Having embarrassed themselves against Richmond, co-captain Jarrad McVeigh says Sydney need to make a statement against winless Melbourne.
The Swans have dropped two matches on the trot heading into Saturday’s AFL fixture against the Demons at the SCG.
A resounding victory would also help Sydney move on from their morale-sapping loss to the Tigers, who raced to a 34-point lead at quarter-time with apparent ease and were never headed.
McVeigh noted the review of their 29-point loss to the Tigers proved unpleasant viewing for much of the side, including himself.
“We just didn’t turn up to play and that’s just what it is. We can’t hide from it … (it was) an embarrassing performance,” McVeigh told AAP.
“We went through the review and some of the stuff was embarrassing.
“Our hardness was way off – starting with myself and the leadership group.
“If we’re not doing it, we can’t expect the rest of the team to follow.
“Our reviews are all about improving … so we need to hit back really hard this week, get our tackles up and be winning those hard balls.”
The side will wear a commemorative 30-year guernsey on the weekend, honouring the players involved with the club since its relocation from South Melbourne.
McVeigh and 1982 captain Barry Round on Tuesday unveiled the strip, a replica of that worn in Sydney’s first home match at the SCG against Melbourne.
“When we came up here and started playing in Sydney it was pretty rough,” Round said, harking back to days when his teammates would train in the dimmest of light on the SCG’s defunct No.2 oval which doubled as a car park.
“It makes you proud to see how the club has come along – no longer the easybeats and the poor relations of the AFL.
“To be honest, I didn’t think we’d ever win a premiership … now we’re one of the clubs that other clubs envy.”
McVeigh suggested his teammates were determined to turn the SCG into the fortress it once was.
“We started the year quite well. If we get back to that form, we know that we can beat anyone when we’re on,” he said.
“So we’ll be looking to get back to that relentless attitude.”
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