“They were very disciplined and I think that’s something Rossy [Lyon]’s taken from here [Sydney],” Davis said.
“St Kilda teams of old mightn’t have been able to do that, but he’s instilled discipline into them and we noticed that out on the field.”
The 27-year-old says the Saints' new game plan, which Ross Lyon modelled on the 2005 premiers, was evident during the match.
“They seem to have adopted it and have a little bit of our game style. They probably beat us at it tonight and that’s fair enough. We know that teams are going to do their homework on us and find ways to beat us, so we have to come up with ways to counter what they do,” Davis says.
“Roosy [coach Paul Roos] spoke about that at the start of the game. We knew what we wanted to do and what Rossy wanted [the Saints] to do, so it was a matter of who was the more disciplined and who held their nerve as long as they could. So by the looks of the scoreboard, it looks like they held their nerve and game plan longer than we did.”
Davis admits that a lower-than-usual tackle count for the Swans was one of the most disappointing aspects of the defeat.
“We fell into a trap of having a loose player back and they were able to chip the ball around and play uncontested footy. Winning the contested ball is something we’ve prided ourselves on over the last two years,” Davis says.
While the Swans enjoyed most of the possession in the first half, they couldn’t seem to convert it on the scoreboard.
“We probably could have been in front if our ball use was better. That caught up with us in the second half. Our ball use was pretty bad and they had a loose man back. Jason Gram played really well for them.
“We could have still won at three-quarter-time and Roosy said ‘Look, we may as well go out and do our best now, and right the wrongs now' but we just couldn’t get it back.”
Davis, who kicked two goals after being quiet the previous game, says next week’s clash with Port Adelaide, while not an easy assignment, is a chance for the Swans to redeem themselves in front of a home crowd.
“We played them in a practice match in pre-season. They beat us and played really well. It’s going to be a big challenge but we’re all pretty upset with the way we’re going at the moment so hopefully it will be a different Swans team that comes out next week.”
