Why so negative??

[motorace_182]

There seems to be a lot of talk here that we dont have the right team to take us to a flag....WE DO!! When we have the likes of Bevo, Monty, B2, Malceski, Schneider, waiting to be injected into the midfield, we have the team able to take us all the way in 2005.
We have one of the strongest forward lines in the league for Christs sake. We have AA Barry Hall, Micky "Magic" O'Loughlin, Nick Davis, the ROK Star, Schneider/Monty. That is a forward line envied by most sides. Considering that we will have Goodes/Ball/Doyle/LRT/Jolly rotated through there, you would hate to be a defender against the Swans.
Then there are our backs. We were rated too small to compete. Leo was a bloody AA this year. B2, Crouch, Tiger, eventually Schauble, Bevo all played amazingly well off each other. The run that group generated out of defence was amazing. We also have the potential to mould LRT or Goodes (when accountable) into a suitable KPP player down there. Then there is Saddo, The poor lad has copped a fair amount of stick this season. As a loose man in defence, he will provide a spark, especially when his confidence is returned.
Our senior players in Willo, Kirk, Stewie etc are as good as most in the league. Captain Kirk has added a new aggressive style to his game where he not only shuts down, but then murders his direct opponent. Stewie throws his body where only angels dare tread. If anyone watched the replay vs Cats in Rd 3 today they would have seen the ability of these older blokes to pick our ass off the floor and drag us back into the game and infact win it!
For those who question our ability to go all the way, one any given day, anything can happen....We do have the firepower required!!!

Swans will Fly High in '05!!!!!!!

[cruiser]

That's the spirit!

[ROK Lobster]

That's the spirit all right. It is also delusional. Paul Roos does not think we have the list to go to the flag, and has said so numerous times. On our day we have the ability to beat anyone. BUT we struggle to win after we knock off a big team. In another thread someone quotes one of the players (Hall?) as saying the final quarter fade out in the PF against Brisbane was because the game against Port took its toll. What happened this year after we beat St K? What happened after we beat Bris? Winning BIG games takes an enormous effort. The players have to work so damn hard that they are stuffed and/or injured for the next week and we simply do not have the depth of talent to cover it.

We lack nothing in spirit, in endeavour, in guts and determination. Where we have a real deficiency is in size and natural talent. I expect we will finish 5-8 next year, win a final, maybe two. IF McVeigh and Ablett come on to replace Williams and Maxfield, IF Bevan lives up to those Kelly-like glimpses we saw, IF we find a big back man somewhere then 2006 and 2007 could be our years. I am optimistic about that. I just hope that next year we get more consistent and some of the younger guys stay fit and get a full season of development in. I also hope that we start beating sides that we should beat 9 times out of 10, rather than 6 or 7.

[NMWBloods]

Thanks ROKLobster for saying what I could be bothered typing!!

[Dooloo]

Great post. At last a positive supporter.

[Schneiderman]

Dont worry, plenty of us still share that optimism and faith. Thats why we are collectively called "support"ers.

And if people dont think we can really win a flag, go watch lawn bowling for a couple of years while we "rebuild". You can come back in 2007, but we cant guarantee you that you wont miss out on some excitment in the meantime.

[liz]

As with almost every other team in the comp, there is plenty of scope for improvement.

Bevan, McVeigh, Schneider, Doyle and Ablett are all established-to-semi-established senior players who have plenty of scope to contribute more than they did this year.

James and Fixter could still be valuable if they can overcome injury woes.

Saddo and Fosdike both had injury disrupted seasons and can provide more, while we didn't see much of Williams at his best either.

Then of course there are Goodes and Davis, two of our most naturally talented players and two capable of adding the flair that the team sorely lacked at times.

We also have enough players with one or two reserves seasons under their belt to expect one or two of them to emerge next year to be decent contributors, to add to a very solid core of players in their prime.

LRT is a bit of a wild-card. He had a serious of unrelated injuries this year that stopped him stringing games together, but when he was fit he played some very good reserves level football. If he can "take the next step" he could be a very valuable additional as a tall and mobile KPP.

