Swans Are Doomed

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    Swans Are Doomed

    The good news is that Mike Sheahan has written-off the Swans for season 2003, predicting that "Sydney are doomed to finish much closer to the bottom than the top this year".

    In his pre-season AFL review in the Herald Sun, Sheahan underlines the lack of star quality in the Swans' squad, and warns of the dangers of over-inflated expectations in the first full season for coach Paul Roos .

    "That's the problem when you're light on for talent and leadership. No matter how good the spirit, it counts for little when the other team is bigger, tougher, more talented and aggressive ... and just as keen.

    Sydney are terribly light on for quality. Hall and Williams aside -- OK, O'Loughlin and Goodes occasionally -- the rest are willing and workmanlike, but the better teams in the competition have five and six matchwinners.

    The Swans finished 2002 in admirable fashion, winning six of their final 10 games under new coach Paul Roos. They were competitive in all but one of those games, when Brisbane towelled them at the Gabba. The second half of the season was a tribute to Roos' ability to galvanise the group, to energise a tired team midway through a seemingly lost season.

    Yet, the coach may have made a rod for his own back. Expectations are high. Unreasonably high. Four of the six victims under Roos were Carlton, St Kilda, Richmond and Fremantle, all of which finished among the bottom five teams. Playing seven of those 10 games in Sydney helped too."

    Sheahan also gave us a glimpse of his Magpie bias where he said,

    "Davis has the talent to do something special. He plodded and pouted his way through 2002, refusing to embrace Collingwood as he plotted to get back to Sydney and his mates. He finally got his wish. Now it's up to him to deliver."

    Seems like those sour grape stains just never wash out.

    The full story is at
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