Can the Sydney Swans win the Premiership?

[S120]

We have a very good draw for the first half of the season.

GWS in Sydney
Freo in Sydney
Port in Adelaide
North in Sydney
Hawthorn in Tassie
Adelaide in Sydney
Richmond in Melbourne
Melbourne in Sydney
St.Kilda in Melbourne
Bulldogs in Sydney
Essendon in Melbourne
BYE

We really should be on at least 7 after the first half of this year based on what we see above. I would hope it looks more like 8 or 9 (perhaps I'm overrating our list but I don't think I am). Hawthorn in Tasmania is the only game that I see us rightfully being definitive underdogs for.

[sharp9]

Well S120 - you are right to be optimistic about those 11 games. We finished above 10 of those teams last year!

[Melbourne_Blood]

Draw wise we are in a better position than we have been in years to get a really good start to the year. The problem is we seem to always have those games we should win comfortably that we tend to drop or just get over the line in ( If we lose to Richmond again this year im going to have a rage induced aneurysm) . If we can become more ruthless like the good teams above us, we should be in a very good position at the mid way point of the season. From there, who knows what could happen. Those who say we are no chance of winning the flag would have something to think about if we are on say 8W and 3L after 11 rounds. Though if that is the case, we still probably wouldnt have beaten much and would have to prove our credentials against the top sides.

[johnno]

Well we have to.......cause the world comes to an end in December 2012

But then again, I think we'll be premiers every year and go undefeated every game......so what do I know?????

In all seriousness though, I think we've finished fifth on the ladder 3 out of the last 4 seasons(the one exception being that 1 onomally(sp??) in 09 when missed the finals....WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!), so I think we have to at least make prelim this year, and the best way to do this is finish top 4!!!!

[Swansongster]

onomally(sp??)

Pedant alert. "Anomaly" is the correct spelling. For future reference (and a good trivia question), as far as I know anomaly is the only word in the English language that ends in "aly" (i.e. single "l"). Everything else ends in "ally" (i.e. double "l").

[Swansongster]

onomally(sp??)

Further to previous post:

Anomaly: Noun - An anomalous thing; irregularity

It's a self-fulfilling word. :-)

[top40]

In 2005 the swans were 34-1 to win the flag pre season. After they won it I remember Roos saying the success came a little earlier than he thought. To me all this points to the reality that the Swans winning this year is possible but oure list hasn't yet hit it's peak. Sometimes the success can happen a bit earlier than you think. EG Hawks 2008 and maybe even the Pies 2010. So I think there is more upside to come in the next few years but it's not impossible in 2012

More acutely, after Round 6 in 2005, when Sydney were 2 and 4 they were $36. One of those 2 early wins included a kick after the siren win at the Gabba in a game where Brisbane lead the entire game. Consequently it could have been easily 1 and 5.


I remember then the Round 7 game against Essendon at Homebush when the Swans were down by 16 points at 3/4 time facing a likely 2 and 5 scenario. (They ended up winning the game in what was one of the most important last quarters in the club's history.)

[Auntie.Gerald]

I think we can seriously challenge

we are moving towards a tipping point with White, Walsh and Pyke

They have been in the system just long enough now that one of them minimum could emerge by mid season as the player we want !!!

[swansrule100]

I dont know why but I always look at trying to find reasons why its like 2005 again, good to see I am not alone.

I think we are building as a flag threat, but we cant afford the stupid losses like richmond at the mcg last year, or the dockers in sydney. We will have enough trouble with the big sides like hawthorn, pies and cats etc.

I think we need a big key defender to free up Grundy, Richards and co. Can LRT do it? not sure. But the better sides have us covered with franklin, cloke, hawkins and co.

I think any side coming off two semi finals appearances in a row with some real talented youth (last year i remember a game 12-13 players were under 50 games playes) and some star experience has to be a threat.

The list of sides who are honestly potentially in our way is a lot smaller than the list we should be ahead of.

