Maxfield - the forgotten hero....

[CureTheSane]

Not an article here.

I just think Stewie has had a huge hand in the team this year and deserves some acknowledgement.

The players are playing for each other, and for the coach, but also for Maxfield.

We aren't in the players inner circle, and have little idea of the impact Maxfield has on the players, but given our season, I am gonna have a guess and say that the players have taken to him and value him.

Look at Buckley, Primus and Voss.
Any acrticle on their respective teams invariably ends up mentioning their name, for some reason Stewie doesn't rate a mention as often.

[Mike_B]

IMHO, the biggest thing Stuey has contributed this year is not his on-field leadership (which has been fantastic nonetheless), but more the leadership and direction he has given off the field, at training etc - the places where its not so obvious. He leads by example in his preparation, and this is one of the main reasons the match committee appointed him as Kel's successor.

[liz]

Re: Maxfield - the forgotten hero....

Originally posted by CureTheSane


Look at Buckley, Primus and Voss.
Any acrticle on their respective teams invariably ends up mentioning their name, for some reason Stewie doesn't rate a mention as often.

Some people seem unable to distinguish between being a great player and being a good captain. Thus you see Maxie labelled as one of the worst captains going around, simply because, as a player, he isn't in the class of Voss, Buckley, Crawf, Cousins, Hird etc.

Fact is that unless you're in the inner sanctum of a club its nigh impossible to judge how good a captain someone is. Voss would be a great player regardless of whether he were captain of his side, and I suspect the Lions would have won their premierships with a different captain. That's not to say he isn't a great one - just that its hard to tell what impact his captaincy has had on them.

The only way you can tell if someone is a good captain is if they lead a so-called ordinary team onto something special, and Stuey has passed that test with flying colours.

[CureTheSane]

Both posts are spot on.

Like I said, we don't know exactly how important he has been to the club and their success this year.

Lots of Roos articles this year as he is the NEW coach, but the NEW captain has been left in the dark.

Hopefull when the season is over we will hear more about his importance.

[liz]

Originally posted by CureTheSane

Lots of Roos articles this year as he is the NEW coach, but the NEW captain has been left in the dark.

Hopefull when the season is over we will hear more about his importance.

To be fair, there has been a reasonable amount in the media about Stewie and the impact he's had. There was an article midway through the season about how he'd taken Schneids under his wing, and then one a couple of weeks ago about him and Kirk.

Also, the whole leadership group has obviously been effective - if they weren't all pitching in Maxie's job would be a lot harder.

One of our laments in recent years was how their seemed to be a dearth of leadership around the place when Kelly was incapacitated. Now they all know it's up to them, as individuals, and it's showing.

The mentoring thing isn't just limited to Stewie either. Loved the article this week about how Cressa had latched onto Davis and made sure that he had a playmate at the club right from when he stepped through the door.

[Ruda Wakening]

Maybe someone can enlighten me on this ?

Last night i was walking past the TV, and White Line Fever was on. I heard Clinton G say " Soon we'll be joined by the finals captains" , " Voss, Primus and Buckley " . Howcome no Maxfield ? Not trying to read anything into it, maybe he was busy doing something else. But it just struck me as odd .

[Mike_B]

They mustn't know who the Swans captain is - seems they know nothing else about us either!!!

[Ruda Wakening]

Well, they only have to wait a matter of hours to find out

[Go Swannies]

This was in the Hun a few days ago.

Maxfield blossoms in lead role
17 September 2003__
_Herald Sun
By MICHAEL HORAN

AT THREE-quarter time of his Round 5 SCG clash against Melbourne this season, Stuart Maxfield, the man saddled with the task of replacing the great Paul Kelly as Sydney captain, was entitled to have serious doubts about his and the Swans' future.

Amazing season: Stuart Maxfield's Swans have defied the doomsayers and are on the verge of a place in the Grand Final.

Whatever confidence gleaned from a thumping 74-point win over Carlton in Round 1 was long gone.

Three subsequent defeats, the reminder that the Blues were the reigning wooden spooners and being on their knees against the Dees was enough to justify all the pre-season predictions that Sydney would finish last, or close to it.

But the man seen as a bit of a surprise choice as an AFL skipper, leading a team headed up by essentially a rookie coach, Paul Roos, who was given the job more on members' support than the Sydney board's conviction, is now just one game away from a Grand Final.

Truly a Cinderella story, in footy boots rather than glass slippers.

"It was a pretty tough time, we'd lost three in a row and I suppose as a group you search -- probably search too hard -- for answers," Maxfield recalled.

