney will win this year's premiership.
The Swans have been magnificent, rising from 11th to the preliminary final and I think they'll beat Brisbane and then prove to be too good for either Collingwood or Port Adelaide.
Coach Paul Roos has done an outstanding job with his team. He is a positive coach who knows his players' strengths and weaknesses. He doesn't berate them and does everything to guarantee they are given the best chance to perform at optimum level. That's why so many lesser lights are playing so well.
Since being appointed in round 13 last year, Roos has won 20 of his 28 games. That gives him a win-loss ratio of 71 per cent. The Swans had won only three games that season before Rodney Eade quit.
Leigh Matthews has a 62 per cent win-loss ratio throughout his career which gives you a big indication of how influential Roos has been.
The Swans are a well balanced team. When Tony Lockett, Wayne Schwass, Paul Kelly and Andrew Dunkley retired last year, there were fears the club wouldn't recover. But Roos recruited well with Nick Davis and Craig Bolton coming in. Andrew Schauble and Bolton are traditional defenders who don't give the team much drive, so he's placed Leo Barry, Paul Williams and Tadhg Kennelly around them. Now, when Sydney wins the ball in defence, it has players with pace to run it out.
The midfield is led by Adam Goodes, who is enjoying a brilliant year as a ruckman-ruck rover. It also has the experience of Daryn Cresswell and Stuart Maxfield combining with the youthful Jude Bolton and Nic Fosdike.
But the on-ball division also has Brett Kirk and Jared Crouch constantly quelling the opposition's best midfielders. With star ball winners kept quiet, it's hard for the opposition to get any drive.
The forward line has Barry Hall and Davis, who rarely miss when kicking from a set shot, and then there's Adam Schneider picking up the crumbs. Sydney is the most accurate team in the AFL this year and straight kicking wins games.
Sydney must overcome two hurdles to win the flag. The first is Brisbane. The dual premier is desperate to make it three in a row, but the Swans have beaten the Lions twice this year. Sometimes teams just match up better against a certain opposition and Sydney has an edge over Brisbane.
Because of Sydney's evenness, it's hard to find a player for Shaun Hart to tag. And with so many big bodies in the Brisbane midfield, the Lions need the game to be physical. The last thing they want is for Sydney to make it a running game but that's exactly what the Swans will try to do. I can't see the Lions winning.
The Port Adelaide v Collingwood game is a real toss of the coin. It doesn't matter which team prevails because the winner will still carry baggage into the grand final. Sydney won't have that problem.
The football world will focus on either the Power or the Magpies and that pressure will make life hell for the players. The Swans are the Cinderella story and the club has lapped up the finals atmosphere. That freedom would be worth four goals on the last Saturday in September.
Also, unlike Port and Collingwood, Sydney has stuck to a proven routine all year. That's important during the finals. The Power experimented late in the season and it proved costly. Collingwood flew to Queensland last week, in a major change of routine, and that will prove costly too.
You simply can't do that sort of thing in September.
September 17, 2003
Sydney the dark horse to pinch flag
_
By Ben Allan
_
_
IT'S time to go out on a limb. Sydney will win this year's premiership.
The Swans have been magnificent, rising from 11th to the preliminary final and I think they'll beat Brisbane and then prove to be too good for either Collingwood or Port Adelaide.
Coach Paul Roos has done an outstanding job with his team. He is a positive coach who knows his players' strengths and weaknesses. He doesn't berate them and does everything to guarantee they are given the best chance to perform at optimum level. That's why so many lesser lights are playing so well.
Since being appointed in round 13 last year, Roos has won 20 of his 28 games. That gives him a win-loss ratio of 71 per cent. The Swans had won only three games that season before Rodney Eade quit.
Leigh Matthews has a 62 per cent win-loss ratio throughout his career which gives you a big indication of how influential Roos has been.
The Swans are a well balanced team. When Tony Lockett, Wayne Schwass, Paul Kelly and Andrew Dunkley retired last year, there were fears the club wouldn't recover. But Roos recruited well with Nick Davis and Craig Bolton coming in. Andrew Schauble and Bolton are traditional defenders who don't give the team much drive, so he's placed Leo Barry, Paul Williams and Tadhg Kennelly around them. Now, when Sydney wins the ball in defence, it has players with pace to run it out.
The midfield is led by Adam Goodes, who is enjoying a brilliant year as a ruckman-ruck rover. It also has the experience of Daryn Cresswell and Stuart Maxfield combining with the youthful Jude Bolton and Nic Fosdike.
But the on-ball division also has Brett Kirk and Jared Crouch constantly quelling the opposition's best midfielders. With star ball winners kept quiet, it's hard for the opposition to get any drive.
The forward line has Barry Hall and Davis, who rarely miss when kicking from a set shot, and then there's Adam Schneider picking up the crumbs. Sydney is the most accurate team in the AFL this year and straight kicking wins games.
Sydney must overcome two hurdles to win the flag. The first is Brisbane. The dual premier is desperate to make it three in a row, but the Swans have beaten the Lions twice this year. Sometimes teams just match up better against a certain opposition and Sydney has an edge over Brisbane.
Because of Sydney's evenness, it's hard to find a player for Shaun Hart to tag. And with so many big bodies in the Brisbane midfield, the Lions need the game to be physical. The last thing they want is for Sydney to make it a running game but that's exactly what the Swans will try to do. I can't see the Lions winning.
The Port Adelaide v Collingwood game is a real toss of the coin. It doesn't matter which team prevails because the winner will still carry baggage into the grand final. Sydney won't have that problem.
The football world will focus on either the Power or the Magpies and that pressure will make life hell for the players. The Swans are the Cinderella story and the club has lapped up the finals atmosphere. That freedom would be worth four goals on the last Saturday in September.
Also, unlike Port and Collingwood, Sydney has stuck to a proven routine all year. That's important during the finals. The Power experimented late in the season and it proved costly. Collingwood flew to Queensland last week, in a major change of routine, and that will prove costly too.
You simply can't do that sort of thing in September.
September 17, 2003
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