bad bad time to come home!

[dendol]

welcome back GS.. welcome back welcome back welcome back (in the cotter tune)..

I suppose the negativity you read about seems to have come from the expectations of the team after such a stellar 2003. I, for one, was disappointed and very critical in many of the games which I thought we should have won (eg Kangaroos). Whilst very pessimistic about our outlook after the St Kilda loss, I would like to think that 2005 will be a fresh start and with a bit of luck, we can push for that top4 spot again.

I agree with your sentiments on our trading though. I think Jolly will be a good player for us, and pick15 isnt paying too much for a young, promising ruckman. We didnt have many other chances, so this turned out to be as good as we could have got.

Maybe what many of us need is a 3 month holiday to refresh ourselves as well!

[Go Swannies]

Thanks for the comments folks.

NMW - I hope to put a whole bunch more Arctic pics on my website in the next few days. Iceland in sunshine was brilliant. And Charlie, the sunburn and snow blindness should be cleared up in time for my next excursion to the bit of Antarctica under the hole in the ozone layer this summer. Scorch time again.

And NMW I don't think injuries stopped us in the finals. But the injuries earlier on set us up for a hard run through the finals.

I reckon a few conversations at the Club Champion dinner provide more wisdom than 12 months of RWO. Last year I asked Baz what happened in that final quarter against the Lions and he replied "Maybe that win against Port took more out of us than we thought. Anyway, they lifted and we couldn't go with them." This year I told Magic that I had my flights back from Iceland lined up to be home for a Swannies GF. He said "Yeah, sorry about that. We were just beaten by a better team on the day."

That's what it looked like to me when I got to see the video, too. The Saints had a great 2004 so it would be no disgrace to lose to them - if we hadn't just capitulated to their pressure in the end. That and the early season Richmond last quarter loss were the big disappointments to me this year.

Magic also said he'd spoken to some of the guys at Port and they said that it just all clicked for them in the GF. Did it what? They made the Lions look like talentless hacks (except Aker, though it pains me to say it). But one more goal to the Saints and Port would have remained chokers.

I still think the Swans this year (or at the end of the season, at least) weren't far behind the Lions and were a better team than the Pies of 2003. And I think the team is still building. And I think Roos is still learning coaching - though he's clever enough to have potential to be the best a la Sheedy, Matthews. Jolly may take away my despair every time I see Jason B limp away from a bounce. But we need players to step up even more - without Baz we wouldn't have been playing finals so we need fitter forwards to be able to step in, Nicky D and Adam S.

In an even competition, the grand final goes to the team that has the endurance, the ladder position and players to step up on the day (or, more accurately, every day of the finals). It took Port three years to get it right. I reckon we could next year without a single change to our player list.

But - and this is the question I wanted to ask Paul Roos at the dinner - will we start 2005 with a full team? Unless we have a decent pre-season training ground I'd suspect not.

[Bron]

Originally posted by j s
Well said GS!!

The negativity has been the main reason for my reduced presence on the forums this year.....and virtual disappearance since the season ended.

Absolutely agree.

[Schneiderman]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
and always being optimistic that things will work out well in the end.

Cant see whats wrong with that. Better than always being pessimistic (like my Dad). Besides, its more than just optimism... I also have "trust", "respect" and "faith" in the entire team... go figure

[BAM_BAM]

Originally posted by Go Swannies
" This year I told Magic that I had my flights back from Iceland lined up to be home for a Swannies GF. He said "Yeah, sorry about that. We were just beaten by a better team on the day."

I was beside GS when telling magic this and it was a very sincere answer, not an excuse that rolls out.

they know what hapened and from the players I spoke to I get the feeling they are more than ready to pull on the boots and go better for next year.

[Schneiderman]

Originally posted by BAM_BAM
they know what hapened and from the players I spoke to I get the feeling they are more than ready to pull on the boots and go better for next year.

Which is all that matters. Are we really interested in attracting players with money alone?? I love the Swans, and trust the players are just as passionate. If there weren't any (else) that fell into that category, then so be it.

Andrew Ireland aint a mug. Lets just give him some time to prove that to us.

BTW - the best part about the Jolly deal was his enthusiasm. Without it I would agree the deal may have been less than perfect, but with it I remain very optimistic.

[CureTheSane]

Originally posted by ROK Lobster
I'm glad something is being done to stop the negative threads. This one reeks of positivity...

LMFAO

Very good.
And very true.