"Maybe it took a little while for the side to jel and fully understand what was required with Paul's coaching style. But once we got that right, the ball kept rolling from there.

"That game against Melbourne, the guys made a statement.

"Things could have gone the other way, but they decided they didn't want to waste this season. They all stood up and made a statement."

That "statement" was a 10.3 to 3.1 final quarter that, in hindsight, proved the springboard for the year that ultimately unfolded. A season where the Swannies just kept coming and kept winning against the odds.

And as their stature grew, so too, did that of the new captain.

"There was a fair bit of talk about the captaincy pre-season, but it's really been great. The main thing is the support I've had from all the players, but in particular the guys in the leadership group," Maxfield said.

"They've made my job a lot easier."

Try as one might to talk about the skipper and he'll just as quickly restore the conversation to matters of team. Ask if he grew into the job and he'll tell you how the side blossomed.

"It's an understatement to say it's been a fantastic year," he said. "Everyone tipped us to be wooden spooners, which was justified to a certain extent.

"It's hard to say when you've lost Paul Kelly, Tony Lockett, Wayne Schwass, Andrew Dunkley we'd do well. It probably would have been a bit silly to say we were going to play finals."

But here they are, preparing for a home final before a 75,000-plus crowd after achieving the seemingly impossible by taking an injury-ravaged side to South Australia and beating minor premier Port Adelaide in the qualifying final.

"It was a huge win for our belief. We already believed in each other, but to go over there in a final and win was significant," Maxfield said.

"We need everyone to play well. We haven't got a side full of superstars -- there's no Michael Voss, James Hird or Nathan Buckley.

"We've certainly got some developing stars in Adam Goodes and the like, but certainly we are a team that needs everyone on board and going well."

The coach's view is decidedly less self-conscious.

"His ability to do everything and more than we thought he would has been terrific," Roos said. "He must take a lot of credit for where the team is at.

"A lot was said about Buckley and Hird in the first week of the finals -- and correctly so -- but I felt Stuey in that first game against Port was really what you'd expect from a great captain."

[stellation]

In all fairness to the media, Stewie has said from the second he was named captain this year that he has no interest in doing the media side of things. At the time I thought "that is probably not that great for the club itself".

I -think-, I could be wrong, but I -think- that Roos has closed shop in the lead up to the prelim anyway so they may have not had Maxfield on just because the Swans are all locked up... pure speculation there.

[BAM_BAM]

Originally posted by stellation
I -think-, I could be wrong, but I -think- that Roos has closed shop in the lead up to the prelim anyway so they may have not had Maxfield on just because the Swans are all locked up... pure speculation there.

I thought I read this somwhere too.

[j s]

Originally posted by stellation
In all fairness to the media, Stewie has said from the second he was named captain this year that he has no interest in doing the media side of things. At the time I thought "that is probably not that great for the club itself".

I -think-, I could be wrong, but I -think- that Roos has closed shop in the lead up to the prelim anyway so they may have not had Maxfield on just because the Swans are all locked up... pure speculation there.

I haven't heard of any 'lock-up' but there was a media day on Thursday with all the players available (that was where Sam did his stuff and all the articles we have read in the last two days) so it wouldn't suprise me if there has been 'no access' since then (though it seems like MOL spoke to the media yesterday)

[Bear]

Yes I agree there have been many positives from Stuey's captaincy this year, particularly behind the scenes. Well done Stuey.

I do however feel that his impact on the ground has reduced significantly over the last two years, primarily due to injury (knee) and age.

Also, I am a firm believer that vocal leadership in the heat of the battle is an important aspect of captaincy, something that is not his strength.

Don't get me wrong, he has done a terrific job as captain, but his body is starting to give way, and with his lack of vocal leadership when it counts (e.g. walking off at half time yesterday), his captaincy will not be a long one.

We need to groom a new leader over the next year or so and currently there is not an outstanding candidate.

[Schneidergirl]

I think Stuey has been fantastic this year.

If a coach can take the credit for a wonderful year, and the playing group can take the credit for a wonderful year, surely there is no doubt that Stuey should get a standing ovation for his leadership this year.

The players definitely work well as a group, and there are many 'leaders' at the club. But Stuey is the captain!!!! If it had have been Kel still captaining the Swans, he would have had more support in the media than Stuey.

There is no doubt in my mind that he has had a terriftic season, and his 'almost' goal last night would have a been terrific had it gone through the 'big ones'.

For a replacement when Stuey retires: I think Schneider has the makings of a captain. He did say in an interview that he wants to be like Kel and play the rest of his career at one club.

Go Swannies! You've made me so proud this year!