As Covid-19 wreaks havoc across the world – and mainly in Victoria – there is a bigger problem at play at the SCG.
Covid-190.
It is largely unrelated in nature to the lethal respiratory virus that has Victoria back in lockdown and state borders closing like Blockbuster Video stores, but within the Moore Park HQ bubble of the Sydney Swans, Covid-190 is causing headaches.
Covid-190 attacks players, specifically those of 190cm stature or greater. It is contagious, and the cases are piling up.
The latest victim is Lewis Melican, 195cm, who was struck down in the first half of the Swans loss to the Eagles on the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Contact tracing suggests Melican could have contracted Coivd-190 from either Callum Sinclair (200cm) or the desperately unlucky Sam Naismith (206cm), who were both casualties last week.
The stats make for grim reading.
Add the recent victims of Melican, Sinclair and Naismith to Tom McCartin (193cm), Sam Reid (196cm), Buddy Franklin (199cm), Michael Knoll (205cm) and Kaiden Brand (198cm). It’s an entire goal post of height, sitting on the sidelines. If you were Aliir Aliir, Hayden McLean or Nick Blakey, you would be well advised to self-isolate and stay out of harm’s way.
They say bigger isn’t always better. In fact, footy is littered with tales of teams who misfired by being ‘too big’. But too small can prove too tough. It can be footy’s version of Goldilocks. You need to be just right. And balance isn’t a luxury the Swans coaches have at their disposal at the moment.
Save for a rare few, the Swans team could have run out on Metricon Stadium and slipped underneath a banner, rather than through it.
Early on however, the signs were good for our vertically challenged crew. Heeney was competing hard, Papley was prevailing no matter how outnumbered, and Ronke and Hewitt were getting involved. It had all the hallmarks of an undersized David, knocking off the statuesque Goliath.
But ultimately, in perfect conditions, it was a day that size mattered.
Nic Naitanui and an Eagles forward half that consisted of Darling, Kennedy, Waterman and Allen, all standing at more than 190cm, proved a mountain too tall to climb.
And as if they weren’t already tall enough, 196cm tall Tom Barrass’ decision to stand on poor old Jordan Dawson’s shoulders was just salt in the wound of our tiny team.
You can bet that a cure is being desperately sought for the Swans Covid-190 outbreak. And until then, we will need to get crafty while we wait for some key sized personnel to recover.
The next few weeks will be a tall order, but you have to have high hopes.
