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Young Swans to step up
Sydney
February 4, 2004
Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes is among Sydney's newly elected leadership group for what coach Paul Roos predicts will be a tough season for last year's AFL surprise packet.
Veteran midfielder Stuart Maxfield was confirmed as captain for a second season while Goodes and fellow ruckman Jason Ball and tagger Brett Kirk were voted onto the leadership group by their colleagues.
Goodes developed into one of the competition's elite players in 2003, Kirk was widely recognised as the premiership's best run-with player while Ball was a key member of the team until suffering a season-ending dislocated shoulder in round 17.
Ball is one of several key men who will miss Saturday week's exhibition against Essendon at North Sydney and the Swans' first Wizard Cup match against Carlton at Telstra Stadium eight days later.
Ball, backs Ben Mathews and Leo Barry, forward Michael O'Loughlin and ruckman Stephen Doyle are all still nursing injuries.
Among others likely to miss those matches are Maxfield and fellow midfielders Paul Williams and Jared Crouch, full-forward Barry Hall and back Tadhg Kennelly.
''We are a little bit behind where we were (at the same time) last year, starting (pre-season) three weeks later,'' said Roos from Newcastle where the Swans are based this week as part of the AFL's Community Camp program.
''We've just got to be a bit careful we don't push too early and get too many injuries during the first couple of trial matches.''
Despite starting later this year, Roos was confident the Swans wouldn't go into the new campaign underdone, providing their training ground was ready for use again next week.
''We're trying to work in conjunction with the Centennial Park Trust to get the ground repaired as soon as possible and we're hoping that will be done while we are away and we are hoping we can get back on it next Monday,'' Roos said.
He said he would follow the same formula as last year as he felt Sydney still didn't have the talent of some of the other top teams.
While the Swans took the competition by storm last year with an unexpected surge to the finals, Roos said he hadn't yet broached with his players the issue of the public and media's higher expectations for this season.
''We will talk about it come the season, but I think the players know it's going to be a tough year,'' Roos said.
''They know that we need 15 or 16 good players every week and that we have to work very very hard to win games of football.
''I think there's still room for improvement on our list and the challenge is for them to keep improving, or at least maintain last year.''
''Obviously we're hoping that Adam Schneidner, Lewis Roberts-Thomson get better and Mark Powell and Jarrad Sundqvist and Luke Ablett.
Sydney
February 4, 2004
Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes is among Sydney's newly elected leadership group for what coach Paul Roos predicts will be a tough season for last year's AFL surprise packet.
Veteran midfielder Stuart Maxfield was confirmed as captain for a second season while Goodes and fellow ruckman Jason Ball and tagger Brett Kirk were voted onto the leadership group by their colleagues.
Goodes developed into one of the competition's elite players in 2003, Kirk was widely recognised as the premiership's best run-with player while Ball was a key member of the team until suffering a season-ending dislocated shoulder in round 17.
Ball is one of several key men who will miss Saturday week's exhibition against Essendon at North Sydney and the Swans' first Wizard Cup match against Carlton at Telstra Stadium eight days later.
Ball, backs Ben Mathews and Leo Barry, forward Michael O'Loughlin and ruckman Stephen Doyle are all still nursing injuries.
Among others likely to miss those matches are Maxfield and fellow midfielders Paul Williams and Jared Crouch, full-forward Barry Hall and back Tadhg Kennelly.
''We are a little bit behind where we were (at the same time) last year, starting (pre-season) three weeks later,'' said Roos from Newcastle where the Swans are based this week as part of the AFL's Community Camp program.
''We've just got to be a bit careful we don't push too early and get too many injuries during the first couple of trial matches.''
Despite starting later this year, Roos was confident the Swans wouldn't go into the new campaign underdone, providing their training ground was ready for use again next week.
''We're trying to work in conjunction with the Centennial Park Trust to get the ground repaired as soon as possible and we're hoping that will be done while we are away and we are hoping we can get back on it next Monday,'' Roos said.
He said he would follow the same formula as last year as he felt Sydney still didn't have the talent of some of the other top teams.
While the Swans took the competition by storm last year with an unexpected surge to the finals, Roos said he hadn't yet broached with his players the issue of the public and media's higher expectations for this season.
''We will talk about it come the season, but I think the players know it's going to be a tough year,'' Roos said.
''They know that we need 15 or 16 good players every week and that we have to work very very hard to win games of football.
''I think there's still room for improvement on our list and the challenge is for them to keep improving, or at least maintain last year.''
''Obviously we're hoping that Adam Schneidner, Lewis Roberts-Thomson get better and Mark Powell and Jarrad Sundqvist and Luke Ablett.
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