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Secret Swans business
By Jenny McAsey
September 20, 2003
It was a dark and stormy morning and the Sydney Swans had to bring their own bricks. As they arrived at Bondi Beach for a 6am punishment session, the rain was pelting down.
More than 30 players - from captain Stuart Maxfield to budding superstar Adam Goodes and the team's rookies - had turned up at dawn, each carrying two bricks from home.
The session wasn't physically tough - just push-ups and shoulder presses -- but there was no escaping a plunge into the chilly, grey ocean.
The day before, one of the players - no-one will break the code of loyalty and say who it was - had broken the team's rules, turning up 15 minutes late for a post-match recovery session.
It was a minor misdemeanour, but, intent on lifting standards and winning the respect of the football world, the Swans' 10-man leadership group had made it plain they wouldn't listen to excuses.
If one person did wrong then everyone had to pay, an edict agreed to in writing by every player during a pre-season pledge to each other. The whip has had to be cracked about half a dozen times this season, with the last being that dawn session a month ago.
Tadhg Kennelly, the excitable Irish import whose flair and pace have injected spark into the Swans' defence, recalled how hard it was to throw off the doona.
"Geez, it was cold that morning. It was freezing and a few boys were afraid they'd get the flu," Kennelly said.
"But it was not a really demanding session. You just have to bring the bricks with you and it is more a pain in the arse than anything.
"You'll hate the bloke (who broke the rules) in the morning. You think 'you stupid bastard what have you done'? But you get up and do it.
"It's a good thing. In the past you could have got away with it and pushed it under the bed but now you can't. It sets up a good attitude, there are no short-cuts."
Maxfield, a masochist on the training track, gave an embarrassed laugh when asked about the early-morning work-outs called under his authority.
He hasn't talked about them publicly before. It is secret Swans business.
The players call the sessions themselves and not even the coaches are told.
"I don't get out of bed for those things; I leave that up to the captain," coach Paul Roos said jokingly this week. "That's the beauty of empowering the players."
Maxfield said the Bondi brick sessions were just for fun, then admitted they had been important in forging the tight-knit team that has defied the odds to meet Brisbane in tonight's preliminary final at Sydney's Telstra Stadium.
"It is that one-in-all-in theme and that is reflective of how our performances have been this year," Maxfield said.
"We need 22 contributors out on the ground and that is the same at training and everything else we do.
"We haven't got a lot of players who can win the game off their own boot. The way I see it, this is a really honest, accountable side and for us to be successful, everyone has to play a role."
Ego and individual glory are no-nos at the Swans. Playing for each other has become the mantra.
It was an approach they agreed to at a Coffs Harbour camp last November under the guidance of leadership consultant Ray McLean, who has worked with Collingwood and St Kilda.
As part of the program, the players elected their 10-man leadership group and came up with a set of team rules, which they have lived by on and off the field.
In consultation with Roos, they signed off on an internal document that has become their bible. It outlines the philosophies of the playing group, containing details about their game plan as well as broader values.
More secret Swans business, and more evidence of the brotherhood that has bound them.
"At the start of the year we set about changing the culture of the place, just not accepting mediocrity," midfielder Brett Kirk said. His ability to stop quality players such as the Magpies' Nathan Buckley has been vital to Sydney's success.
"We put together the leadership group and everyone was involved in putting the rules down because everyone had to abide by them," he said.
Roos believes McLean's leadership program, which is still running, has played a substantial part in unlocking the players' potential. Most of the team, from backmen Leo Barry and Kennelly to midfielders Jude Bolton and Nic Fosdike and forward Barry Hall, have had their best seasons.
Maxfield has grown into an inspirational leader and the group has been transformed from a bunch of under-achievers into the competition's fairytale team.
When the season began, a host of Melbourne footy experts were quick to write off Sydney. "No height, no depth, no match-winners, no good" was the gist of it.
Roos acknowledged that the critics had some valid points. During pre-season he agreed Sydney were devoid of superstars and had to unearth the next generation after the retirements of club heroes Paul Kelly, Andrew Dunkley, Wayne Schwass and Tony Lockett.
"When the players saw Kelly and Dunks and Schwatta and Plugger leave, there was a common belief that the only way we are going to be successsful this year is if we all dig in and help," Roos said.
Forward Matthew Nicks, who made his debut in 1996 and lived through the Kelly era, said other players finally found their voice.
"This year we had a clean slate," Nicks, 28, said. "It was like we'd started again. We tried to build a new culture around the place and prove to the young guys that they had to lead, too; it wasn't up to the older guys."
The message had been the same for several years but it worked this time, according to Nicks, because of Roos' philosophy of empowering the players by listening to their opinions and giving them more responsibility and trust.
Roos, who played 356 games for Fitzroy and Sydney and was named an All Australian nine times, came up with his ideas at the end of his career in 1998.
"When I finished playing I wrote down my thoughts in October '98 and it stemmed from that," he said. "I felt it was no good the coach saying things if the players don't believe what the coach says.
"They are the group who have to run out and do it, so having more involvement in the process was important."
With the leadership program providing the backbone for his ideas, the players came out of their shells. Nicks said the group blossomed.
