AFL 360 Kiss of Death?

[Faunac8]

Should we be concerned with the whole panel tonight saying we are now a lock for the premiership? Robbo says he likes watching the Swans play and admires the way they play . King reckons we abandoned the so called " money ball approach "
went bang bang with KT and Lance and are now a sure thing.
Given what was being said after round four I think that we will handle expectation with out too much of an impact but having so many pundits jumping on board now is maybe a worry.

[Melb Blood Bro]

Should we be concerned with the whole panel tonight saying we are now a lock for the premiership? Robbo says he likes watching the Swans play and admires the way they play . King reckons we abandoned the so called " money ball approach "
went bang bang with KT and Lance and are now a sure thing.
Given what was being said after round four I think that we will handle expectation with out too much of an impact but having so many pundits jumping on board now is maybe a worry.

If only I'd put $200 on us prior to round 5.

[jono2707]

Kurt and Buddy broke our radar....

[Swanny40519]

So we have gone from money ball to Bondi billionaires. Should be a movie in that.

[Conor_Dillon]

Kingy didn't say we abandoned 'money-ball' he said we used it successfully to a point and then we added the cream on top in Tip and Bud...was a pretty good summation actually!

I think it is also fair to say that part of the Swans taking the risk with Buddy and the associated $$ was to do with Heeney and Mills, the hierarchy knew that if a midfielder was squeezed out due to cap room that we had a couple of guns coming through anyway

[mcs]

I very much doubt we've abandoned moneyball. I expect it will be our dominant recruitment strategy over the next several years - just plugging the holes where we need to, topping up the list, as we aren't going to have big $$$$ to chase after free agency superstars.

[aardvark]

On The Couch Round 16 2014 - Swans love-in! - YouTube

[Nico]

I very much doubt we've abandoned moneyball. I expect it will be our dominant recruitment strategy over the next several years - just plugging the holes where we need to, topping up the list, as we aren't going to have big $$$$ to chase after free agency superstars.

Goodes, ROK and LRT retiring at the end of the year should free up a bit in the cap, even allowing for Buddy's billion $ deal.

[Mel_C]

You can never say that a team is a lock in for the premiership. Look at the hawks in 2012 or the cats in 2008.

But I certainly hope they are right ????.

[jono2707]

I don't think we've abandoned the 'Moneyball' approach either, but our 2 big signings of the last 2 years are perhaps what you could call a temporary departure from this, notwithstanding the addition of Laidler and Derickx this year. I think our 2 blockbuster signings are more a response to the AFL's decision to add another team to the difficult Sydney market - the Swans have been proactive, aggressive and clever in adding a key player in Tippett and a bona fide star in Buddy in response to the GWS threat. I'm sure the powers that be at AFL house were neither expecting nor are particularly happy about our responses during this time but it's certainly shown how ahead of the curve the Swans' management really is.

[wolftone57]

Goodes, ROK and LRT retiring at the end of the year should free up a bit in the cap, even allowing for Buddy's billion $ deal.

Yes you are right Nico I too believe these players will all retire at the end of the year. Shaw might as well, we'll see soon enough. with Shawie it is not a matter of him losing it, he was actually playing very well, but injury. If he gets any more soft tissue injuries I think he will pull the plug. I don't give a stuff what these guys think quite frankly. We always do the things that matter for the club. Our blokes will not be looking at premierships this week, they will be looking at Carlton.

[ShockOfHair]

Kingy didn't say we abandoned 'money-ball' he said we used it successfully to a point and then we added the cream on top in Tip and Bud...was a pretty good summation actually!

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At least he didn't call it Over-the-Moneyball.

I do hate being frontrunners, thinking of what Hawks did to Geelong in 08 and what we did to Hawks in '12. But usually the premier is the team that is best in the comp in the second half of the year, which puts a question mark over Port who got out of the boxes early, and has a good run with injuries, which probably rules out Hawks. Leaving us and Freo.

[MightyBloods]

I don't think we've abandoned the 'Moneyball' approach either, but our 2 big signings of the last 2 years are perhaps what you could call a temporary departure from this, notwithstanding the addition of Laidler and Derickx this year. I think our 2 blockbuster signings are more a response to the AFL's decision to add another team to the difficult Sydney market - the Swans have been proactive, aggressive and clever in adding a key player in Tippett and a bona fide star in Buddy in response to the GWS threat. I'm sure the powers that be at AFL house were neither expecting nor are particularly happy about our responses during this time but it's certainly shown how ahead of the curve the Swans' management really is.

Agree totally.

[MightyBloods]

At least he didn't call it Over-the-Moneyball.

I do hate being frontrunners, thinking of what Hawks did to Geelong in 08 and what we did to Hawks in '12. But usually the premier is the team that is best in the comp in the second half of the year, which puts a question mark over Port who got out of the boxes early, and has a good run with injuries, which probably rules out Hawks. Leaving us and Freo.

History tells you that any team on a winning run like us gets to at least a grand final. Just look at the last years we had a run like this. Also, without being cocky, teams around us don't have the same depth and injuries now starting to stretch their list and fitness. Fingers crossed ..we can stay reasonably healthy.

[aardvark]

Swans' list best in his time, says Malthouse - AFL.com.au

Malthouse said astute recruiting and patience rather than use of the contentious cost of living allowance had put the Swans in such a strong position.