Leo - we've lost confidence

[Mike_B]

I'm surprised it hasn't been brought up here yet, but in an interview this afternoon, Leo admitted that the team doesn't have the confidence they did last year and that's definitely affecting them. Didn't say there was any reason to panic and was able to make a bit of a joke about "liking the slow starts".

Last year it felt things atrted to change after the St Kilda game, when they played a more open, free-flowing game against Carlton - hopefully history will repeat itself and they will take more of a 'nothing-to-lose attitude' into Saturday night's game and play without this fear that seems to have come over them the first couple of weeks this year...

[NMWBloods]

Strange isn't it. It's hard to say why the premiers would suddenly lose confidence. Equally it's hard to say what will bring it back. There was no confidence last year in the first half and then suddenly it appeared just after half way.

Strangely enough I'm confident that Roos can do something about restoring the confidence.

I'm less confident about our prospects this year though relative to what I was expecting before the season started. Granted it's still early and things do change through the course of the season, but the other teams appear to be improving on the whole so we need to do so as well. I'm just not sure where it will come across the team as a whole.

Hopefully if things do not improve Roos does actually make the significant changes needed rather than trying to stick with last year's structure and formula.

[ROK Lobster]

I think that the Swans are a bit confused. Silly as it sounds the "hunter becoming the hunted" thing has upset them I think. They are not a team of champions but I think that they are trying to play like a team of champions. They have never been front-runners, but seem to be trying to play like front-runners. I tjhink they are confused as to how to play, I think they are confused by the umpiring (anyone notice Leo and Jude (I think it was Jude) take a couple of very bad dives just after 1/4 time), they are only 75%-90% fit, and a little overawed by the expectations of success. I think they will turn it around. I also think that the $21 the bookies are offering is very tempting.

[NMWBloods]

The other interesting thing is that everyone is underestimating them and there were some comments here that was good because we could fly under the radar. Unfortunately it is not like previous years because we are the premiers and cannot fly under the radar. We are not rating highly but teams are still going to get up to try to beat us as we are the premiers. No easy games for us this year.

[RogueSwan]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
No easy games for us this year.

That should be good for the Swans who have a history of losing should win games and winning the tougher ones.

[ScottH]

Confidence is a funny thing. It can't be taught. It can't be attained through learning. It is just a switch the comes on when you stop trying, and just let things happen. I think they are all trying to hard to make things happen. When it clicks on, watch out for a resurgence.

[Go Swannies]

It has been very noticeable that just about every player said in the pre-season that they were looking to improve their performance this season. And out there, it looks like they might all be trying that but as individuals. The whole impressive Swans teamwork that was so noticeable in 2003 and 2005 is missing. But it was at the start of last season too. This time, the stress of being premiers makes it worse as it's done their heads in.

If Roos - or a captain - can get them to play as team, looking to improve as a team, then it might be worthwhile putting money on them before this weekend.

Paul Roos has done nothing to stop me thinking that he is weeks ahead of us all in thinking this through. His post-match suggested that. I watched him closely at 3/4 time and he walked on looking as p#ssed off as I was but by the time he'd made the adjustments on the position board he was genuinely laughing. Even before the season he said we'd probably concede the first three games (I hope he meant two!)

The Swans players may not be as talented as others (though they have to be more skillful and faster than they looked on Sunday) but when they have that instinctive knowledge of where each other is and what everyone is going to do, they are awesome. Maybe the premiership, maybe the new rules, have made that "clicking" difficult this season. But as long as they don't presume it will come along again this year without some hard work, we can expect that it will.

I'm confident the team will improve dramatically once they get over their over-confidence. I just don't buy Leo's "lost confidence" claim. Right now they look like a team that expects victory to be handed to them on a plate.

One positive is that they have finished stronger than the other team for both the first two games. That may be just vecause they haven't been working as hard, or we may still have the edge in training, as the pre-season reports suggested. We'll see. But it better be bloody soon or we'll leave it too late to catch the rest of the field.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

Re: Leo - we've lost confidence

Originally posted by Mike_B
I'm surprised it hasn't been brought up here yet, but in an interview this afternoon, Leo admitted that the team doesn't have the confidence they did last year and that's definitely affecting them.

Not completely sold on his diagnosis, it looked to me that Roos' selfishness was a more likely disease. Although what the treatment is . . . . ?

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by Go Swannies
I'm confident the team will improve dramatically once they get over their over-confidence. I just don't buy Leo's "lost confidence" claim. Right now they look like a team that expects victory to be handed to them on a plate.

Yes, I think this is the likely diagnosis. They begin the games quite well and then expect everything to just cruise from there. The other team overtakes them and is a long way away before they realise what has happened.

[cruiser]

Originally posted by ROK Lobster
I think they will turn it around. I also think that the $21 the bookies are offering is very tempting.

I'm gonna chuck a lazy $10 on them. It'll pay for my GF ticket at the end of the year.

[Nico]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
The other interesting thing is that everyone is underestimating them and there were some comments here that was good because we could fly under the radar. Unfortunately it is not like previous years because we are the premiers and cannot fly under the radar. We are not rating highly but teams are still going to get up to try to beat us as we are the premiers. No easy games for us this year.

There is a solution. Fly over the radar.

Surprised no one has thought of this yet.

[Nico]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Yes, I think this is the likely diagnosis. They begin the games quite well and then expect everything to just cruise from there. The other team overtakes them and is a long way away before they realise what has happened.

A bit like "what the F happened".

[JF_Bay22_SCG]

He was at the after-match at the SARC on Sunday. He appeared completely vague and bewildered not only about what is going wrong but about the new laws & ow to adapt to them. When Robbie asked who Cornes' man was, from memory he couldn't really answer with any sense of assurance.

There is definitely quite a bit wrong at the moment. The scary thing is that the way I see it, is that I don't think even roos has worked out what the problems are let alone how to solve them.

JF

[Nico]

Originally posted by JF_Bay22_SCG
He was at the after-match at the SARC on Sunday. He appeared completely vague and bewildered not only about what is going wrong but about the new laws & ow to adapt to them. When Robbie asked who Cornes' man was, from memory he couldn't really answer with any sense of assurance.

There is definitely quite a bit wrong at the moment. The scary thing is that the way I see it, is that I don't think even roos has worked out what the problems are let alone how to solve them.

JF

Vague and bewildered, Leo, Nah. He just plays like he is vague and bewildered, and hence bewilders everyone up field with his bewildering dodging of shadows just for the crowd. At the moment he vaguely resembles a footballers lemonade.