Swans '05 vs Swans '03?

[D.H.]

Just to get an idea of how the general feel is for us Swannies supporters for Friday?s Prelim and wondering if everyone is feeling more or less confident now than they did before the 2003 Prelim against the Lions.

Reading the threads there does seem to be a positive and cautious feel, I?m just curious how the feel was for everyone else in 2003.

Personally I am feeling the same amount of confidence, I know we can win, it is just that the Saints and Lions are/were such formidable teams it will require a massive effort again, we will need a lot of gas in the tank.

We are probably a better side now than in 2003 and the Lions were probably stronger opposition, it is just that we are maybe more exhausted after playing the past two weeks and this may be telling Friday night.

Thanks for polling?. Go Swans!

[The Undertaker]

I am feeling more confident this year than in 03.

Taking nothing away from St Kilda because they are a great team,i felt in 2003 that the Lions were a well oiled machine.

The mighty Swans had a great win over in Adelaide in that semi final a couple of weeks before and it was great to have a semi at Telstra Stadium but the Lions were one awesome outfit!

The Sainters are going to be tough tomorrow night and IMHO,the Swans were a bit ordinary last week but we all know what our team is capable of doing and i believe they are up to the challenge!

[SXP]

Originally posted by The Undertaker
The mighty Swans had a great win over in Adelaide in that semi final a couple of weeks before and it was great to have a semi at Telstra Stadium but the Lions were one awesome outfit!

Sorry, but it was a Qualifying final not a Semi-final.
Personally, I'm still worried about the Sydney Swans finals fade-outs. It always looks like they are happy what they achieved during the H&A season, but lack menthal determination to replicate their good form in the Finals.

[RogueSwan]

Way more confident in 2003. The team had put in one of their best performances ever, then had a week off and were playing the Prelim at home.
This year the swannies have played to tough matches without being totally convincing and are travelling to the MCG where their finals record speaks for itself.
The one plus they have going for them is they are the underdogs this time, and should play without any fear of losing.

[Destructive]

I have that same 50/50 feeling I had in 2003

[msabenny]

More confident this year than in 2003. We are a better team and better for the failure of 2003.

[Go Swannies]

I'm as confident this year as I was then. But, like the team in 2003 I was naive. This time they are battle hardened and the Saints ain't Leigh Matthews Lions.

So I'm confident that the Swans after three years of Roos are a better team for finals footy than the team of 2003.

[punter257]

Originally posted by msabenny
More confident this year than in 2003. We are a better team and better for the failure of 2003.

plus having more finals under the belt is a good thing hopefully.
roll on tmrw night!!!!!!

[Thunder Shaker]

Originally posted by RogueSwan
Way more confident in 2003. The team had put in one of their best performances ever, then had a week off and were playing the Prelim at home.
This year the swannies have played to tough matches without being totally convincing and are travelling to the MCG where their finals record speaks for itself.
The one plus they have going for them is they are the underdogs this time, and should play without any fear of losing.

Agreed. Consider the differences:

• 2003 - preliminary final at home. 2005 - preliminary final away.
• 2003 - playing after a week's break. 2005 - playing after a tough final the week before.
• 2003 - playing an opponent we had beaten twice in the last two meetings. 2005 - playing an opponent we had lost to in the last two meetings.

This is why I am less confident this year than I was in 2003.

There is one important counterargument:

• 2003 - several players injured or under an injury cloud. 2005 - nearly at full strength against a side that is not at full strength.

That last counterargument is important. With the Saints at less than full strength despite a week off, and some players underdone, I think the Saints of 2005 are looking a lot like we did in 2003. On that basis, the Swans will probably win the last quarter. If we can have the lead at 3/4 time, we will be well placed to advance to the fourth week of the finals.

[Schneiderman]

Originally posted by Thunder Shaker
There is one important counterargument:

I think is more than just one:

• 2003 - Swans were playing against a duel premiership team who had played in the previous five finals series; 2005 - Swans are playing a team that has tasted finals only twice since 1998
• 2003 - Swans had a new coach, new game plan and was an unexpected finals contender; 2005 - Swans have a settled team, settled game plan, and an experienced coach
• 2003 - Swans had come off a massive victory, and may well have been overconfident or complacent; 2005 - the same team will not make that mistake twice

[barry]

Similar in the fact that I think whoever wins, will win the flag.

If it were in Sydney during the day, I'd say Swans by a mile.

But we are in much better shape than any finals campain I can remember, so I think we are a 55:45 chance this week.

[OldE]

In 2003 I was a newbie, optimistic and entirely unaware of our disappointing finals history. I thought they would definitely win, and they'd win the Grand Final too.

Now, two years on, I can't think about the weekend without thinking about the last two times I travelled to Melbourne to watch the Swans play the Saints. Why oh why do we have to meet them this week? And with Goldspink and McLaren umpiring? It's like someone is laughing at us. (though, to be fair, Goldspink was our hero last week (other than Nicky D, of course))

Definitely more optimistic in 2005.

[RogueSwan]

Originally posted by Schneiderman
[*] 2003 - Swans had a new coach, new game plan and was an unexpected finals contender; 2005 - Swans have a settled team, settled game plan, and an experienced coach[/list]

I counter this with the fact that other teams have now had three years to see what Roos would do with the Swans making them a lot more predictable.

[NMWBloods]

In 2003 the Swans were a bit of a one-trick pony, but no one realised that yet.

In 2005 the Swans have more tricks but are also more likely to become bogged down in going nowhere play.

In 2003 there was perhaps a feeling who knew we'd be here and we have nothing to lose so let's just have fun and play.

In 2005 it's our third finals series and we expect to do well.

[D.H.]

Ins and Outs from 2003 to 2005 (last week):

OUT / IN / DIFFERENCE
Maxfield / Buchanan / Even
Nicks / Demspter / Even
Cresswell / Bevan / Loss
Saddington/ MOL / Win
Schauble / Ball / Even
Doyle / Jolly / Win

As can be seen the Ins maybe make for a better side. NOG and LRT have also improved significantly since 2003 while Williams is probably down now a bit with his corky which sort of negates those plusses.

Schauble also could be in for Bevan which could be a positive if he does a good job. We should be wary that our bench will need run even more this year in order to go with Harvey and co.