Swans assistant coach John Blakey provides this week’s Coaches Column, thanks to Cellarbrations, ahead of Saturday’s derby against GWS.
Blakey talked about the retirement of veteran defender Rhyce Shaw, commended last weekend’s effort against Collingwood and looked ahead to the clash with GWS at Spotless Stadium.
We came away with a great win against Collingwood last weekend with men down. What was the most pleasing aspect of the win?
The most pleasing factor to come out last week was that with our backs to the wall we were able to find something.
From the position we were in, a goal down, we were able to steady and then obviously come away with a good win was really pleasing from our point of view.
The loss of Luke Parker is obviously a blow…
He’s our best and winner from last year and is a hard nut, adding to the mix we’ve already got in there with Josh Kennedy, Dan Hannebery and Kieren Jack.
And on top of that we’ve lost Tom Mitchell this week.
But we’ve got Hannebery who is in superb form and who’ll spend more time inside and we think we’ve got the players to cover those losses.
Obviously we’d love them to be playing but that’s not the case, that’s footy, we’ve got a job to do to get the four points to make sure we position ourselves the best we can leading into finals.
We’ve had a rough trot with injuries in the past week but I suppose, as you said, that’s just footy…
That’s the business we’re in, opportunities come up and players grab them while others miss out through unfortunate circumstances which is the case for Dan Robinson especially given he would have been in the mix to replace Parks.
I guess, George Hewett is another who was unable to be considered because of injury (concussion).
Those guys will get their chance eventually, but they are replacements that would have been looked at had they been available.
One of those who gets his chance is James Rose. What does he bring to the table?
Rosey has a unique ability to be able to find the football and hit the scoreboard.
We’ve been really pleased with his pace and his football smarts, he used the ball pretty well and he’s able to find space for himself.
That’s what we see in him, he’s an exciting young kid and we’re looking forward to seeing him make a debut on Saturday.
GWS have improved this season and they’ve still got a mathematical chance of making finals. Are you expecting a tight contest?
No matter where they are on the ladder they always give us a tough contest
They’ve got their injury concerns as well, even match
Must win for them to try and make finals and must win for us, that’s what important
If we’re pushing for a top four spot it’s a must win
So it looks like it’ll be a fiercely fought game.
One of your favourites in that back half will call time when season 2015 ends. How can you describe Rhyce Shaw in a few paragraphs?
It’s difficult.
He’s been such a great player and great clubman for us. He’s got a unique ability to get the boys together and create a great environment to work in.
We’ll certainly miss him when he leaves but hopefully we can send him out in the right way by play another six or seven games and by getting the success that he deserves.
He’s still got that leg speed and drive out of the backline that has made him such a great player for a long time and which has allowed him to be a great contributor for us this season.
He’s one of those players who got the absolute maximum out of himself which is a testament to him.
He’s had a long career and we’re thrilled to have had his services.
