No. 8 in The Age

[dimelb]

The Age has been rating the teams from 16 up, and have put us at no. 8. The 7 still to come (not in order of course) are: Brisbane, Collingwood, Port, West Coast, Freo, Hawthorn and Essendon. My first reaction was to be indignant, but second thoughts were "They're not going to see us coming this year either."
Robert Walls did the summary and the esence is that while we are a good outfit, we are unlikely to get another best-ever season out of six players - here he mentioned Goodes, Kirk, B1, B2, Hall and Leo. I disagree, but I'm content to let the players do the talking - on the field.
Mind you, Dermot Brereton tips us for no. 3!

[Bleed Red Blood]

The article in full...

2004 preview: Sydney
March 14, 2004




Adam Goodes

Related:
David Wenham: What I'd do if I were in charge



Sydney surprised many people with its 2003 season. But although Age experts believe they will be in the finals again, the Swans may find last season a hard act to follow, says Robert Walls.

Paul Roos, in his first full season as senior coach, put his stamp on the Swans. It was exciting to see the Swans play fast, direct attacking football. At their best they were as good as the Brisbane Lions. Roos encouraged his players to take risks, to back themselves. It was one in, all in. The players willingly sacrificed themselves for the good of the team. Heroic acts became the norm. No-one's courage could be doubted. This was a team hellbent on playing for and earning the respect of each other. The team's finest moment was its winning final in Adelaide, when against the odds the Swans eclipsed Port Adelaide. For me, it was the best South Melbourne-Sydney performance I have seen.

The best a coach can hope to do is extract 100 per cent from the talent he has at his disposal. Roos went close to doing that last season. It will be a hard act to follow. A lot of things went right in 2003. For a start, the Swans kicked amazingly accurately. Their conversion rate was the best in the AFL, with main goalkickers Barry Hall and Michael O'Loughlin kicking two goals for every behind. Lady luck smiled on the team with injuries. Eleven players played all 24 games, while three others missed just one. To have a team settled, as Sydney was, is a huge bonus.

Then there is the fact that at least six Sydney players had career-best seasons. Will Adam Goodes, Hall, Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton, Craig Bolton and Leo Barry manage to continue their run of fine form?

No doubt the Swans will be scrutinised for their success. Hall, the go-to man in the forward line, will have more than just his direct opponent to beat in 2004. Brownlow medallist Goodes will have an athletic shadow follow him more times than not, and Kirk, tough as he is, will cop more physical punishment.

Crucial to Sydney's premiership hopes is Jason Ball. Late in the season when Ball was injured the Swans lost team balance. Goodes was forced to ruck more than Roos would have liked, and the clearances became less effective.

There are few chinks in Sydney's armour.

The hard-running, strong-rebounding half-back line sets up numerous scoring opportunities. Barry, Tadhg Kennelly and Craig Bolton love to run and carry and then kick long and deep into the forward zone. They are 70-metre players. Running midfielders such as Stuart Maxfield and Paul Williams continually break up play while Kirk, Jude Bolton and Jared Crouch add a high degree of discipline, accountability and genuine toughness. Up forward the options keep coming. Hall and O'Loughlin are class acts. Nick Davis and Adam Schneider know how to sniff a goal, while Goodes and Williams are good for at least a goal a game.

With 12 home games, confidence high and a calm, calculating coach at the helm, September action seems assured.

WALL'S BEST 22

B: C Bolton Schauble Mathews
HB: Kennelly Saddington Barry
C: Crouch J Bolton Maxfield
HF: O'Keefe Hall Goodes
F: Schneider O'Loughlin Davis
Foll: Ball, Williams, Kirk
Inter: Fixter, Nicks, Fosdike, Roberts-Thomson
Arrivals: Matthew Davis (draft), Andrew Ericksen (draft), Heath James (rookie list), James Meiklejohn (rookie list), Tim Schmidt (draft), Josh Willoughby (draft).
Departures: Daryn Cresswell (retired), Scott Stevens (traded, Adelaide), Daniel McPherson (retired), Daniel Hunt, Brad Seymour.

AT THE CROSSROADS

Jason Saddington - At 24, and with 125 games under his belt, Saddington's future looks assured. But what future will he choose. To go with the flow as he has, or to make a stand and take on more responsibility and be the key player that his team desperately needs him to be.

Matthew Nicks - Closing in on 30 and no longer a definite selection, Nicks has some thinking to do. He can toughen up to earn respect and play another three years, or not change his ways and float through his final year of big-time footy.

Stephen Doyle - The biggest man on the list has played just 20 games in four years. Forget the bad luck, the injuries, the selections that didn't go his way. It's make or break time in year five.

ON THE RISE

Lewis Roberts - Thomson Playing 16 senior games on debut was a handy introduction to the AFL. Brought up on rugby union, the athletic and brave blond needs to fine-tune his skills to become a starting 18 player.

