What round will we start to play footy?

[swan_song]

Well, just back from the match and I am still in shock. What I saw today was not a team trying to defend its premiership. What I saw today (and for the first quarter against the bumboys) was a team that had won the premiership last year and was content with that, content with making us wait another 72 years! I just wonder at what stage of the season the lads will realise they have to get back to the selfless, gritty, team-orientated football they played last year. Where are the Bloods?
Sure today there were some dubious umpiring decisions, a number of inconsistencies, but Port Adelaide looked like they had won the premiership last year. No external excuse can justify such a performance. It wasn't the umpires, it wasn't the weather, it wasn't that Leo wasn't wearing his lucky jocks. It was simply a dismally appalling team effort.
If anything, the disgraceful performances from the reigning premier so far this season has reinforced in my mind just what an absolutely incredible achievement it was for Brisbane to back up in 2002, and again in 2003 and even the GF loss in 2004, after winning it first in 2001.

[Jeffers1984]

The most concerning thing is that this is pretty much our full strength team we are playing with atm. It's no help that our 3 (well 2 of the 3) captains have had a shocking start to the season.

We just don't seem hungry at all and i agree with you that a few players seem to of been content with just winning the premiership and not carrying on.

For some reason I can see us struggling against Carlton this week who did an awesome job to peg back Freo out at SO.

[desredandwhite]

We're clearly down across the board:

- Trailing 5-10m behind their man
- Not attacking the ball hard enough
- Picking the wrong option (esp those handballs)
- Not applying enough pressure to keep the ball in the fwd line
- No talk, sheperding or backing up a teammate.

The teams we have played so far have outplayed us, and have far greater commitment and passion - the honeymoon is over, boys. I can excuse it if it just looks like lack of fitness, but IMO it goes deeper than that.

As for me, the anasthetic effect of the premiership will only last so long......

[Chubby Muffler]

Originally posted by desredandwhite
- Trailing 5-10m behind their man

What struck me today was how slow the team looked. Guys being outstripped, just looking a bit lethargic.

[Thunder Shaker]

The question is not when we will start to play footy, it's when we will play footy for four quarters. The second quarter against the Bummers and the last against Port were good quarters, but in both cases it was after we had conceded huge leads. I would rather see such dominating quarters when we're not so far behind.

What I want to see next week is a solid four-quarter performance where we smash the Boos handily. We need the percentage.

Heck, right now I'd be happy with a 1-point win against last year's spooners.

[swans_premiers]

We will knock off Geelong at Telstra Stadium.

[Bleed Red Blood]

We let them get the required ten goals ahead before we started our 'comeback from behind win'. What went wrong?

[ScottH]

The

Originally posted by Bleed Red Blood
'comeback from behind'.

part

[originalswan]

Last week against Essendon it seemed that our midfield was down and a large contributory factor to our loss. This week against the Power it was really hard to find any position that we dominated in whether back, centres or forwards.

People are using the old "Premiership hangover" already. I say if we weren't premiers we'd look like a team that is heading for the bottom three spots on the ladder. Still we were 2-4 after 6 games last year. We are renowned slow starters - but we don't want to keep using that excuse for much longer.

Last year we found ways of winning games that we seemed to be out of - the question is do the current players still have the desire?

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by swans_premiers
We will knock off Geelong at Telstra Stadium.

Why?

[Xie Shan]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Why?

We'll win it for Nick Davis. The rest of the 22's way of saying thanks for saving our skins in the semi-final.

[SMFC]

Noone wins a flag in April.

Besides, winning flags is hard work and some people are too far ahead of themselves for the Bloods this year.

Two games have been dropped. Not particularly tasty but come what may.

Losing to Carlton will be something to start getting worried about.

[Schneiderman]

I think Paul Roos summed it up best: we have become a team of champions.

And that sucks. Because we actually really aren't a team of 'champions' to begin with. At least St Kilda actually are, and it hasn't helped them yet either.

What has to happen to remind the team how to win again? Is it a certain number of losses? Some key players dropped? A really humiliating loss?

In some ways I think losing both of these past two games by just five goals actually does us more harm than if we had lost one or both by 100pts. Because at this rate our 'slow start' could leave us with no time and not enough hunger to make up the lost ground.

Here's hoping the coaching staff have the magic smelling salts.

[ScottH]

Precisely Sman.

"When you climb the mountain, you're not sure what the next stage of the journey is," Roos said. "The early stage of the journey for 2006 is, 'We'll go our own way and test how good as players we can become individually'.

"It's only early, it's only two rounds in, but certainly at this stage, you'd have to say the majority of the guys are just testing whether they can be better individual players than team players."

The biggest concern was that Port's win was largely built on the characteristics that were the Swans' hallmarks last season, a harder attack on the ball and opponents and an unwillingness to concede easy possessions.

"If you come to play and test yourselves individually against the opposition and not want to put your body on the line, I think the pattern (of how we need to play) is pretty clear and I think the group knows it," Roos said.

"It's just a matter of how long they want to test it. Signs in the pre-season were good; signs in the start of the season are not so good."

Swans' spirit flagging: Roos

Too many I's in Team ATM.

[Mike_B]

Originally posted by ScottH
Too many I's in Team ATM.

Geeze Scott, can't you spell??? There's no 'I' in team!!! But, there is 'me'.