Even though he is about to embark on his twelfth season as a senior player, Sydney Swans utility Ryan O’Keefe admits to still getting wrapped up in the buzz that the prospect of a new season brings.
“It’s always exciting, the first game,” O’Keefe said.
“You can sense the excitement around the club and everyone’s getting the buzz that the footy season is back - it’s a great thing to be a part of.”
Despite much being reported on injuries to several Swans players, O’Keefe remained defiant that whoever takes to the field against Melbourne on Sunday will be worthy of their place and that the Swans will be united as a team.
“I’ve got confidence in every player that will play this weekend that they will do the job,” he said.
“We’ve never been about one player, we’ve always been about the team and the team winning.
“When you get a few key injuries, you get tested, you get stretched, and you find some holes in your side, but this year it’s been a really competitive pre-season with guys fighting for positions.”
O’Keefe said that the increased competition for spots in the senior side was being driven by the development of the younger players at the Club who have benefited from another pre-season under their belt.
“I can see from the next, younger tier of players that it has been a growth pre-season for them, so it’s exciting to see how they benefit and how they perform this year,” O’Keefe said.
“It just shows we’re not always relying on the senior players anymore. We’ve got these guys that are pushing and driving the team and it just makes everyone else jump on board.”
Ahead of Sunday’s game against Melbourne at the MCG, O’Keefe said that pre-season form counted for little and a test against one of the AFL’s most improved teams will give the Swans a good indication of how they have progressed over the summer.
“This weekend’s going to be a true gauge of where we sit,” he said.
“I can see Melbourne will probably be one of the most improved teams in the comp. They’ve got some pretty good players, and their brand of footy is pretty good, so I can see them being a real key contributor to the finals this year.”
On the subject of finals, O’Keefe said that the Club’s goal this year was to improve on the Semi-Final appearance of last year, and echoed coach John Longmire’s sentiments from yesterday that a game-plan based on being relentless at the football would give the Swans the best chance to make that happen.
“Our goal this year is to improve. We made finals last year, but we want to improve on that,” O’Keefe said.
“You look at all the good sides, and it is who wins the contested ball, who’s hard at the footy, and that doesn’t change.
“Footy’s still pretty basic - you’ve got to get the ball, then kick it through the goals.”
Ryan O'Keefe is a $358,500 forward / midfielder in the Toyota AFL Dream Team competition.
Click here to sign up for the private Sydney Swans Dream Team competition.