[wolftone57]

Why do people seem to think we are not all that good. I think we are going to be awesome this year. I am very excited about this list. I think we are as good as the Cats and Pies, there I said it. I think we could play the Hawks or Weagles in the GF. The Saints are nackered as are Doggies and I think Lyon will take a year developing the Dockers. I don't believe the Buckley Experiment will work and I think the Cats are about to slide. We are on the up and up as is the Harks and Weagles.

[Hartijon]

Speculation at this stage of the year is one of the exciting things about following a team but I tend to agree with wolftone that our prospects are bright. We CAN beat both the Pies and the Cats but Hawthorn showed us something in the Finals: WE NEED A FORWARD LINE THAT FUNCTIONS.
We still don't have it and this will frustrate all the supporters as we win hard balls all over the ground only to lose it at FF. Given we have no stand out FF we need to develop a running entry style not a long bomb and rely on the centre line,followers and 1/2 forwards to kick our goals.(Reid will continue to impress at CHF but is yet to be a game breaker). There are signs the coaching staff is doing this already. We can try White (again) Walsh(a long shot) or Pyke( our best bet but still learning)but none of these are any guarantee to succeed at FF. If we could solve the forward problem ,we could win the flag this year!Without a functioning forward line we may make the finals but will not go the whole way.

[grarmy]

Calm, calm. All the portents are there for a top four spot. On current performance/reports, we have depth and the guys have had a great pre-season. Going beyond top four require us to beat Geelong/Pies/Hawthorn/. Sorry, the tall foward issue i.e. Morton, Seaby, White, Walsh and Pyke will stop us going further, again, this year. Seaby needs to have the best season he has had in five years to stay on the list beyond 2012. So he has incentive and purpose but I cannot see him fulfilling his potential. White is finished. He has had more chances than anyone else in our team and simply cannot deliver anymore than one goal a game if that. There is something not right about Walsh. He may well be the hope that wasn't. He has not shown enough for mine to get a regular spot. This worries me. He was supposed to be the guy missing out on opportunities at StKilda. Maybe we are seeing now why they didn't play him. Pyke: probably best placed out of the White/Seaby/Pike option. Morton is my man. He is determined to get a spot and hold it. So. I see the ideal tall forward set-up including Morton/Reid/Pyke with Spangher/Rohan/McGlyn in the pockets supported by Okeefe/Bolton/Jack and Smith/Parker/Jetta on the wings. But will this combination outdo Hawthorn or Geelong? Gee, the potential is there, it really is.

[dimelb]

Thoughtful comments, grarmy, and I agree that the potential is there. One comment: Morton is imho not a tall forward option - he is more Nick Davis size. If he turns out to have a decent portion of Nick's talent, our stocks will emphatically be boosted.

[wolftone57]

Thoughtful comments, grarmy, and I agree that the potential is there. One comment: Morton is imho not a tall forward option - he is more Nick Davis size. If he turns out to have a decent portion of Nick's talent, our stocks will emphatically be boosted.

Yes totally agree Di, Morton is an opportunistic forward and not tall enough to be classed as a tall forward. Talls in the forward line are from; Reid, Spangher, White, Walsh and the resting ruck either Seaby or Pyke. They may even try Spang down back if they hit pay dirt with the others. There is talk that both Tommy and Spang are in line to take the resting ruck if need be. But that would be a job I would hope LRT could handle. I don't include Goodes in there because he is first a mid and only when resting a forward. But if he did play permanent forward then I think we would potentially have an awesome structure. Throw ROK and McGoo in the mix with the poss of a Lamb or a Cunningham and WOW!

[Swansongster]

Based on the data above, I'm off to the bank tomorrow to mortgage the house and take the 33s on offer. Seriously though I agree with the previous comments. I think we are better than 2011. If we can keep a healthy list and have a quality forward step up, we have to be a chance. Certainly better than $34.00 for mine. I don't think any of the 17 other coaches will be relishing coming up against us in 2012.