Rohan's winning healing
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, September 22
JUST four days ago Gary Rohan’s season appeared over when he left the SCG on a medicab.
But on Wednesday on the same ground the Swans midfielder was running and kicking the ball without any discomfort, and will line up Friday night in Sydney’s grand final qualifier against Geelong at the MCG.
Rohan fell awkwardly late in the second quarter of Sydney’s semi-final win over Adelaide last Saturday night. As he hobbled around on crutches after the match, he seemed little chance of facing the Cats.
But scans on Monday cleared him of any structural damage and confirmed bone bruising to the knee.
His inclusion would provide a massive boost for the Swans, especially on the MCG where he kicked three goals against Hawthorn in his last outing there.
Rohan badly broke the same leg in 2012 when he collided with North Melbourne’s Lindsay Thomas. He now has a titanium shaft in the leg.
“Initially we all feared the worst,” Swans co-captain Kieren Jack said.
“When you see him taken off on the medicab (it looks bad). He’s obviously had some dark times with that leg in previous years. To get the scan and come back positive is great. He’s up and about now and he’s a chance.”
Bloods brothers: Ted and Xavier Richards change places
Caroline Wilson
The Age, SMH, September 22
Sometimes, according to Ted Richards, it is possible to experience profound joy and sadness in almost exactly the same moment.
He cannot pretend that he is comfortable with his current lot in life and yet he is movingly sincere when he describes the change in fortune for his younger brother and Sydney teammate Xavier as a gift that has transcended the football ambitions of both men, born 10 years apart.
"I think of it as a highlight of my career," said the decorated 33-year-old of his 23-year-old brother's unpredictable journey to Friday night's preliminary final. "This is such a unique situation. There were times when we couldn't see light at the end of the tunnel for Xav ... and now the roles have been reversed in some respects.
"We're not lucky enough to be playing side by side but we are so fortunate to be able to have had this time together. I'm not quite comfortable with it but I'll be fine. I'm accepting of it but that doesn't mean I accept it's completely over for me.
"When I moved out of home Xav was nine and when I moved to Sydney he was 12. Up here, to be able to work hard together, train together, watch his games and his edits. If I'd been in Melbourne I couldn't have been a part of that."
The football fortunes of Ted and Xavier Richards remain one of the intriguing stories of the Sydney Swans' season. The older brother blames himself for his brother being typecast in his mould as a "dour defender", a dreaded role when Sydney's dominant NEAFL side tended to see the ball come into defence in only a handful of occasions during some outings this season. Before being promoted in round 18, Xavier had played just two games in almost four seasons.
The sliding doors moment involving both came around the time the battle weary Ted decided, after a broken cheekbone and yet another concussion, that he could not envisage summoning the mental toughness for another season beyond this one. Reserves coach Rhyce Shaw has been credited with suggesting Xavier be tried as a forward.
The player was in the final year of his contract since joining the club from the same 2013 rookie draft that secured all-Australian Dane Rampe at pick No.37 and believed come October he would be heading back to Melbourne. Instead he is now heading into his ninth straight senior game and on the verge of signing a two-year deal.
Xavier Richards replaced his brother in the side in round 18 after an eight-goal best afield performance in the NEAFL and in terms of scoreboard impact now ranks second behind Lance Franklin in Sydney's wins this season.
"I don't think he quite grasped the fact we were trying to help him," recalled Shaw, whose family knows a thing or two about brothers and premierships and the thin line between triumph and defeat. "It's not right it was my idea. It was a collaborative decision with John Blakey and Nick Davis and John Longmire involved. We just had a watershed moment and even though I don't think he realised at the start we were on his side, we knew we had to try something and that something changed something in him.
"He's just so athletic and so fast. And he kicked 26 goals in five games."
Rohan on verge of miracle recovery
Andrew Wu and James Buckley
SMH, September 22
Gary Rohan is making a stunning recovery from injury and is poised to take his place in Sydney's team for the preliminary final against Geelong.
The development comes as Geelong midfielder Mark Blicavs said the Cats were bracing themselves for another early onslaught from the fast-starting Swans.
Rohan, Jarrad McVeigh and Kurt Tippett will fly with the squad to Melbourne on Thursday but Callum Mills has been ruled out.
Tippett and Rohan trained fully with the senior team at the club's main session of the week on Wednesday while McVeigh will be given until game day to prove he's shaken off a calf strain.
The captain started the closed training session away from the main squad engaging in a handball drill with Mills, but without any strapping around his troubled calf.
Few would have predicted Rohan being in this position after he was driven off the SCG on a medi-cab on Saturday night, seemingly facing another lengthy stint on the sidelines.
But the forward trained freely and showed little effect of the bone bruising to his right knee suffered in a heavy collision in the first half against Adelaide. Barring any late mishaps, he appears destined to back up against the Cats.
Rohan looms as a dangerous weapon for the Swans on the MCG, where he kicked three important goals against Hawthorn this year in one of the best games of his career.
"Initially it was probably feared the worse when you see him [Rohan] off on the medi-cab. He's obviously had some dark times with that leg in previous years, to get the scan and come back positive is great," the Swans' co-captain Kieren Jack said. "He's up and about now, he's a chance."
Swans' stars realign as Rohan stretches out
Peter Lalor
The Australian, September 22
Gary Rohan left the field on a motorised stretcher on Saturday night but joined the Swans’ main group at training yesterday and will fly to Melbourne today.
Rohan, Kurt Tippett and Jarrad McVeigh are all a chance to take their places against Geelong tomorrow night at the MCG.
Tippett, who missed last weekend’s game with a hairline fracture to the jaw, is a genuine chance to play. McVeigh left the field in the second quarter of the win over Adelaide with a calf strain and aborted an attempt to rejoin the match after halftime.
This year’s Rising Star, Callum Mills, who has a hamstring strain, will not make the trip.
Rohan broke his leg in a shocking incident in 2012 and there were fears for the worst when he went down holding his knee in the game against the Crows. The Swans believe he has bone bruising and while there was a small amount of taping around the joint yesterday, he moved freely.
Rohan still has a metal rod in his leg and suffered from a lot of pain during his attempts to come back from the fracture.
Super starters against fastest finishers
Sam Landsberger
Herald Sun, September 22
THIS preliminary final will be the battle of football’s super starters against the game’s fastest finishers.
And for nervous Geelong supporters, that triggers alarm bells. The Cats are the latter, the AFL’s No. 1 final-quarter club and by some margin.
But Sydney has made a habit of landing knockout blows before opponents blink and come Friday night’s MCG clash, Geelong could be a little rusty.
The Cats will step out having played just once in the preceding 26 days. Coach Chris Scott knows the Swans’ early form presents a challenge.
“Especially given we are well rested,” Scott said.
“We won’t be going in saying we’ve been overworked. There’s only so much you can do physically.
The Cats will step out having played just once in the preceding 26 days. Coach Chris Scott knows the Swans’ early form presents a challenge.
“Especially given we are well rested,” Scott said.
“We won’t be going in saying we’ve been overworked. There’s only so much you can do physically.
“I don’t have any doubt that going into a prelim final against one of the best teams in the comp that we’ll be underprepared mentally for the fierceness of the contest.”
The numbers are stark. In the first 20 minutes of games this season, the Swans have outscored their opponents by 40 goals.
