SYDNEY Swans midfielder Kieren Jack says his side’s round-15 win against North Melbourne was a watershed moment for the club’s young players.
For years, the Swans have been lifted by club stalwarts Brett Kirk and Jude Bolton in moments of on-field crisis but against North, it was the club’s new breed of midfielders who stood up.
Jack, whose crucial tackle on North skipper Brent Harvey stopped the visitors’ final-quarter surge, said coach Paul Roos was delighted with the contribution of the new generation.
“The message he sent us at three-quarter time especially was not to wait for Kirky or for Jude Bolton or some of the older players to make a stance. He really wanted some of the younger boys to stand up,” Jack said on Wednesday.
“[After the game] he mentioned my tackle, and Dan Hannebery going back with the flight of the ball; those are the sort of things that lift the older blokes too.
“We probably haven’t seen that in the past, where the younger blokes are inspiring the Kirkys and the Jude Boltons.
“The week before against Richmond, probably a few of the players were waiting for that to happen and it didn’t happen. A few of the younger boys did it against the Kangaroos and there’s no reason why they can’t do it in the future.”
For years, the Swans have been lifted by club stalwarts Brett Kirk and Jude Bolton in moments of on-field crisis but against North, it was the club’s new breed of midfielders who stood up.
Jack, whose crucial tackle on North skipper Brent Harvey stopped the visitors’ final-quarter surge, said coach Paul Roos was delighted with the contribution of the new generation.
“The message he sent us at three-quarter time especially was not to wait for Kirky or for Jude Bolton or some of the older players to make a stance. He really wanted some of the younger boys to stand up,” Jack said on Wednesday.
“[After the game] he mentioned my tackle, and Dan Hannebery going back with the flight of the ball; those are the sort of things that lift the older blokes too.
“We probably haven’t seen that in the past, where the younger blokes are inspiring the Kirkys and the Jude Boltons.
“The week before against Richmond, probably a few of the players were waiting for that to happen and it didn’t happen. A few of the younger boys did it against the Kangaroos and there’s no reason why they can’t do it in the future.”
Jack said painful memories of the Swans’ round-14 capitulation to Richmond spurred him to make a desperate lunge at Harvey in Sunday’s final quarter.
“Everyone could sense they were beginning to come at us and if he runs into an open goal and kicks that, they were six points behind,” he said.
“Everyone was feeling like ‘This can’t happen again, what happened against Richmond’, so as soon as he got the ball, [my] little legs started to pump away and I was lucky enough to drag an arm down and make a tackle.”
The Swans’ midfield faces a tough task this Sunday at Etihad Stadium against a Carlton outfit fresh from a 68-point loss to the Western Bulldogs, but Jack said he was looking forward to the challenge.
“We want to start beating top-eight teams. The disappointing thing is we just haven’t been able to perform well and you only get so many chances to play these sorts of teams, so when it comes around, you’ve got to make sure you’re ready,” he said.
“If we can get a win against Carlton, a genuine top-eight team, it will give the team a lot of confidence going forward to Geelong and teams that we’ve got in the future.”
Meanwhile, Jack confirmed he was in negotiations with the Swans about a deal to remain at the club past the end of 2010.
While he was coy on details, he said he wanted to remain at the Swans and batted away suggestions that his rugby league background would make him a prime target for Team GWS as it assembled its inaugural squad.
