Sydney Swans - The big picture

[magic.merkin]

Couldn't disagree more with the OP for the various reasons put forward by others already.

Didn't we almost get to a prelim last year with less than what we have now? yep...

I'd rather have been competitive and made finals, and not win. Than tank, possibly pick up a gem or not with an early rd1 pick (after GC and GWS have had their pick) and be a joke of a club. For financial reasons we can't underperform, and as a club I respect that the coaches and players won't accept rubbish either and take some pride in their efforts.

In regards to WCE who have slipped down the ladder since 05/06 and picked up picks, we have beat them this year with their exciting list at home. We had 11 players under 50 games to their 9, we have some great talent coming through I believe in Rohan and Reid etc.

Keep the faith, we are a few years off a shot, but it's 2003/2004 all over again IMHO and we will get there to challenge.

Flags aren't easy to win even when you dominate for a few years, and no matter how good a side you have littered with number 1 picks and priority picks (St Kilda), Blues, Dogs etc

[msb]

Geelong are hardly a fair example. Look at the players they got through father son picks.

Anyway, I'm pretty cautious in my opinion. Do we have in us in the next 5 years? I really don't know. I tend to be of the opinion that our veterans (who bless their soul have been the backbone of this club and its continued success) will probably finish up before we get to that stage.

The good thing about 2010/2011 for us is that we have been rebuilding and yet continue to be competitive. We've played lots of kids and hopefully some gems develop out of this generation of players. Roos/Longmire were/are actively seeking to rebuild the team, but maintain high standards. I'm firm in the belief that this is better than bottoming out and as mentioned before, our club can't really afford to be uncompetitive.

I think geelong are more than a fair example, they have never bottomed out and have achieved the ultimate success, like us, so whats the difference?

[Primmy]

We are number 6 on the ladder and its round 10.....doesn't that mean something?

[Cheer Squad]

...we're gonna be @@@@@@@@ when Goodes and Jude bolton are finished. Especially Goodes, he is such a focal point.

OK, so who is going to be our next Brownlow medallist?

Do we even have another potential winner on our list? Maybe Josh Kennedy? Or Kieran Jack? I think Jack might be in with a show if he stays injury free.

Goodes was an absolute gem to uncover, and that was obvious from his first game. He's certainly become our best known player in Sydney by a country mile.

[Big Al]

in 2-3 years, we will be up against a prime west coast/carlton/essendon who are showing alot more than sydney at the moment.
Speed, skill, poise - something which we lack i reckon.
lets face it, Were gonna be @@@@@@@@ when Goodes and Jude bolton are finished. Especially Goodes, he is such a focal point.

Ahh, I dunno, I just cant see a bright future compared to some of the other teams.

Must be horrible not to be genuinely excited by the future. Don't worry the SCG will be under water and part of the coast in a few years and when we merge with GWS we will again have a bright future.

[wolftone57]

Yep this is exactly the reason why we dont bottom out and never can, roosy often used to say this. I dont buy this need to bottom out anyway, there is precedent where premierships have been won without doing so. We never bottomed out and very nearly one back to back flags, geelong has never bottomed out and I dont even need to mention their achievements. Also just because you are prepared to bottom out, are you guaranteed to win a premiership? No, so why bother? A team should give themselves every chance to win a flag every year and recruit the players that can help them do this, which the swans have done.

Sorry MSB but the Cats did bottom out & Thompson nearly got the sack. T the bottom eight & low eight for one of those. Thompson was building a team & getting rid of all the deadwood that had accumulated at Geelong. He was also trying to change the culture at the Cats. The culture was if you play for the Cats you are a star, I've seen players who never came near winning a premiership being treated like gods down there. We don't have that problem here but we do have a Sydney attitude problem, if you are a loser here no-one likes you. But in saying that I think it would have done us good to have a couple of years at the bottom like the Lions, Cats, Pies, Saints (wasted talent bad coach before Lyon), Blues (again not the best coach), Eagles, Freo. In saying that we have been very smart in the draft in swapping players who didn't fit our future & one who wanted to go (Jolly) for high (1st & 2nd) draft picks over the last 3 to 4 years. Thank Roosie for that as he looked to the future & used the Sheedy method of getting high draft picks, wave a choice bit of meat (over 25) under the noses of other clubs then bargain.

