We need to lose this weekend...

[mulfa]

Swans wont tank, swans don't tank we will bring our B game and try and win
just like the rest of the season, contary to popular belief we arn't down on form or playing worse than 2006/2005

If hawks wan't that top 4 spot bad enough and bring their A game they will beat us...

Tanking just creates a loser culture

Isn't saying we should tank this game to play teams other than the egales/ crows/ pies/ just saying there better than us..

It's the same thing when you aim to sit on the bottom for a few years to get the best pics of the draft, your really saying that the coaching staff isn't good enough to develop a
competetive side from what it's given.

[NMWBloods]

Swans wont tank, swans don't tank we will bring our B game and try and win
just like the rest of the season, contary to popular belief we arn't down on form or playing worse than 2006/2005

If hawks wan't that top 4 spot bad enough and bring their A game they will beat us...

Translation please...?

[573v30]

Translation please...?

Both teams want to win and the better team will win.

[NMWBloods]

Both teams want to win and the better team will win.

Thanks. That probably should have had attached!

[anne]

The Swans have already said they will rest "sore" players next week.

[Ludwig]

Not about tanking

It's not about trying to lose the game, it's that it doesn't matter much one way or the other if we win or lose. We could well end up in 7th even if we win. There is potentially a slightly better draft outcome if we end up in 8th.

The issue here is how to best prepare for the finals. Since winning is not important, we should focus on which players should be rested and if resting certain players will bring some life back into them when round one of the finals start. While our potential first round opponents have all to play for this round, we can treat it as a training session or a rest week, which may well give us an advantage in that first final.

This is the only way to use the loss to Collingwood to our advantage, and may well be enough to bring us to the second round of the finals. To waste this opportunity by gutting the team in order to win a meaningless game would be both foolish and counter-productive to out slim finals chances. Going into the finals relatively fresh may be both physically and psychologically beneficial.

[AnnieH]

Honestly, between you and me guys, I really think the swannies are going to struggle against the Hawks on Sunday. Big time.

See how the media goes later in the week.

[Triple B]

The Swans have already said they will rest "sore" players next week.

Of course they should.

It's a no-brainer.

[reigning premier]

One thing's for sure, they won't be resting any of our "good" players...

[Sanecow]

One thing's for sure, they won't be resting any of our "good" players...

So pretty much anyone could get a rest?

[KIRK4PM]

To a certain extent I agree, however finals are a different kettle of fish, the Hawks are young and inexperienced and we seem to take our game to another level in finals. The mind is a powerful thing.

Another week down the track might also see the return of Leo, LRT, Micky O, Kennelly etc (assuming they don't play this week).

the collingwood game was finals atmosphere and we got rolled.....

[Sanecow]

the collingwood game was finals atmosphere and we got rolled.....

Correct! Bad news from Richards:

?For a while now, we?ve been treating every game like a finals game. This week was really important. We were treating this game like a really big game. We didn?t win but we?re treating next week as just as big, if not bigger," he said.

Source

[Cosmic Wizard]

By my reckoning, attached, the will Swans have a pretty good finals run and will meet Wet Toast in the GF (and will win by a point)

Or, lose to the Hawks, get beating in the first final, and spend the summer realising that the other teams have caught up with us and gone ahead.

Seriously, I'm all for supporting the team, but teams which have no momenteum going into the finals are toast.

Time for some major changes; the present team can't win the flag, or get to the PF, throw the dice, put back some of the young players, and have a team which can have a crack.

[ernie koala]

Honestly, between you and me guys, I really think the swannies are going to struggle against the Hawks on Sunday. Big time.

See how the media goes later in the week.

Agreed, and if we do get rolled everyone will write off the swans (which is fair enough). But if there is still some of that blood brother culture left, a backs to the wall situation won't hurt.

[Old Royboy]

Roos on the Swan's web site. ""So really the main focus for us this week is to prepare for the following week and use this game on the weekend in order to do that. What you do is make sure with our medical meetings, being able to pick guys who are 100 per cent fit. If there is any doubt whatsoever it does give you an opportunity to do that."

I'm not going to the SCG this week expecting a win. But I am really looking forward to how the replacements handle themselves. We might call this tanking, for the blokes who are promoted it is called opportunity. I hope that instead of reinstating the tried, tested and failed that a couple of new faces get their chance to show what they can do.

Could almost be like the pre season at the end of the season.