Missing last year's finals series was shattering for Sydney Swans co-captain Kieren Jack, who says he feels he let down the team.
Jack played every game of the regular season but suffered a grade two medial ligament tear in his left knee in the Swans' final match of the year against Gold Coast at the SCG, and wasn't seen again.
The 28-year-old missed the Swans' qualifying final loss to Fremantle in Perth, then failed in a last-ditch attempt to prove his fitness in the lead-up to the club's semi-final against North Melbourne.
The injury meant Jack was able to push himself at training. With a heavily-strapped knee, he could run in straight lines at near full pace but the tough midfielder couldn't kick or turn.
With fellow stars Luke Parker (leg) and Sam Reid (hamstring) also injured, Jack said he was deeply disappointed to miss the game as the Swans crashed out. The fact that he's the club's co-captain only added to the pain.
"I wanted to be out there to try and set the standard for the team and that’s something I try and do in every game that I play," he said.
"I want to make sure that if I can play I get out there and play, if I can train I get out there and train. I don't want to miss a game at all because I don't want to let the team down.
"That’s an attitude I've tried to bring along with me and teach the young guys coming through.
"To be ruled out was devastating.
"Every year you put in so much work to get yourself in the top four which is where you need to be, but to go out in straight sets just puts a real low on the season.
"I know it certainly motivated a lot of players to go away and come back in good nick but that's certainly not the way you want to go out in football.
"At the end of the day we weren't good enough and we've got to try and find ways to get better to make sure we can get into that position again but go further."
The usually ultra-consistent Swans were anything but in 2015, with coach John Longmire and his players unable to find an answer to their up-and-down form. That form would not just fluctuate from week to week, but quarter to quarter within a game.
Jack, who was one of the few Swans to play at a high level on a regular basis last year – as shown by his third-place finish behind Josh Kennedy and Dan Hannebery in the club champion standings – believes his side's defensive mindset when the opposition had the footy let them down.
The Swans gave up goals in bunches last season, something the footy world has rarely seen over the past decade.
In round eight against Richmond at the SCG, the Swans gave up seven goals in the third quarter, as the Tigers turned a 32-point half-time deficit into a thrilling 18-point win, while Hawthorn blitzed the home side with six unanswered goals in round 16 at ANZ Stadium while booting 23 majors for the match.
It's an aspect of their game last season that Jack says the club has vowed to eradicate over summer.
"Every team strives for that consistent four-quarter game but very rarely do you get it," he said.
"What you need to make sure you're doing is when you're not performing well as a team that you're minimise scoreboard impact, and that was something that let us down.
"We let in some big scores in a short amount of time.
"The reality is that you can't play well for every minute of every game, but when you're not playing well you have to make sure you're still defending well and that’s something we've been consciously working to get right."
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