Mumford was dominant all over the field against GWS and collected 16 disposals, 25 hit-outs and an equal career-high seven marks, but the one area that put a dampener on his all-round performance was his inaccuracy in front of goal.
In recent times, Mumford has been one of the club’s most reliable goal kickers, scoring 27 goals and just nine behinds between 2010 and 2012 for the Swans, but in round one this season, the ruckman finished the match with 1.3 and has since kicked 3.7 this season.
Speaking to SwansTV this week, Mumford, who on Sunday will line up for the Swans against GWS for the second time this season, said he was on track to try and improve his accuracy in front of the big sticks.
“Obviously I’m hoping to play the same way, except maybe kick a bit straighter this time,” Mumford told SwansTV about this week’s contest with GWS.
“I was very wayward in that first game but I’ve been spending a bit of time over the last couple of weeks working on my technique because I have missed a lot of goals this year.
“It’s something I’m really trying to correct very quickly.”
Mumford, who returned to the side last weekend after missing two matches with a fractured cheekbone, said he used his time out of the game to dust up on a number of areas of his game including his goal kicking as well as fitness and strength.
The ruckman said he felt he was now more prepared to tackle the final stages of the season and was looking forward to a more consistent second half of the year.
“Obviously it was great to get out there (last weekend),” he said.
“It’s not much fun watching from the sidelines, especially the Port Adelaide game when we were getting beaten, so to get out there and to have an impact again was good.
“In that way (the three weeks off) wasn’t such a bad thing because I was able to do everything and a lot of extra weights and stuff like that.
“Hopefully it should work out that I’ll be a lot fresher for the second half of the year now.”
The Swans will be looking for their 11th win of the season this Sunday against GWS, in what will be the first Sydney Derby to be played at the SCG.
Mumford said he expected GWS would want to show their best form against the Swans this weekend.
“They get themselves up pretty well to play us,” he said.
“It seems every time whether they are going well or whether they are not going well, it’s a hard physical contest, so I expect them to come out cracking in once again.”
Mumford confirmed that this week’s match against GWS would be the last time he wears the protective helmet, which he wore in his return to the field last week against Melbourne to protect his cheekbone.
“Obviously it was pretty hot due to the fact that most of the heat escapes through your head, so I was sweating pretty heavily for most of the game,” he said.
“It was probably more just piece of mind than anything.
“I didn’t actually have to wear it, but I think I’ll wear it again this week just to play it safe and then get rid of it and throw it somewhere in a deep dark hole never to be seen again!”
