Scintillating Swans: The Ultimate Season
Round 8 – Utopia
Sydney v Geelong – Round 11, 2014
When Sir Thomas More wrote the first ‘Utopia’ in 1516, I doubt that he was envisaging the Sydney Swans of 2014. However, the utopian ideas of his time, imagined a complex, self-contained world that was set apart from the real world – an unattainable perfection perhaps. Arguably for Swans fans, the events of May 29 2014, transpired to create football’s equivalent.
A top-four showdown was billed pre-match as one of the contests of the season. The match also marked the opening of the annual Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round. Adam Goodes’ mother, Lisa Sansbury, had designed an original and striking jersey to be worn for the first time. The artwork on the jumper represents the Indigenous communities of Sydney, telling the tale of them coming together at meeting places around Sydney’s harbour and estuaries. Fittingly, thirty-eight thousand came together to celebrate.
One of the Swans’ best that night, premiership-winning midfielder Craig Bird recalls the feeling among the team before the clash. “It was an interesting game, because we didn't have a great record against Geelong. I think I had only beaten them twice in about ten attempts. We were confident going in to the game as we had been in good form, but we definitely didn’t expect such a score line,” he said. For our Swans found the perfection that More had sought centuries ago, in the form of a one-hundred-and-ten-point win over the illustrious Geelong.
The gathering at the ground was the most prolific since our 2005 semi-final victory against the very same opposition. Bird and his teammates had been looking forward to this match, like most at our glorious home ground. “The SCG when it’s packed is a great atmosphere as it is a smaller ground and you definitely notice the difference. It would always give a lift to the team when we played there.” He adds, “I know the boys loved playing there and I thought we always had an advantage playing there as it suited the style we played.”
In sixteenth-century England, Sir More pondered the moral philosophies of Utopia and questioned the potential values of its citizens – ‘They inquire likewise into the nature of virtue and pleasure; but their chief dispute is concerning the happiness of a man, and wherein it consists? Whether in some one thing, or in a great many?’. As I sat watching this match with my Geelong-proud father-in-law and it appeared quite early on that all the stars had aligned for our Swans, my happiness lay absolutely in ‘some one thing’.
Bird reveals the personal significance of that night’s performance – “It was one of those nights where everyone played well and Geelong were slightly off which is why it turned out that way.” He adds, “we definitely didn't expect that score line and we were waiting for them to comeback as they were still a very good side with quality players but the boys were very good that night and we didn't let up. It would have to be close to most complete performance from the team that I had been a part of in my whole career.”
For the first time, the much publicised, much vaunted forward line combination of Franklin (4.3), Tippett (5.3) and Goodes (3.1) surged through the opposition like a giant steamroller, leaving total destruction in it’s wake. However, it was the maniacal commitment to defense that harried the Cats, inducing a string of defensive miscalculations that were punished with a unified ruthlessness. Our star-studded midfield absolutely instrumental in setting the tone.
For Bird, memories of that midfield invoke a sense of pride. “It was great to be a part of that midfield and after a slow start that year, we got on a roll. I think we had such good depth that we could have had ten guys rolling though there that were all in good form. We even had guys like Tom Mitchell and Ryan O'Keefe playing NEAFL which put pressure on everyone to perform each week.” He adds, “For me personally, being able to play and learn off those guys like Josh Kennedy, Kieren Jack, Luke Parker, Dan Hannebery, Jarrad McVeigh and Adam Goodes was massive for my development. I think there was a competitive element between all those guys and others trying to get in the side, around who would be starting in the midfield each week and that drove each other’s performance.”
After such a comprehensive victory, competition favouritism was bestowed upon our Swans, a burden carried right up until the final match of the season. John Longmire tempered claims of football utopia, but praised the attitude and execution of his team. “Probably the weight of numbers across the entire twenty-two and the consistency over the four quarters," Longmire said when asked the most pleasing aspect. "It's very difficult in AFL football to get all players playing well and playing well over four quarters for as long as we did tonight.”
But for the Grand Final that year, the season was impressive, as Bird recalls. “This match definitely gave the team a lot of confidence for the rest of the year knowing we were capable of delivering a performance like that if we could get everyone contributing at a high level consistently.” He continues, “It was a good feeling that year going in to every game knowing if we all played our role we would likely come out on top. Unfortunately for that last game of the year things didn't turn out the way we wanted but overall though it was a very good season.”
As always, this successful Swans outing was built on the foundation of teamwork. Sixteenth-century dreams of Sir Thomas More consisted of the Utopians sharing their surpluses with one another, helping each other out and building a collective store of gold to be prepared for a disaster. They developed a culture where ostentation and vulgar displays of selfishness were frowned upon. Sounds familiar to me.
