Speaking after the Swans 30-point win over cross town rival GWS at ANZ Stadium on Saturday evening, Mumford said the team would need to work on playing consistent football to earn the four points each week.
“Obviously it’s always good to get off to a good start and get the win on the board,” he told SwansTV.
“We always knew that it was going to be a tough game and GWS have improved a lot from last year and their bodies have gotten a lot stronger, so it was always going to be a physical contest which we expected.
“Obviously we’re got to play four quarters of solid footy and we didn’t do that tonight.”
Following a strong first quarter, which saw the Swans surge to a 25-point lead at the first break, GWS fought back in the second, piling on five consecutive goals to hit the front midway through the term.
Mumford said the Swans could not afford to have the same lapses throughout the season.
“In patches (GWS) made us look silly, so we’ve still got a lot of improvement to do to get back to our best, but it’s a good start,” he said.
“We let them back in and let them kick five straight goals, which can’t happen and against the really good sides that’s really going to hurt us because we won’t be able to recover from that.”
Mumford also hoped to bring more consistency to his game, particularly when playing up forward.
The ruckman finished the match with seven marks and one goal, but very easily could have scored multiple majors had he been on target.
“If I’d been able to kick straight it would have been a good game for me, but I’ve got a lot to work on from today,” he said.
“Especially when the wind was blowing that way I put (two set shots on goal) both to the same side, but it’s something I’ve got to work on.”
Kieren Jack finished the match as the Swans’ leading goal kicker with three goals, while Jude Bolton, Adam Goodes, Ben McGlynn, Mike Pyke and Sam Reid scored two apiece.
Josh Kennedy was the Swans leading ball getter with 28 disposals, while Ryan O’Keefe (27), Jack (25) and Dan Hannebery also had plenty of the ball.
Young midfielder Luke Parker also got amongst the play tonight, collecting 20 disposals and leading the Swans in tackles, with seven for the match.
Speaking to SwansTV after the game, Parker said applying pressure was his main focus heading into the match.
“I wanted to put as pressure on as I could and I thought I did that and got a little bit of the footy,” he said.
“I thought tackling was going to get me into the game and it usually does, and I wanted to set the standard with the pressure and I thought I made some tackles at some crucial times.”
Like Mumford, Parker said he believed the Swans lacked consistency across the four quarters, but believed the team were able to finish off the match strongly.
“We had a few sections where we let GWS kick a couple in a row, but the main thing was they we picked it back up and upped our one percenters and our tackles and our pressure,” he said.
“I guess by the fourth quarter that picked up again and we were able to kick away a little bit.”
“Winning is what we wanted to come out to do and whether it was a big win or a little win, the main thing was that we got the four points and everyone got through unscathed.”
