We're more than halfway through the season now and the Swans have a 7-5 record. How do you rate the first 12 rounds?
Given the amount of players we've had out and we went through that tough patch, we had a good start, a really tough middle and it was good to finish off with a couple of wins. Overall, it's been reasonably pleasing given the players we've had out.
Do your results to date measure up to what you'd hoped for at the start of the season?
It's probably a bit of an unknown, to be honest, and I think we said that going into the season. With so many new players into the team, it was going to be reasonably hard to predict where we were going to be at the halfway mark. As a team that's relatively new together and with a lot of young players, you're always looking to stay around the mark above that 50-50 and give yourself a chance going into the back end of the season. Having said that, you always want to win as many games as you possibly can.
The club was bullish about its chances early on, given the extended preparation you'd had compared to previous years. Even so, did your flying start exceed your expectations?
Probably a little bit. We only got Braddy in late and he didn't get much game time. With Benny McGlynn and Joey (Kennedy) and Seabs (Mark Seaby) and Mummy (Shane Mumford) coming in from different systems, you're not sure how they're going to respond. And then we obviously had a group of young players as well. It was a really different mix of players going into the season and I think the fact that we did start early was a huge bonus for us. We were able to give the guys a fair bit of game time in the pre-season, which we haven't been able to do before. That probably meant they were able to jell a bit earlier and a bit better, which allowed us to go into the season and get on a bit of a roll.
How important was it in the past couple of weeks to get those wins, particularly after the Hawthorn loss?
It's really important to stay in the mix at this time of year, no doubt. It could have been pretty energy-sapping and confidence-sapping against three really good teams - Geelong, Bulldogs and Freo. That could have been really deflating so it was good to bounce back against Hawthorn, who we've seen go on and show their talent now they've got their players back. I thought that was a pretty good effort and then to beat the last two - Essendon, who were playing well, up here and Port in Adelaide - it's been really good to get some momentum back.
What's been the best win of the season from your perspective?
Probably at the time, Adelaide in Adelaide. That was only two weeks into the season and we really had trouble beating Adelaide over the course over the last five or six years. That was a real confidence-booster for the players because even though we've got a lot of new players, they're aware that we really have struggled against them. That was really positive and given where we were at, at the time, and they were at, at the time, I think that was a really significant win for us.
Conversely, which has been the most disappointing loss so far?
All losses are disappointing, really. When you look at probably the most disappointing, it's when you lose the close ones. You're always aware you're going to have some downers but the two close losses were probably the most disappointing. You know, when you have a shot for goal and you miss (against Hawthorn) and then against St Kilda against a really good team. It's probably disappointing when you know you got so close, more so than the disappointment of 'we should have won'.
You've brought a heap of new players into the team this year and all have enjoyed success. Who's been the most surprising newcomer from your point of view?
Benny McGlynn's first month was really good but they all have been, and that's the most important thing. Joey Kennedy's flown under the radar and been really consistent; Seabs was going really well before he got injured; Braddy was terrific as we saw and big Shane Mumford has been outstanding. They've all shown why we've got them and barring injury, they've all been terrific.
What will be the process of managing the likes of Gary Rohan and Lewis Jetta, and perhaps to a lesser degree, Dan Hannebery, in the second half of the season?
We've certainly got to be aware of the future for those lads. Obviously Lewis had a spell and we've got to be really careful with Gary as well. Hanners, we'll probably just keep an eye on him at training but certainly with Gary and Lewis, we'll manage their game time. I'm sure they'll be in and out of the senior team, much to their frustration but I think it's part of their development. With Dan and the other guys, it's more about monitoring their workload during the week.
You've expressed your frustration with the application of, and the interpretation of, the holding the ball rule. What do you see as the solution?
I think it's probably best summed up by Kirky in our team meeting. He asked if we were going to get clarification on the holding the ball rule and that summed it up for us as coaches. I have no idea, to be perfectly frank. I don't know how it's going to be umpired and I don't really know the rule. I was reading the papers in Adelaide last weekend where Mark Williams and Neil Craig had their say. There's a lot of confusion more than anything else. I really don't understand the rule and it probably won't be until the end of the season that we'll have another look at it.
You've got one of the most experienced players in the game in Brett Kirk, whose tackling has been a huge part of his success, and he doesn't know how to approach a core part of the game. That seems like a real reflection of where the players are at?
It didn't really hit home to us coaches until he said it. You're talking about a bloke who's played for so many years, who's extremely confused. He's a ball player but he also tackles really well. I'd imagine there are a lot of players like him in the AFL at the moment.
Similarly, we haven't seen any more players suspended for incidents like Shane Mumford's tackle that got him suspended. Is that a still a source of frustration or have you put that behind you now?
You put it behind you but you still scratch your head. It's part of footy where they're saying that he's the only guy that's done it for the whole year. I've seen quite a few more than that.
Looking towards the end of the year, how is the process going to take place in handing the reins over to John Longmire as senior coach?
Nothing will really change. I'll continue to coach until we go out and I'll ride off into the sunset.
Like Kevin Sheedy's Sundance Kid until the very end?
Exactly.
