Tweet
Swans' biggest test
31 May 2004___Herald Sun
Tim Morrissey
OPERATION Stop Saints began yesterday morning as the Swans plunged into the cool waters off Sydney's Coogee Beach.
_Sydney stats
_Western Bulldogs stats
Round 10 photos
Tagged: Matthew Boyd gets a handball away from Michael O'Loughlin.
Picture: Nick Wilson
After getting their season on track again with back-to-back victories, Sydney believes it is ready to become the first team to defeat St Kilda this season.
"To come up against a red-hot side like St Kilda is exciting, and if we can beat them it would be super for the club and all the boys' confidence," defender Ben Mathews said.
"St Kilda are obviously in the best form in the league at the moment, so I think this is a great challenge for us."
After the Swans easily accounted for the Western Bulldogs by 26 points at the SCG on Saturday night, the team's new star defender, Adam Goodes, said Sydney was ready for a real crack at the Saints at home on Sunday.
"The feeling is we are getting better," Goodes said.
"We are winning the ball in the one-on-one contests and there is a feeling that we are getting something going now.
"We've won two in a row. We won three in a row earlier this season, so let's keep this going ._._. for us it's about continually getting better.
"We battled against Hawthorn to win by a point but we dominated the game against the Bulldogs from start to finish.
"It gives us great confidence now to go into next week against St Kilda; two wins under our belt, everyone is playing well, it should be a good game."
At the Coogee recovery session, the mood in the Sydney camp was definitely upbeat, despite deepening injury worries, speculation Barry Hall could have a date with the AFL Tribunal and concerns that the team needs to visit an eye specialist after kicking 12.21 against the Bulldogs.
Sydney has lost Jason Saddington for the season after the key defender ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at the 13-minute mark of the first quarter.
It was a cruel finish to a week that saw Saddington and his wife, Cassie, celebrate the birth of their first child, daughter Chelsea, on Thursday morning.
Swans superboot Nick Davis is in doubt for the Saints game after receiving a heavy kick to his left ankle in the first term.
Davis booted a goal in the second quarter after receiving pain-killing injections, but he turned up to Coogee Beach on crutches and will have X-rays this morning to determine the extent of injury.
"There's no ligament damage. Hopefully it's not a break or a chipped bone or anything like that," Swans coach Paul Roos said.
The woeful season-low conversion rate of 36 per cent was disappointing, but Roos was confident the Swans could easily turn around their poor accuracy.
"I was wrapped with our performance," Roos said.
"Really, it should've been a 60 or 70-point victory. I think 21.12 (instead of 12.21) would have been a fair result, but you take the win and at least you know you can work on your kicking."
Roos asked all Sydney fans to get behind the team on Sunday.
"In the Hawthorn game there was no doubt the crowd helped us get over the line," Roos said. "If we can get 35,000 there on Sunday, it's sort of like an extra player really and, as I've said, we are going to need all the help we can get.
31 May 2004___Herald Sun
Tim Morrissey
OPERATION Stop Saints began yesterday morning as the Swans plunged into the cool waters off Sydney's Coogee Beach.
_Sydney stats
_Western Bulldogs stats
Round 10 photos
Tagged: Matthew Boyd gets a handball away from Michael O'Loughlin.
Picture: Nick Wilson
After getting their season on track again with back-to-back victories, Sydney believes it is ready to become the first team to defeat St Kilda this season.
"To come up against a red-hot side like St Kilda is exciting, and if we can beat them it would be super for the club and all the boys' confidence," defender Ben Mathews said.
"St Kilda are obviously in the best form in the league at the moment, so I think this is a great challenge for us."
After the Swans easily accounted for the Western Bulldogs by 26 points at the SCG on Saturday night, the team's new star defender, Adam Goodes, said Sydney was ready for a real crack at the Saints at home on Sunday.
"The feeling is we are getting better," Goodes said.
"We are winning the ball in the one-on-one contests and there is a feeling that we are getting something going now.
"We've won two in a row. We won three in a row earlier this season, so let's keep this going ._._. for us it's about continually getting better.
"We battled against Hawthorn to win by a point but we dominated the game against the Bulldogs from start to finish.
"It gives us great confidence now to go into next week against St Kilda; two wins under our belt, everyone is playing well, it should be a good game."
At the Coogee recovery session, the mood in the Sydney camp was definitely upbeat, despite deepening injury worries, speculation Barry Hall could have a date with the AFL Tribunal and concerns that the team needs to visit an eye specialist after kicking 12.21 against the Bulldogs.
Sydney has lost Jason Saddington for the season after the key defender ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at the 13-minute mark of the first quarter.
It was a cruel finish to a week that saw Saddington and his wife, Cassie, celebrate the birth of their first child, daughter Chelsea, on Thursday morning.
Swans superboot Nick Davis is in doubt for the Saints game after receiving a heavy kick to his left ankle in the first term.
Davis booted a goal in the second quarter after receiving pain-killing injections, but he turned up to Coogee Beach on crutches and will have X-rays this morning to determine the extent of injury.
"There's no ligament damage. Hopefully it's not a break or a chipped bone or anything like that," Swans coach Paul Roos said.
The woeful season-low conversion rate of 36 per cent was disappointing, but Roos was confident the Swans could easily turn around their poor accuracy.
"I was wrapped with our performance," Roos said.
"Really, it should've been a 60 or 70-point victory. I think 21.12 (instead of 12.21) would have been a fair result, but you take the win and at least you know you can work on your kicking."
Roos asked all Sydney fans to get behind the team on Sunday.
"In the Hawthorn game there was no doubt the crowd helped us get over the line," Roos said. "If we can get 35,000 there on Sunday, it's sort of like an extra player really and, as I've said, we are going to need all the help we can get.
Comment