Adam Schneider - In his debut season Schneider played every game and kicked 30 goals. It was a sensational start to what should be a fine career. Increased endurance will mean he will spend more time in the thick of the action.

Ben Fixter - Dogged by injuries since joining the Swans four years ago, the young man from country NSW didn?t play a senior game in 2003. Good judges predict a fit Fixter will hold down a defensive spot in 2004.

THE PAST 5 YEARS

1999 - 8th
2000 - 10th
2001 - 7th
2002 - 11th
2003 - 3rd

BEST AND FAIREST - TOP 10, 2003

1. Adam Goodes 416 votes
2. Brett Kirk 387
3. Jude Bolton 331
4. Barry Hall 302
5. Leo Barry 280
6. Craig Bolton 272
7. Tadhg Kennelly 254
8. Paul Williams 241
9. Ben Mathews 239
10. Jared Crouch 230

DRAW FOR 2004

RD 1 v Bris Lions, Gabba, Sat, Mar 27 (n)
RD 2 v Fremantle, SCG, Sun, Apr 4
RD 3 v Geelong, SCG, Sat, Apr 10 (n)
RD 4 v Kangaroos, MO, Sun, Apr 18
RD 5 v Melbourne, TS, Sat, Apr 24 (n)
RD 6 v Essendon, MCG, Sat, May 1
RD 7 v Richmond, SCG, Sun, May 9
RD 8 v West Coast, Subiaco, Sat, May 15
RD 9 v Hawthorn, SCG, Sun, May 23
RD 10 v W Bulldogs, SCG, Sat, May 29 (n)
RD 11 v St Kilda, SCG, Sun, Jun 6
RD 12 v Port Adel, AS, Sun, Jun 13
RD 13 v Collingwood, TS, Sat, Jun 26 (n)
RD 14 v Carlton, OO, Sat, Jul 3
RD 15 v Adelaide, SCG, Sat, Jul 10 (n)
RD 16 v Geelong, SS, Sun, Jul 18
RD 17 v Fremantle, Subiaco, Sat, Jul 24
RD 18 v Bris Lions, SCG, Sat, Jul 31 (n)
RD 19 v Kangaroos, SCG, Sat, Aug 7 (n)
RD 20 v Melbourne, TD, Sat, Aug 14 (n)
RD 21 v Essendon, TS, Sat, Aug 21 (n)
RD 22 v Richmond, MCG, Sat, Aug 28

OUR EXPERTS PREDICT

Dermott Brereton - 3rd
Rohan Connolly - 10th
Jake Niall - 8th
Stephen Rielly - 7th
Robert Walls - 7th
Tim Watson - 9th
Caroline Wilson - 7th

THE COACH

Paul Roos grabbed his opportunity when Rodney Eade quit as coach mid-season 2002.

Since then, Roos has won the supporters and his players with his positive approach. The players desperately want to perform for their mentor. Roos absorbs all the pressure while his players go about enjoying playing the game.

So far it?s been simple and effective. Being voted by his peers as "coach of the year 2003" was no small achievement.

STATS HIGHLIGHTS

Sydney with its quick, direct style of football averaged just 19.5 disposals a goal. Only West Coast was more economical at 19.0.

Winning more ball at ground level is an area that needs improvement as the Swans sat bottom four in loose and hard-ball gets.

Source: Prowess Stats

CLUB INFORMATION

Address: Aussie Stadium, Driver Avenue, Moore Park, NSW 2021
Website: sydneyswans.com.au
Email: [email protected]
Captain: Stuart Maxfield
Coach: Paul Roos
President: Richard Colless
CEO: Myles Baron-Hay

Plus an "what I'd do if I were in charge peice by David Wenham"



What I'd do if I were in charge
By David Wenham
March 14, 2004




David Wenham, actor and passionate Swans supporter.


Sydney will definitely win the flag this year. How do I know this? Because my sister Maree tells me so.

The only reason the Swans lost the '96 grand final was because Maree washed her scarf the night before, and the only reason the Swans were unsuccessful in last year's preliminary final was because Maree draped her scarf over the TV. So she has promised this year not to wash her scarf, not to drape it on the TV, not to shampoo on game day and never to buy the Footy Record off someone with blond hair, and victory will be ours. Simple!

Acting and football are very similar (the kicking, marking and handballing aspect aside). Both require an exhaustive rehearsal or training period leading to the performance or game day and both occur in a theatre of sorts. And if the director or coach is overly negative in critism it can become a selffulfilling prophesy. Even the most talented can then appear very ordinary in front of the crowd.

I think the real reason for Sydney's dramatic improvement last year was psychological more than anything else. There was a confidence among the players that didn't seem apparent in the previous couple of seasons. Paul Roos had these blokes believing in themselves. Adam Goodes is a prime example. He stepped up in the ruck, played up forward, in fact everwhere you looked there he was. Brett Kirk, also omnipresent, was entrusted with shutting down the competition midfield, relished the task, tackled like a man possessed and won plenty of the ball.

