Last week was a pretty poor performance. It was our worst performance for the year, if not for several years. It was very disappointing the way we went about it. We didn’t live up to any of the trademarks that we usually measure ourselves on and want to be known by. That’s probably the most disappointing part - that we let our reputation slip. We need to do everything we possibly can now, going forward, to restore that.
I think any football team should have enough pride as players, as people, to bounce back, regardless of who’s in the group of players. This is elite football where you can be very soundly beaten and highly embarrassed at times if you don’t give effort. I think that’s probably how the players felt after the game and I’d be surprised if they didn’t give a much better effort this week.
The first and foremost thing we have to do as a playing group, as a coaching group is just to get back to doing the things that we know win games of footy. We need to focus on being competitive for a whole game, making sure we tackle and pressure the opposition, and do the tough things that AFL footy demands. We must play the strong type football that our supporters, our members and our sponsors can go to the game and enjoy watching.
Our first priority is to walk away from a game, whatever the result, and say that’s the Sydney Swans. That’s the Bloods footy that we’re known for.
Everyone knows Geelong is a very accomplished side, so we’ll give them the respect they deserve. We’ll try and curb the way they use the ball and their free flow they have, but I think this week is probably more about us. This week is about getting back to the things we know that help us win games. The key indicators that we measure every week regardless of opposition, the things we set ourselves as bench marks, that’s our starting point.
One of Geelong’s many strengths is their ability to play for four quarters and really make the opposition pay for a lapse in intensity or concentration. Geelong will often win a game based on their opposition’s one bad quarter. You can match them in the other quarters but if you want to win you cannot take your foot off the intensity pedal for even half a quarter or they’ll blow you away.
We have learned that lesson twice down at Skilled Stadium in the past 2 years, where they’ve blown us away in a quarter and finished us off late in games. They are very experienced, very mature, very professional and they play for 120 minutes.
While they have punished us on their home turf, we have seen over the last few years that here in Sydney, in front of our home crowd, that they are fallible.
Last year at ANZ Stadium we got within five points of victory. We went into three-quarter time fairly close, but a 10 minute period at the start of the final term really hurt us, as the Cats booted three goals and really took control. We again came back late and kicked the last two or three goals to get within five points, but the damage had been done.
It can be daunting to face an opponent like Geelong that can appear to have no weaknesses. They’ve got talent on every line, they’ve got great leadership, they’re strong, they’re big, they’re quick and they’re skilful. You have to match their intensity on the day, you have to use the ball well when you get it, you can’t give the ball back to them and you have to defend well. You have to do all the basic elements of the game extremely well to give yourself a chance to compete with them. But that’s the exciting challenge.
They are a really good stoppage team because they’ve got a lot of talent around the ball. They’re strong, they’ve got big bodies, they can dish the ball off with accuracy under tackle pressure and they can also put a lot of pressure on you. It’s an area that the Swans have to be really strong in. We have to make sure that we’re prepared to take contact, and absorb their pressure, and we have to make sure we’re prepared to put pressure on, both physical pressure and running pressure. We need to give two or three efforts and really fight hard for our clearance wins, and force them to chase us at times.
Despite the poor showing against Melbourne it probably won’t be a week where we make many changes. It’s a shorter week, so we’ll just manage the guy’s training load and ensure they are properly recovered and ready to go come Saturday night.
As we return to ANZ Stadium this weekend, it is important we get as much red and white to fill the stands as possible. It’s a big stadium and the more support we have there, the more it can spur on our boys as they look to bounce back this week.
BUY TICKETS to see the Sydney Swans take on Geelong on Saturday night at ANZ Stadium
Everything you need to know about Saturday's game is just a click away. READ MORE for news on transport, parking, entertainment, activities for the kids and much more...
