Sydney Swans captain Josh Kennedy says this weekend’s bye presents an opportunity to reset and reload ahead of what’s set to be a big second half of the season.
While clearly disappointed to head into the bye with a loss, there were some positives to take out of the team’s performance against the Hawks, particularly considering Jake Lloyd and Sam Reid sat out the majority of the match with concussion.
“It was a really solid effort in the second half and we had our opportunities late but we just didn’t take them,” Kennedy said in the rooms post-game.
“It’s a mixture of disappointment in how we started, pride in the way we responded and then disappointed in how we weren’t able to capitalise on our opportunities late.
“It’s a tough one to swallow, but we can’t do anything about it now so we’ve got to stay on the horse and keep moving forward.”
The 36,221 who packed out the stands for the annual Marn Grook at the SCG clash witnessed and played a big part in what coach John Longmire labelled in his post-match press conference as “an enormous effort.”
To not only peg a 21-point half-time deficit back but take the lead for the first time in the match during the early stages of the final term was “huge” according to the coach with the crowd riding every tackle, bump, play and goal.
“There were some pretty courageous efforts by a lot of players,” Longmire said.
“To come back, fight the fight after not playing that well in the first half, and then losing two and then digging in like they did … there were a few huge efforts.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to hang on.”
Despite fatigue, the now 15th ranked Swans never gave in until the result was kicked beyond doubt in the dying stages by Hawthorn skipper Jarryd Roughead.
The Swans now go into this weekend’s bye with a 3-7 record with plenty of work to do in the second half of the season.
Kennedy, who’ll return to the Club with the rest of his teammates on Thursday, says the break will offer his team a chance to first reflect then build for what he’s hoping is a history-breaking resurgence.
“It’s a chance to take a breather,” he added.
“Obviously we’ll review the season thus far, what’s worked and what hasn’t – although I think it’s pretty clear for us – and make sure we’re coming with everything we’ve got for the back end of the year.”
Friday night’s crowd was the largest home attendance at the SCG this year, above the 33,020 average set over the first 10 rounds of the season.
The Sydney Swans’ next game, against the Western Bulldogs, is billed to be even bigger as the equation becomes as critical as ever for the home side.
