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The Sydney Swans have defied the experts this year and over the last decade and there is no reason to believe they won’t do it again in this Saturday’s AFL Grand Final.
Since 2002 the Swans have missed the finals only once in 2009.
This has defied the trend of all the other current top clubs who have had a bottoming out period at the lower end of the ladder for a few years to obtain some top draft picks and rebuild for a future finals assault.
The Swans have managed to defy this trend on the back of a winning culture built by Paul Roos and some very smart recruiting. Their game is built on a tight defence and winning contested ball and with this game plan they very rarely are not competitive.
They have been able to take unwanted players from other clubs and continually turn them into consistent performers. Of the current crop Martin Mattner, Ben Mcglynn, Josh Kennedy and Rhys Shaw are great examples of this. Kennedy has become an elite midfielder and Mattner since being discarded by Neil Craig has been very consistent and hardly played a bad game. Mcglynn, Shaw and numerous others have shown that astute recruiting can be better than spending time in the doldrums.
After all, in a competitive market like Sydney it is important to have a successful team and culture to keep the fans turning up.
Another sign of this clubs greatness was the succession plan. After Paul Roos handed the reins over to John Longmire he has not missed a beat as senior coach and is arguably coach of the year this year – although Brenton Sanderson may beg to differ. The process was seamless and did not have any of the drama of the Malthouse-Buckley handover. It showed class and professionalism from the individuals and people involved.
No doubt Hawthorn will start favourites with Luke Hodge back and the superstars Mitchell, Rioli, Sewell and Franklin. However the Sydney Swans are more even across the board as shown in the Brownlow medal count where Jack, Kennedy, Hanneberry and O’Keeffe were all prominent.
The Hawks looked shaky at times against the Crows under pressure with players making simple mistakes and even Buddy missing set shots.
If the Swans can keep the game close and maintain scoreboard pressure as the Crows did we are in for a super Grand Final. They can not afford to let them get a big lead as they are the best front-runners in the business.
Not many people tipped Sydney to be in the top four this year or to beat Adelaide away in the first final. Not many people will be tipping them again this week but with a wet forecast on offer and a tight contested game likely I expect the Sydney Swans to defy the odds and the experts yet again.
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