[Doctor]

I think the jury is still out on whether or not botttoming out actually works. Carlton got a massive leg up with all their priority picks and those picks aren't given out like they used to be. Recruiting astutely and scouting effectively is the best way to get the right players. Many of the better players in the league (Goodes & Swan are two examples) were low picks. I like where we're headed. Had we not sustained some key injuries last year we might have gone even better. This year we're a key forward away from being very competitive IMO. I know we couldn't rely on Bradshaw being right but we'd have been pretty close had he been fit.

[Primmy]

Naughty al, naughty!

[Cpt. Kirk]

I disagree as well. The idea that high draft picks are required to achieve a premiership is flawed. Look at Collingwood - Fraser was a #1 pick but played no part in their success. And when did Geelong bottom out?
In fact you could almost say more recycled players is the way to go.... How would we have gone in 2005 without Williams, Ball, Jolly, Davis, Bolton?
I'm happy our club remains competitive rather than tanks.

We are going to remain competitive and i do believe in a couple of years we will be contenders again for the flag.
How you have said fraser didnt help them at all i think you forget how collingwood got pendleberry and daisy.

[GongSwan]

In 4-5 years this group will be hitting thier prime (all will be in the 25-28 age group)...
Ried, McGlyn, Hannebury, Jack, Kennedy, TDL, Johnson, Johnston, Reid, Rohan , Smith,Moore, Bird, Mumford
These will be in the veteran stage of their career to provide leadershipa and structure: LRT, Malceski, Grundy
so in 4-5 years, we will have a gun team... but in the mean time, they are getting better with each game...

This makes the most sense to me on this thread. The only other thing I agree with is that we will need another Goodes and a power forward. While Reid will make a CHF, he may not be the goal kicker we will need. Maybe LJ will develop that way, but I see him more as a third tall, leaving room in the goal square for a big marking forward

[msb]

Sorry MSB but the Cats did bottom out & Thompson nearly got the sack. T the bottom eight & low eight for one of those. Thompson was building a team & getting rid of all the deadwood that had accumulated at Geelong. He was also trying to change the culture at the Cats. The culture was if you play for the Cats you are a star, I've seen players who never came near winning a premiership being treated like gods down there. We don't have that problem here but we do have a Sydney attitude problem, if you are a loser here no-one likes you. But in saying that I think it would have done us good to have a couple of years at the bottom like the Lions, Cats, Pies, Saints (wasted talent bad coach before Lyon), Blues (again not the best coach), Eagles, Freo. In saying that we have been very smart in the draft in swapping players who didn't fit our future & one who wanted to go (Jolly) for high (1st & 2nd) draft picks over the last 3 to 4 years. Thank Roosie for that as he looked to the future & used the Sheedy method of getting high draft picks, wave a choice bit of meat (over 25) under the noses of other clubs then bargain.

Depends how you define bottoming out...considering geelong havent finished below
12th position in the last 11 years I dont really class that as bottoming out. We finished 12th in 09 and that certainly was not through bottoming out.

[cowcar]

This makes the most sense to me on this thread. The only other thing I agree with is that we will need another Goodes and a power forward. While Reid will make a CHF, he may not be the goal kicker we will need. Maybe LJ will develop that way, but I see him more as a third tall, leaving room in the goal square for a big marking forward

agreed..(and thanks).. we may need a potential big target.. and i think we all hope that White isnt a write off.. but failing that, there are always trades and recruiting to come. however, in that group the core of the team is forming (with Jack being the most likely to be captain). I also forgot in the seniors list, Mcviegh will be around still..
so in that frame, we will have a great team. Lets hope we can keep them in the team and injury free..

[GoSouth33]

Look, we had a very good win tonight against the Lions and some of our younger players shone. Hard to see that we don't have future with those players.

[bondy]

Without disrespecting the OP, i think the concept of 'bottoming out' is a theoretical exercise that doesn't always work in reality. I think the most important aspect in any club is culture, something we have in spades. For whatever reason (astute recruiting, great induction) we seem to be able to late round draft picks and turn them into quality footballers (AJ comes to mind).

Whether it's for financial reasons in our market or something else, I'm glad that we remain competitive whilst focusing (lately) on youth. That we have such a young list playing with the enviable Swans ethos is indeed exciting.

[BRISWAN]

People here are downgrading our culture - which is the envy
Of most clubs and the real reason we don't bottom out ( or tank)!!!!
This is what I love and am most proud about this club.
When you put on the red and white and run out - you carry
the Bloods tradition with you.
We lost this for a few years and have alot to thank Roosey for
...... over and above the flag and finals.
I'd always prefer a champion team over a team of champions !!