Of course, maybe none of these players will deliver. But at least it is possible to see where the improvement can come from and it is not pie-in-the-sky stuff. While we have that we are entitled to be optimistic that the Swans won't be too far away next year.

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by Schneiderman
Dont worry, plenty of us still share that optimism and faith. Thats why we are collectively called "support"ers.

And if people dont think we can really win a flag, go watch lawn bowling for a couple of years while we "rebuild". You can come back in 2007, but we cant guarantee you that you wont miss out on some excitment in the meantime.

Now this is just ridiculous. If we don't realistically think we can win a flag in the next couple of years we are not proper supporters?!?

[chammond]

Originally posted by ROK Lobster
That's the spirit all right. It is also delusional. Paul Roos does not think we have the list to go to the flag, and has said so numerous times.

That's interesting . . . I've never read any quote where he suggested that, and I don't miss much.

Care to point me to an example?

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by chammond
That's interesting . . . I've never read any quote where he suggested that, and I don't miss much.

Care to point me to an example?

I think it's more the forgetfulness from your senility than you actually missing it...

"Roos admits the club remains a couple players away from becoming a force but refuses to put a time frame on how far Sydney is from winning a premiership.

"It's always hard to tell and it's probably the most difficult jump to make from where we are to where we want to get to," Roos said."

"Going into the season, again, there were question marks on whether we could back up and honestly we had them as well, because we still think we're a fair way off where we want to get to. We haven't got the absolute class and the talent of a lot of the teams in the competition."

"We're still a little way off a lot of other teams in terms of raw talent."

[liz]

Raw talent and class don't win premierships on their own, and given a choice between excess of raw talent and excess of commitment, discipline and hard work I'd take the latter.

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by liz
Raw talent and class don't win premierships on their own, and given a choice between excess of raw talent and excess of commitment, discipline and hard work I'd take the latter.

Of course they don't, however equally all the commitment and hard work in the world won't get you there without sufficient raw talent.

[motorace_182]

We have shown what we can do through hard work and determination. All we need is the raw talent, which after this pre-season, we may see some darkhorses really develop.

[ROK Lobster]

Originally posted by liz
Raw talent and class don't win premierships on their own, and given a choice between excess of raw talent and excess of commitment, discipline and hard work I'd take the latter.

I agree. But sheer hard work, discipline and commitment wont win you a flag on their own either. To suggest otherwise is to say that the club has been slackarsed for 70 years.

I am hopeful, and I am looking forward to next year and onwards. I think that we will improve next year. I hope we become more consistent and begin to really dominate the bottom sides and remain highly competetive with the top sides. I look forward to the young players taking the next step, and players like Hall, Kirk and Barry becoming dominant players in the comp. In many ways I am optimistic. BUT I do not think that we can improve enough in one season to become a genuine contender.

If this means that I am not a supporter then I am truly gob smacked. I'll pay my membership next year, I'll get to most of the home games and watch plenty of the 2's in Canberra. I'll sing the song, I'll cheer when Hall kicks a goal or Kirk lays a tackle. I'll boo the umpires and yell some abuse at John Barnes. When we lose it will sour my weekend and when we win I'll have a better week. If we miss the 8 or lose a final I'll get the sads for a couple of days and IF we win the flag I will be ecstatic. I'll even continue saying my two bobs worth here and reading what others have to say. But if to be a true supporter means that I cannot make any negative comment or dare suggest that I do not think that we will win the flag then I think I will have to be content with being a band wagoner.

[chammond]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
I think it's more the forgetfulness from your senility than you actually missing it...

Always a risk . . .

However, there is no way that this

Paul Roos does not think we have the list to go to the flag, and has said so numerous times.

is the same as this

"Roos admits the club remains a couple players away from becoming a force but refuses to put a time frame on how far Sydney is from winning a premiership.

"It's always hard to tell and it's probably the most difficult jump to make from where we are to where we want to get to," Roos said."

"Going into the season, again, there were question marks on whether we could back up and honestly we had them as well, because we still think we're a fair way off where we want to get to. We haven't got the absolute class and the talent of a lot of the teams in the competition."

"We're still a little way off a lot of other teams in terms of raw talent."

Paul Roos, to my knowledge, has never said that we can't win the flag.