The Swans are ugly, right???

[Primmy]

There were far too many seagulls on the ground for my liking flooding the back half.

HP

Boom Tish.

[pinkemu]

There were far too many seagulls on the ground for my liking flooding the back half.

HP

Same thing happened last night, looks like all the coaches are using that tactic

[Cheer Squad]

Agreed! Clearly Ross Lyon had a massive influence on our game plan and our premiership run! Well done to him and i hope the Saints go all the way!

I wonder if we can coax him back to Sydney? I'd trust him to get results. We shouldn't be afraid to be hard-nosed about it.

[The Big Cat]

Did I hear the commentators talking about St Kilda having an 18 man zone in their back 50? When the Swans do that they call it a flood!

[ROK Lobster]

The Saints play pretty differently than the Swans in 2005-06. There is equal intensity in defence, but when they attack the play on much more quickly and are more prepared to kick to a contest. I have not looked but I imagine that they had a far better % this year than Sydney in 2005 or 2006. I never found Sydney's defensice pressure boring, but the way they scored was often excruciatingly slow and painful. St Kilda take more chances in attack and play a more entertaining brand of footy imo.

[liz]

The Saints play pretty differently than the Swans in 2005-06. There is equal intensity in defence, but when they attack the play on much more quickly and are more prepared to kick to a contest. I have not looked but I imagine that they had a far better % this year than Sydney in 2005 or 2006. I never found Sydney's defensice pressure boring, but the way they scored was often excruciatingly slow and painful. St Kilda take more chances in attack and play a more entertaining brand of footy imo.

They averaged about 10 points more scored per game than the Swans in 2005. Their % was significantly better, but that was largely due to a stingier defence.

The Swans had some low scoring games in 2005 (and some where they played dreadfully - in a way the current Saints couldn't match if they tried) but our Swans were also capable of piling on the goals in a hurry when they felt like it.

[ROK Lobster]

They averaged about 10 points more scored per game than the Swans in 2005. Their % was significantly better, but that was largely due to a stingier defence.

The Swans had some low scoring games in 2005 (and some where they played dreadfully - in a way the current Saints couldn't match if they tried) but our Swans were also capable of piling on the goals in a hurry when they felt like it.

I just went and had a look at the 2005 ladder (and the match results).

Interestingly, Sydney did not score over 100 points in a game up to and including Rd 10 when Demetriou made his "ugly footy" comment. In the 12 home and away games played after that, Sydney scored more than 100 points in 11 of them. Maybe Andy was right, we could not win a premiership playing the footy we did in the first 10 rounds?

[SimonH]

I just went and had a look at the 2005 ladder (and the match results).

Interestingly, Sydney did not score over 100 points in a game up to and including Rd 10 when Demetriou made his "ugly footy" comment. In the 12 home and away games played after that, Sydney scored more than 100 points in 11 of them. Maybe Andy was right, we could not win a premiership playing the footy we did in the first 10 rounds?

Well obviously we couldn't win a flag playing the way we did in the first 10 rounds, i.e. mediocrely.

History has proved Roos right, and the argument has effectively been won. You won't find many in the Victorian press (much less in online fora) doing a mea culpa on the topic, though. They mostly stay very quiet about the fact that their own team has adopted at least some of the tactics that they derided as the death of football in 2005.

[Mr Magoo]

The Melbourne media seems to go out of its way to try to point out that St Kilda dont play the Swans did. That may be true during the normal rounds BUT

Fact is that the Swans gameplan was finals football and thats why we saw it on Friday night because its the style of game is what eventuates in many finals contests.

As to us not being able to score quickly I disagree, the Swans in 2005 sometimes scored multiple goals very quickly. Seem to remember a final against the saints in 2005 when in the first and fourth quarter we scored about six goals in about ten minutes. The ones in the final quarter effectively put the game to bed. AH the memories, I think Ive watched that quarter about one hundred times and as the last goal is scored the words "And the Swans are in the grand final" sounds as good now as it did then.

[laughingnome]

The Melbourne media seems to go out of its way to try to point out that St Kilda dont play the Swans did.

It must bemuse Lyon to hear/read all of them, considering he told the St Kilda committee his game plan as coach would be "like the Swans, but on steroids". Figurative steroids, of course

[dimelb]

I think it's basically the Swans style, but with a more talented list that enables them to do a few different things, e.g. 1. kick long to a contest when you have the multiple marking power of Riewoldt, Koschitzke, Gardiner, King; 2. play on more with a midfield of Holden Calais (I don't think they are all Rolls Royces, although Hayes might be) rather than Cortinas.