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Swans step up to the mark
By Jessica Halloran
March 31 2003
Up and at 'em: Swans debutant Adam Schneider. Photo: Getty Images
Sydney 22.14 (146) Carlton 10.12 (72)
He looked like he'd walked out of a high school footy team and been accidentally handed a Sydney Swans jumper. His face cherubic and young, his skin still a little thick with puppy fat.
But he played like it was his 50th game, not his first. Debutant Adam Schneider was cool in the conditions as the Swans opened their season in great style. While it is the earliest of early days, let the record show that the Swans are on top of the AFL table for the first time since round seven, 1998.
Schneider was one of the stars. He snuck a goal from just inside 50 metres in the dying minutes, and just like a natural he stuck a triumphant fist in the air.
Schneider's confidence levels were unusual for a first-game player. The 18-year-old showed off his thumping kick, tackled relentlessly, was ambitious and finished the game with 14 possessions and two goals.
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Swans coach Paul Roos marked it as an "outstanding performance", while his teammates were quick to pat him on the back after the final siren.
Schneider's performance reeked of deeds over words. After all the talk of stepping up and filling retired players' shoes, some players actually did it.
The Swans were quick, hard at the ball and exuded confidence in their defeat of Carlton on Saturday night. Skills were slicker, their intensity level high and their defence solid.
Their midfield was consistent and speedy in the delivery of the ball. Their forward power was exemplified by 12 goalkickers who contributed to the 74-point pummelling.
Things were positive. Very positive. But their opposition was miserable. Carlton coach Denis Pagan said his team lacked confidence and courage.
"If you look at our good players, none of them really played well," Pagan said.
The Blues coach said his best included debutant Jon McCormick, Simon Wiggins, Trent Sporn and Andrew McKay.
"You start to say to yourself, well we certainly didn't have a lot of other good players on the night, and you've got to have more than that if you want to be successful," Pagan said. "Some of those blokes that didn't play well tonight are certainly a lot better than that."
Carlton's key players, such as Anthony Koutoufides, who is recovering from injury, and Corey McKernan were hardly sighted.
Roos was pleased but measured in describing his seventh win as coach.
"It's great to win ... but you can't get too carried away with one win, there are 21 games to go. If we had lost we wouldn't have got too disappointed. It's a long year," Roos said.
"The players showed a fair bit of pride tonight. It's just the effort we want week in, week out."
Barry Hall was strong up front, finishing with four goals, and Nick Davis had a solid debut, booting three before fading a little late in the game due to a limited pre-season. "Nick's a bit underdone and he got caught out a lot of times behind," Roos said. "But he still kicked three goals."
Jared Crouch could not be contained by Koutoufides, the speedy midfielder instrumental in several goals, as was the reliable Paul Williams.
Williams's performance was pivotal in the second quarter, his seven possessions and three goals helping to push the match the Swans' way. He tackled hard and finished with 22 possessions. Stuart Maxfield was also effective, finishing with 16 touches and one goal.
The Swans' leading possession winner for the match was Jude Bolton with 29 touches. Roos said it was as good as he had seen Bolton play.
Bolton is in his fifth year at the club and it is understood his future relies heavily on this season.
"In terms of where I saw myself coming through the ranks, I haven't achieved what I've wanted to," Bolton said. "That's been disappointing in my respect, and I've had five months to think about that.
"Coming off the back of two ordinary years, I know if I did that again I wouldn't be around and there goes my dream."
One man whose future was shored up this week with a contract until 2007 was Adam Goodes. Classy and consistent, Goodes again dominated the ruck while his opponent, Barnaby French, could barely keep up with his hard running.
Sydney's defence used speed and touch to work the ball out of the Carlton attack.
Tadhg Kennelly and defender Leo Barry were standouts. Craig Bolton was cool under pressure and Jason Saddington and Rowan Warfe were also consistent.
But it wasn't all happy days for the Swans. Daryn Cresswell proved he was underdone, finishing with just seven possessions. And Stephen Doyle's hard-luck story continued. After an ordinary pre-season plagued by a calf injury, the ruckman/forward injured his right knee in the second quarter and will have an MRI scan this morning.
