The 2018 season saw the Sydney Swans’ forward line enter a new dawn, but assistant coach Steve Johnson is more excited about what lies ahead as 2019 draws near.
Not only is forwards coach Johnson eager to see Ben Ronke, Tom McCartin and a host of other youngsters reach new heights in 2019, he believes a strong injection of experience will give the front six a major boost.
Former Geelong Cat Dan Menzel signed with the Swans during October’s trade period, while 2012 premiership forward Sam Reid is eyeing a comeback from injury, two seasoned campaigners likely set to lead the forward line alongside experienced duo Lance Franklin and Kieren Jack.
Johnson, now overseeing Sydney’s forward line in his second pre-season at the Swans, says he cannot wait to see Franklin, Jack, Menzel and Reid lead the next generation of stars in 2019.
“The youngsters are in great hands,” Johnson told SwansTV.
“Lance has been the most senior player in the forward line for a while and has always helped those younger players out.
“Jack, who of course is a former co-captain at the Swans, played an important role in 2018, and Dan will now add more experience. He’ll no doubt help the balance of the forward line and provide a lot of direction.
“Then we’ve basically got a new recruit in Sam Reid, who we missed a great deal of in 2018. Hopefully we get him back fit and firing because he can certainly add to our forward-line structure as well.”
Following in the footsteps of the experienced quartet on the cusp of the 2019 season are blossoming forwards Ronke, McCartin, Tom Papley and Will Hayward.
Ronke (Round 6) and McCartin (Round 8) both made their AFL debuts in 2018, and Ronke would go on to play 18 games and McCartin 15.
Ronke earned the AFL’s Round 8 Rising Star nomination for his seven-goal heroics against Hawthorn under Friday night lights, and an unbelievable McCartin goal at the death clinched victory for Sydney over Collingwood at the SCG in Round 20.
Johnson said 2018 would hold the young forwards in good stead on the road ahead.
“The positive is a couple of the young guys were able to get a lot of games under their belts in 2018,” Johnson said.
“So they’ll be feeling a lot more comfortable at AFL level in 2019 and they’ve got a lot of improvement left in them. It’s exciting that they’ve got a taste of AFL footy, they know what to expect and they know which areas of their game they need to improve on. Over the course of the pre-season, they’ll work on those areas and hopefully be in an even better position to perform in 2019.
“Big games certainly help players adjust to the tempo of other games. I’d say for every big game it’s worth two or three home-and-away games. For the young guys to have played in some high-pressure games in their first couple of years of footy will only do them the world of good going forward.”
The Swans returned to the club for an opening block of pre-season training over November and December before breaking for Christmas, and Johnson said the forwards had fired from the word ‘go’.
“The intensity of the group up until Christmas was first-class,” Johnson said.
“The players are really driven to improve on the 2018 season. They’re motivated, they’re training hard and things are progressing really well ahead of the 2019 season.”