"Any player on the list now, even a first-year player, would be confident enough to go out there and lead the boys for a training session," he said.
"That is where it has got to, whereas in the past that would never happen when you have guys like Lockett and Kelly there. Those guys were idols, everyone looked up to them but we don't have that feeling any more.
"Someone like (senior player) Daryn Cresswell is good mates with a first-year player and they feel like they are equals - that is the difference with past years. Now if you have an opinion you say it and it gets talked about in the group."
Nicks points to the increased responsibility borne by 23-year-old Goodes in the ruck this year. "Adam Goodes leads as if he has been here for 10 years, at training and on the ground with his voice," Nicks said.
And take Adam Schneider, 19, who has kicked 30 goals in his debut season. He has become so assured he gives Maxfield advice.
"Out on the ground if I have taken the wrong option then Adam would be quite comfortable in saying something to me, which is great," Maxfield said.
With Schneider, Roos relieved any pressure by telling him to enjoy his footy. "Before my first game he said when you get your first kick, just kick it, don't worry what happens," Schneider said.
Roos has never dragged anyone for making a mistake. "The consequence is that they owe us one; they have to make it up to the team," Roos said.
The belief that they could beat anyone became infectious after successive wins over Collingwood and Brisbane in rounds six and seven. Their drive has come from a hard-running and fearless defence, led by Andrew Schauble and Barry, who have set up play for forwards Hall, Schneider and Michael O'Loughlin, before he was injured.
Inside the attacking zone, the forwards, especially Hall, have applied relentless defensive pressure to their opponents, helping to trap the ball in the forward 50m arc.
That has created the Swans' goal-scoring efficiency, topped off by their accuracy.
When they have played Brisbane, Sydney have gone inside their 50m zone fewer times than the Lions but won both games.
Another buzz word at the club this year is "accountability", and the result is the opposition doesn't get much cheap ball against the Swans. Last year Sydney's opponents averaged 64 uncontested marks a game; this year the figure is 54. By contrast the Swans have gone from 57 a game last year to 67 this year.
The message has been simple: get the footy and try your hardest to keep it. Hall could be seen screaming those words into Nicks's face before the win against Port Adelaide two weeks ago. Now they have done what no-one expected and stand one win from a grand-final berth.
"They have a genuine love of the jumper and a love of each other too in a sense," Roos said.
"You can't get that sort of pride and passion and performance unless you really care for your team-mates and I think that is the biggest thing that I see when I look at this group."
One in, all-in - whether it be carrying bricks on Bondi Beach, or braving the Lions tonight.
By Jenny McAsey
September 20, 2003
It was a dark and stormy morning and the Sydney Swans had to bring their own bricks. As they arrived at Bondi Beach for a 6am punishment session, the rain was pelting down.
More than 30 players - from captain Stuart Maxfield to budding superstar Adam Goodes and the team's rookies - had turned up at dawn, each carrying two bricks from home.
The session wasn't physically tough - just push-ups and shoulder presses -- but there was no escaping a plunge into the chilly, grey ocean.
The day before, one of the players - no-one will break the code of loyalty and say who it was - had broken the team's rules, turning up 15 minutes late for a post-match recovery session.
It was a minor misdemeanour, but, intent on lifting standards and winning the respect of the football world, the Swans' 10-man leadership group had made it plain they wouldn't listen to excuses.
If one person did wrong then everyone had to pay, an edict agreed to in writing by every player during a pre-season pledge to each other. The whip has had to be cracked about half a dozen times this season, with the last being that dawn session a month ago.
Tadhg Kennelly, the excitable Irish import whose flair and pace have injected spark into the Swans' defence, recalled how hard it was to throw off the doona.
"Geez, it was cold that morning. It was freezing and a few boys were afraid they'd get the flu," Kennelly said.
"But it was not a really demanding session. You just have to bring the bricks with you and it is more a pain in the arse than anything.
"You'll hate the bloke (who broke the rules) in the morning. You think 'you stupid bastard what have you done'? But you get up and do it.
"It's a good thing. In the past you could have got away with it and pushed it under the bed but now you can't. It sets up a good attitude, there are no short-cuts."
Maxfield, a masochist on the training track, gave an embarrassed laugh when asked about the early-morning work-outs called under his authority.
He hasn't talked about them publicly before. It is secret Swans business.
The players call the sessions themselves and not even the coaches are told.
"I don't get out of bed for those things; I leave that up to the captain," coach Paul Roos said jokingly this week. "That's the beauty of empowering the players."
Maxfield said the Bondi brick sessions were just for fun, then admitted they had been important in forging the tight-knit team that has defied the odds to meet Brisbane in tonight's preliminary final at Sydney's Telstra Stadium.
"It is that one-in-all-in theme and that is reflective of how our performances have been this year," Maxfield said.
"We need 22 contributors out on the ground and that is the same at training and everything else we do.
"We haven't got a lot of players who can win the game off their own boot. The way I see it, this is a really honest, accountable side and for us to be successful, everyone has to play a role."
Ego and individual glory are no-nos at the Swans. Playing for each other has become the mantra.
