2018 Season....Still Proud of the Swans!!!!(Swans' season review)

[chalbilto]

Just out of curiosity how would you have voted?

[MattW]

That "highlighted" is how I voted.

Same, except Parker rather than Lloyd.

[Kafka's Ghost]

Just out of curiosity how would you have voted?

I would have voted the same, except Sinclair ahead of Heeney, who wasn’t quite right after his concussion. For all the criticism of the coaches, not many coaching panels would have got such an inexperienced and at times injury bedeviled team to the finals, let alone challenge for a top four position. It was clear that some of our young guys were cooked in the latter part of the season. Heeney needed a month off in his first year, remember.

[Go Swannies]

I was in New York so still haven't seen the GWS final. But the season ended as I expected. I came home after our loss to the Cats at the SCG saying "that was a waste of an evening watching two teams that aren't going to do much in finals" - and so it proved. Injuries are behind the greatest highlights for me - watching Ronke andMcCartin step up, for a start. But didn't we all know that the kids would get tired and that would be shown up in the furnace of finals?

We've got some good games into some up and comers. If we can keep a team on the field - and maybe recruit a surprise or two - we could have a great season next year. There were definitely more highlights than down times this season (excluding the tragedies of AJ and Rohan). And I'd still pay my membership simply to watch Buddy play - image if he can train over the next 12 months!

[barry]

i think with collingwood and WC making the grand final and assumably one will win it, it proves that you dont need a great list to win a flag these days. A lot of people would have had pies and eagles missing the 8 at the start of the year.
You just need things to gell at the right time.

Therefore, no point blaming the list. We didnt gell, and therefore didnt get close this year. And the only conclusion we can make is that we didnt make the most of our opportunities, so its a fail'.

[Markwebbos]

Collingwood have a very talented and deep midfield, which they rotate forward, but beset by injuries, particularly in defence. I think the list they are playing with ATM is pretty strong. Didn’t Champion data rate them #1 at the start of the year.

West Coast used to have a poor midfield but have really stepped up this year. I believe under the influence of Sam Mitchell. They are now getting the best out of players like Jetta, Redden, Sheed etc.

Our year is definitely a fail. I think we need to improve across the board: list, skills, coaching, gameplan, fitness.

In the PFs both coaches significantly out-coached their opponents. Collingwood’s tactics in particular were genius.

[CureTheSane]

Hard to understand how making the finals is a fail.
Take into account injuries, retirements etc and who knows what could have been.
Same for all clubs of course, but for me, you make the finals and season = a win regardless.

[Markwebbos]

Hard to understand how making the finals is a fail.
Take into account injuries, retirements etc and who knows what could have been.
Same for all clubs of course, but for me, you make the finals and season = a win regardless.

If your goal is to win a premiership, then you have to treat not winning one as a fail. This year we never looking like winning one. It felt like we were making up the numbers all year long.

Or to put it another way - 2018 was a fail because, for whatever reason, we weren't good enough to be a genuine contender. That's a lower standard we didn't meet.

[CureTheSane]

If your goal is to win a premiership every year, your football life will be very sad.

Everyone wants to win a flag, but it isn't going to happen for 17 teams every year.
Saying that the team that wins the flag is the only successful team is short sighted and to some degree elitist.

Members are at an all time high = success
Swans not collapsing at the end of the season after some poor games = success
Swans winning percentage despite losing a key forward, ruckman and ruck/forward and other key players during the year = success

[stevoswan]

Two posts....two different conclusions. Which one is the more realistic? Here's my 'two cents worth'.....

If your goal is to win a premiership, then you have to treat not winning one as a fail. This year we never looking like winning one. It felt like we were making up the numbers all year long.

Or to put it another way - 2018 was a fail because, for whatever reason, we weren't good enough to be a genuine contender. That's a lower standard we didn't meet.

A glass half empty view and displays a lack of grip on the realities of what constitutes success and largely ignores this seasons adversities.

If your goal is to win a premiership every year, your football life will be very sad.

Everyone wants to win a flag, but it isn't going to happen for 17 teams every year.
Saying that the team that wins the flag is the only successful team is short sighted and to some degree elitist.

Members are at an all time high = success
Swans not collapsing at the end of the season after some poor games = success
Swans winning percentage despite losing a key forward, ruckman and ruck/forward and other key players during the year = success

A glass half full view which displays a better grip on the realities of what constitutes success and rightly considers this seasons adversities.....

The view that concludes that a clubs season is a failure just because it didn't win the premiership is elitist in the extreme......and potentially damaging to the clubs chances of future success because in the face of perceived 'failure', blame games begin and kneejerk decisions are made......potentially very destructive to a clubs fabric.

The 'end of season review' will obviously identify areas of failure (game plan, possibly fitness and conditioning, etc) and work on them but I'm sure our club will push on with a sensible and confident 'glass half full' approach.....which hopefully makes our clubs 'glass' (trophy cabinet) much 'fuller'.

[AnnieH]

Considering that I wrote the team off in July (and was making actual "plans" for September), I think we did a great job this year.
I think general "fitness" was our problem this year. Too many injured players playing on half-full tanks. IMO, I think a week of running up and down the sand dunes at Kurnell at the height of summer will greatly go towards our strength conditioning.. something we need badly. It seems to have worked in the past. Our boys are falling apart at the seams.
Other than that... we need to get rid of the dead wood, which could very well happen with such an exciting trade period coming up.

[stevoswan]

Considering that I wrote the team off in July (and was making actual "plans" for September), I think we did a great job this year.
I think general "fitness" was our problem this year. Too many injured players playing on half-full tanks. IMO, I think a week of running up and down the sand dunes at Kurnell at the height of summer will greatly go towards our strength conditioning.. something we need badly. It seems to have worked in the past. Our boys are falling apart at the seams.
Other than that... we need to get rid of the dead wood, which could very well happen with such an exciting trade period coming up.

I agree that our fitness looked suspect during the season, it seemed to effect our will to contest 'to the death' in some matches this season. Last season, at 0-6, we did it week in, week out for the rest of the season then smashed Essendon in the first final. We showed some mental and physical toughness this year after losing to GC and Essendon but had nothing left in the tank for the first final.
Strength and fitness conditioning should definitely be a priority in the off season.....and a renewed/refreshed game plan.....and yes, extensive deadwood removal.

[Nico]

On the fitness thing; once key players are carrying injuries regularly it comes to a tipping point. I am sure Kennedy carried some sort of injury for most of the season as did Buddy. Add the fatigue factor of young players and the team's ability to see out games is heightened. I reckon we did darn well under the circumstances. One of the reasons Collingwood has kicked on late in the season has been their ability to have few changes.