I have followed the Swans since the move to Sydney in '82, was there through the bad days with 13 other followers in the outer. I was there for the fantastic evening when T. Lockett put the team into its first grand final in 51 years and, of course, I found it compulsory to run on to the SCG to congratulate "Plugger" when he broke Gordon Coventry's all-time goal kicking record.

I feel, however, that this year is the one. Rehearsal is nearly over. Roos will once again have the players believing in themselves. The talent is certainly there ? led by captain Stuart Maxfield, a newly naturalised Tadhg Kennelly, Michael O'Loughlin performing magic, Adam Schneider doing same (have an inkling so will Luke Ablett), a superfit Jason Ball and of course Barry Hall (would love to mention all players but unfortunately don't have the space).

The Swans need only to play football and Maree needs to keep her promise.

Cheer, cheer the Red and the White.

David Wenham is a renowned Australian actor


Season Preview

David Wenham's piece

[NMWBloods]

I think they were both really good articles. Thanks!

[desredandwhite]

Walls' article is pretty fair.

Liked the David Wenham article too - Always knew Faramir would be a Swans supporter, being basically one of only a handful of truly good characters in the book But I digress.

I too have "the evil scarf" and "the evil hat" and my "must mark down every score in the record along with quarter and minute" superstitions

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by desredandwhite
in the book

Yes!

[Charlie]

I think the bit about having someone following Goodes this year shows that the evidence has been altered to fit the theory.

It's not that other clubs didn't try to stop Goodes this year... they did. The simple fact is, he couldn't be stopped. And he won't be stopped this year, either.

Hall's form this pre-season has been better than I've ever seen it. He no longer merely influences matches. He bends them to his will. He might have had his best season last year, but he'll be better again in 2004.

As for Kirk copping more physical treatment, I call upon Walls to watch the Port Adelaide game that he sung our praises about a little more closely. He'll see Pickett deliver what should have been a bone shattering shirtfront. We all know what happened next, and I don't think Pickett has worked out yet how he got up.

Looking at the rest of his players, if the Boltons end their careers having never improved on their performances at the age of 23, I'll row the Yarra River in a bathtub, singing 'Good Old Collingwood Forever' and wearing a t-shirt saying 'I know less about football than Caroline Wilson'. Yeah, I know that Walls wrote the article, but Caro is a more widely recognised dunce than Walls.

[ScottH]

But remember Walls was the only one last year that predicted a good year for the Swans under Roos, and he was right.

[BAM_BAM]

Originally posted by Charlie
Looking at the rest of his players, if the Boltons end their careers having never improved on their performances at the age of 23, I'll row the Yarra River in a bathtub, singing 'Good Old Collingwood Forever' and wearing a t-shirt saying 'I know less about football than Caroline Wilson'.

as much as I don't want to see that. I'd love to see that. I haven't stopped laughing yet from the mental image I have.

[Charlie]

Originally posted by BAM_BAM
as much as I don't want to see that. I'd love to see that. I haven't stopped laughing yet from the mental image I have.

You had to go and quote it, didn't you? Now I can't destroy the evidence!

Luckily, I won't have to.

[Nico]

The "6 player" comment surprises coming from Robert Walls, who I think is a fairly astute judge on match day.

4 of the six, Bolton x 2, Kirk and Goodes are relative babies in games played, so if they had a career best season you would think the observation would be that they have some great footy ahead of them. More likely to be a positive than negative factor.

Then again with us they are always grasping at something to play us down.

[Nico]

Originally posted by hemsleys
But remember Walls was the only one last year that predicted a good year for the Swans under Roos, and he was right.

No he wasn't. Kevin Bartlett said we would definitely make the 8 and is a rap for us agin this year.

[Nico]

Charlie you are going to love this.

On Friday when the news broke that C.Wilson had been given the lemonade and sars from Talking Footy the radio jocks on SEN said "what has she done wrong". "There is not many stories that she gets wrong." "About the best football scribe going around".

I nearly pewked when I heard that dribble. It shows that the media fraternity are so insular and proves the point that very few have a clue about anything.

Now take my favourite John Anderson. When Australia was on the ropes in SriLanka he spruked there was no way we would get out of it. Soon as he said that I knew we would win because he hasn't tipped a winner since Phar Lap and everyone tipped him. What happened, we won.

But the next day when we were back on top he refused to say we were still in the game.

A Geelong supporter and blindly said all week that the Cats would win easily withourt any backup evidence. Now if this bloke follows his peers he will pick us out of the 8 (Geelong In) and we are in for a ripper year.

[Destructive]

Re: No. 8 in The Age

Originally posted by dimelb
Mind you, Dermot Brereton tips us for no. 3!

Now that is downright scary!