Swans complacent: Schwass

[NMWBloods]

Very good article.

Already, [Schwass] concedes, there are disturbing signs that the side might have become complacent.
...
Unless you are ready to turn up with the equivalent of finals footy every week, you are going to get touched up. There's nothing better for a side to come up against the reigning premiers and knocking them off.

"The Swans have got to seriously be on their game and complacency is one of the biggest challenges a coach and a football club has to confront. And they can't afford any drop off because they don't have a Brisbane list."
...
Schwass concedes he fell victim of the grand final hangover after the Kangaroos' 1996 win.
...
"I never won two in a row so I found it hard," Barassi said.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18776379-36035,00.html

[Go Swannies]

"You play any sport to reach the pinnacle and it takes a very strong minded and focused individual, led by a very strong coach to maintain that same position again."

This is the vital bit of the article. Lethal has proved he is such a coach - it'll be interesting to see if Roos can match him.

The challenge is not to ask the players to play better. Pre-season said they all intended to do so and I believe them. They all want to be stars. But the challenge is to put the same effort into selfless team things - as they did so well last year. When you hear them say "I don't want to you notice the improvement in my game but I want to be the indiscernable link in play that makes the guys either side of me look good" then we are back on track. That's hard to do when they are Premiership players and so, by modern superficial definition "stars" already.

[NMWBloods]

Matthews' advantage is that he had a better stable of players, so he has an advantage over Roos in maintaining that top position.

[Go Swannies]

Too true - he is also an excellent coach who gets the best out of his team. That is the bit I hope Roos can emulate again.

[liz]

Originally posted by Go Swannies
Too true - he is also an excellent coach who gets the best out of his team. That is the bit I hope Roos can emulate again.

The difference was though - and I think it's another way of saying what Bloods is saying above - that the Lions' premiership teams weren't absolutely dependent on getting the most out of all the team. They had more natural brilliance in every area of the field.

The Swans had (and still have) the natural talent in the forward line but the defence and midfield rely on everyone busting a gut for 120 minutes of each game. Just a couple of players dropping off, even sub-consciously, will make the whole team look pretty ordinary.

That said, I'm certainly not prepared to write them off yet. To go back to back would be a supreme achievement, and probably a big surprise, but I still expect them to be highly competitive and to play finals football, injuries permitting.

[dimelb]

Originally posted by liz
The Swans had (and still have) the natural talent in the forward line but the defence and midfield rely on everyone busting a gut for 120 minutes of each game. Just a couple of players dropping off, even sub-consciously, will make the whole team look pretty ordinary.

I think that's the heart of it. The players don't seem to be as hard at it yet this year as they were last year. I think we can do much better but the problem is in the mind, not the heart or legs.