It was an approach they agreed to at a Coffs Harbour camp last November under the guidance of leadership consultant Ray McLean, who has worked with Collingwood and St Kilda.
As part of the program, the players elected their 10-man leadership group and came up with a set of team rules, which they have lived by on and off the field.
In consultation with Roos, they signed off on an internal document that has become their bible. It outlines the philosophies of the playing group, containing details about their game plan as well as broader values.
More secret Swans business, and more evidence of the brotherhood that has bound them.
"At the start of the year we set about changing the culture of the place, just not accepting mediocrity," midfielder Brett Kirk said. His ability to stop quality players such as the Magpies' Nathan Buckley has been vital to Sydney's success.
"We put together the leadership group and everyone was involved in putting the rules down because everyone had to abide by them," he said.
Roos believes McLean's leadership program, which is still running, has played a substantial part in unlocking the players' potential. Most of the team, from backmen Leo Barry and Kennelly to midfielders Jude Bolton and Nic Fosdike and forward Barry Hall, have had their best seasons.
Maxfield has grown into an inspirational leader and the group has been transformed from a bunch of under-achievers into the competition's fairytale team.
When the season began, a host of Melbourne footy experts were quick to write off Sydney. "No height, no depth, no match-winners, no good" was the gist of it.
Roos acknowledged that the critics had some valid points. During pre-season he agreed Sydney were devoid of superstars and had to unearth the next generation after the retirements of club heroes Paul Kelly, Andrew Dunkley, Wayne Schwass and Tony Lockett.
"When the players saw Kelly and Dunks and Schwatta and Plugger leave, there was a common belief that the only way we are going to be successsful this year is if we all dig in and help," Roos said.
Forward Matthew Nicks, who made his debut in 1996 and lived through the Kelly era, said other players finally found their voice.
"This year we had a clean slate," Nicks, 28, said. "It was like we'd started again. We tried to build a new culture around the place and prove to the young guys that they had to lead, too; it wasn't up to the older guys."
The message had been the same for several years but it worked this time, according to Nicks, because of Roos' philosophy of empowering the players by listening to their opinions and giving them more responsibility and trust.
Roos, who played 356 games for Fitzroy and Sydney and was named an All Australian nine times, came up with his ideas at the end of his career in 1998.
"When I finished playing I wrote down my thoughts in October '98 and it stemmed from that," he said. "I felt it was no good the coach saying things if the players don't believe what the coach says.
"They are the group who have to run out and do it, so having more involvement in the process was important."
With the leadership program providing the backbone for his ideas, the players came out of their shells. Nicks said the group blossomed.
"Any player on the list now, even a first-year player, would be confident enough to go out there and lead the boys for a training session," he said.
"That is where it has got to, whereas in the past that would never happen when you have guys like Lockett and Kelly there. Those guys were idols, everyone looked up to them but we don't have that feeling any more.
"Someone like (senior player) Daryn Cresswell is good mates with a first-year player and they feel like they are equals - that is the difference with past years. Now if you have an opinion you say it and it gets talked about in the group."
Nicks points to the increased responsibility borne by 23-year-old Goodes in the ruck this year. "Adam Goodes leads as if he has been here for 10 years, at training and on the ground with his voice," Nicks said.
And take Adam Schneider, 19, who has kicked 30 goals in his debut season. He has become so assured he gives Maxfield advice.
"Out on the ground if I have taken the wrong option then Adam would be quite comfortable in saying something to me, which is great," Maxfield said.
With Schneider, Roos relieved any pressure by telling him to enjoy his footy. "Before my first game he said when you get your first kick, just kick it, don't worry what happens," Schneider said.
Roos has never dragged anyone for making a mistake. "The consequence is that they owe us one; they have to make it up to the team," Roos said.
The belief that they could beat anyone became infectious after successive wins over Collingwood and Brisbane in rounds six and seven. Their drive has come from a hard-running and fearless defence, led by Andrew Schauble and Barry, who have set up play for forwards Hall, Schneider and Michael O'Loughlin, before he was injured.
Inside the attacking zone, the forwards, especially Hall, have applied relentless defensive pressure to their opponents, helping to trap the ball in the forward 50m arc.
That has created the Swans' goal-scoring efficiency, topped off by their accuracy.
When they have played Brisbane, Sydney have gone inside their 50m zone fewer times than the Lions but won both games.
Another buzz word at the club this year is "accountability", and the result is the opposition doesn't get much cheap ball against the Swans. Last year Sydney's opponents averaged 64 uncontested marks a game; this year the figure is 54. By contrast the Swans have gone from 57 a game last year to 67 this year.
The message has been simple: get the footy and try your hardest to keep it. Hall could be seen screaming those words into Nicks's face before the win against Port Adelaide two weeks ago. Now they have done what no-one expected and stand one win from a grand-final berth.
"They have a genuine love of the jumper and a love of each other too in a sense," Roos said.
"You can't get that sort of pride and passion and performance unless you really care for your team-mates and I think that is the biggest thing that I see when I look at this group."
One in, all-in - whether it be carrying bricks on Bondi Beach, or braving the Lions tonight.
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