Roos raised the prospect of the two Sydney teams battling for the wooden spoon in 2012 as he discussed the importance of the Swans remaining competitive as they renew their playing list.
“The challenge for this footy club and for the AFL bringing in a second team is that if we go down for three years, well, it could be absolutely catastrophic,” he said before training at the SCG on Wednesday.
“It’s not just our problem; it’s an AFL problem that we just have to manage.
“We are the brand in Sydney up until the second team [comes in] and if we finished 16th in 2011 and then 17th in 2012, you’d hate to think the bottom of the ladder at the end of round 22 in 2012 is between the Sydney Swans and West Sydney. It wouldn’t be a great marketing tool.”
But Roos stopped short of calling for AFL intervention, saying it was an issue that the Swans needed to manage within the constraints of the current system, including the draft and salary cap restrictions.
“It’s our responsibility. It’s not the AFL’s responsibility… we’ll try to remain competitive as long as we possibly can,” he said.
“If I was a selfish coach or the owner of a team, I’d be calling for free agency and no draft and no salary cap because in Sydney, we can probably afford to do that, providing you finish one, two or three.
“But I think our system’s great, because as frustrating as it is for a coach, we were able to win a premiership; we played another grand final and now it’s our turn to work out ways to remain competitive.”