By Jessica Halloran
March 31 2003
Up and at 'em: Swans debutant Adam Schneider. Photo: Getty Images
Sydney 22.14 (146) Carlton 10.12 (72)
He looked like he'd walked out of a high school footy team and been accidentally handed a Sydney Swans jumper. His face cherubic and young, his skin still a little thick with puppy fat.
But he played like it was his 50th game, not his first. Debutant Adam Schneider was cool in the conditions as the Swans opened their season in great style. While it is the earliest of early days, let the record show that the Swans are on top of the AFL table for the first time since round seven, 1998.
Schneider was one of the stars. He snuck a goal from just inside 50 metres in the dying minutes, and just like a natural he stuck a triumphant fist in the air.
Schneider's confidence levels were unusual for a first-game player. The 18-year-old showed off his thumping kick, tackled relentlessly, was ambitious and finished the game with 14 possessions and two goals.
advertisement
advertisement
Swans coach Paul Roos marked it as an "outstanding performance", while his teammates were quick to pat him on the back after the final siren.
Schneider's performance reeked of deeds over words. After all the talk of stepping up and filling retired players' shoes, some players actually did it.
The Swans were quick, hard at the ball and exuded confidence in their defeat of Carlton on Saturday night. Skills were slicker, their intensity level high and their defence solid.
Their midfield was consistent and speedy in the delivery of the ball. Their forward power was exemplified by 12 goalkickers who contributed to the 74-point pummelling.
Things were positive. Very positive. But their opposition was miserable. Carlton coach Denis Pagan said his team lacked confidence and courage.
"If you look at our good players, none of them really played well," Pagan said.
The Blues coach said his best included debutant Jon McCormick, Simon Wiggins, Trent Sporn and Andrew McKay.
"You start to say to yourself, well we certainly didn't have a lot of other good players on the night, and you've got to have more than that if you want to be successful," Pagan said. "Some of those blokes that didn't play well tonight are certainly a lot better than that."
Carlton's key players, such as Anthony Koutoufides, who is recovering from injury, and Corey McKernan were hardly sighted.
Roos was pleased but measured in describing his seventh win as coach.
"It's great to win ... but you can't get too carried away with one win, there are 21 games to go. If we had lost we wouldn't have got too disappointed. It's a long year," Roos said.
"The players showed a fair bit of pride tonight. It's just the effort we want week in, week out."
Barry Hall was strong up front, finishing with four goals, and Nick Davis had a solid debut, booting three before fading a little late in the game due to a limited pre-season. "Nick's a bit underdone and he got caught out a lot of times behind," Roos said. "But he still kicked three goals."
Jared Crouch could not be contained by Koutoufides, the speedy midfielder instrumental in several goals, as was the reliable Paul Williams.
Williams's performance was pivotal in the second quarter, his seven possessions and three goals helping to push the match the Swans' way. He tackled hard and finished with 22 possessions. Stuart Maxfield was also effective, finishing with 16 touches and one goal.
The Swans' leading possession winner for the match was Jude Bolton with 29 touches. Roos said it was as good as he had seen Bolton play.
Bolton is in his fifth year at the club and it is understood his future relies heavily on this season.
"In terms of where I saw myself coming through the ranks, I haven't achieved what I've wanted to," Bolton said. "That's been disappointing in my respect, and I've had five months to think about that.
"Coming off the back of two ordinary years, I know if I did that again I wouldn't be around and there goes my dream."
One man whose future was shored up this week with a contract until 2007 was Adam Goodes. Classy and consistent, Goodes again dominated the ruck while his opponent, Barnaby French, could barely keep up with his hard running.
Sydney's defence used speed and touch to work the ball out of the Carlton attack.
Tadhg Kennelly and defender Leo Barry were standouts. Craig Bolton was cool under pressure and Jason Saddington and Rowan Warfe were also consistent.
But it wasn't all happy days for the Swans. Daryn Cresswell proved he was underdone, finishing with just seven possessions. And Stephen Doyle's hard-luck story continued. After an ordinary pre-season plagued by a calf injury, the ruckman/forward injured his right knee in the second quarter and will have an MRI scan this morning.
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