Occasionally, one wonders what the real problem with the Sydney Swans is. At other times, one doesn’t care. For the faithful Swans supporter, Sydney keeps on keeping on. The club has done that for 141 years – 108 of them as South Melbourne.
Looking at the Swans’ recent history, particularly the last 10 years, the club has continuously defied their critics and doubters. Maybe that’s the problem.
Just go back to 2005 when it was said Sydney would not win a premiership with their “ugly” style of footy. Then-Swans coach Paul Roos had suddenly ruined the game and was giving a poor advertisement to the game in Sydney!
Then-AFL chief Andrew Demetriou even got in on the act, leading a chorus of detracting ‘experts’.
Then come September, Roos hoists up the premiership cup and says, “For the people who waited 72 years for the South Melbourne/Sydney Swans to win the premiership – here it is!”
There was nowhere for the donkeys to hide. The Swans have made it hard for them!
Sydney for the last 20 years have achieved the opposite in the face of fierce doubters.
After the glory years of the Swans vs West Coast Eagles era, Sydney was supposed to decline and experience life in the doldrums. They nearly but never quite did, only missing the finals in 2009.
The club was running at deficits before a minor profit was recorded in 2011, John Longmire’s first season as senior coach. That year the Swans were meant to all but finish last, they finished sixth.
Last Saturday night, the overhyped grand final rematch was no different. Longmire rightly downplayed it as another game, not as a grand final rematch. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see a rivalry is brewing between Hawthorn and Sydney, although it has a way to go to stack up to the Swans vs Eagles rivalry – those series of matches are almost unmatched.
The Hawks were supposed to wipe Sydney off of the MCG. It was supposed to be a repeat of the humiliation of the 2014 grand final. The Hawks had had the better of the two clubs since the 2012 grand final, and Sydney was under a ‘Hawthorn curse’.
Never mind that they defeated the Hawks at ANZ Stadium last year. The Swans apparently had a brown and gold hoodoo!
The problem was, once again, the result did not go that way. Sydney came up trumps in adversity. There is a reason why many talk about the ‘Bloods culture’.
The game did get feisty. The Hawks tried to physically intimidate the Swans, Sydney never took a step back, having their own ‘line in the sand’ moment.
Ironically, the Swans won with ex-Hawk Lance Franklin doing diddly squat. In 2012 the Swans won that grand final without a recognised forward line – go figure!
In the aftermath, the talk was all about how Hawthorn lost the game, not how Sydney won it.
The first question John Longmire was asked at the post match presser was something like, “You must have been absolutely thrilled to get out [of the game]?”
Longmire’s response was pleasantly wry, “Well you don’t really get out of a game … I’m really happy to win the game – you got to find a way [to win].”
Touché!
Then there was all the talk about Luke Breust’s goal misses and the Hawks’ “poor kicking”. True, the Swans were lucky to hold on – the Hawks had a mammoth total of inside 50s. But Sydney had their own kicking problems – their kicking from the defensive 50 was at times nightmarish. But such is footy – tight games are like that.
The Swans were brave on Saturday night – one of their bravest ever wins. Once again, not only did they make asses out of the experts, they made right gooses out of them!
alicesprings
Guest
Advantages their clubs could only dream of??? The swans could only dream of only having to travel interstate 3 times in a year aka Collingwood. Not to mention playing their 'home' grand final in Sydney. Not saying the teams in NSW & QLD don't get a fair rub of the green but it does go both ways. By the way I'm a Geelong supporter.
andyl12
Guest
Nisbett only said that because in a situation where he wanted West Coat to get a COLA, he could hardly say anything different. I think deep down all clubs knew the COLA idea was a joke unless it was applied to all 18 clubs in accordance with the living requirements in the areas where their playing groups lived. Yes the Hawks wished they'd won the 2012 flag. Who would wish anything different after such a close loss?
andyl12
Guest
Agree that Demetriou wasn't always your friend but Jackson certainly was- in 2003 he gave you massive cash injections because Colless said your poor year the year before had driven members away, he agreed for the AFL to pay COLA and he gave insufficient support to North Melbourne's bid to move into the Sydney market- it amazed me that some people at the Swans say more teams need to move away from Melbourne, yet the minute one of them tried to find a new market those same people said "f____ off back to Melbourne." The 1993 mess was a situation where most Melbourne-based clubs (especially Carlton and Collingwood) wanted Sydney to go under but the AFL Commission and the Oakley/Schwab duo were making sure the opposite happened. I agree that the AFL's support for you until then was inadequate, but you've had plenty of opportunities since then to get established beyond any future need for assistance.
andyl12
Guest
I don't think GWS will be successful as soon as some think. Young sides tend to have good and bad spurts and I think they need to age a bit more before they're a solid top-4 team. Gold Coast were in the same position last year and look at them now. I agree with you that nobody in the media is writing off our 2015 chances like they would be for a typical 4-4 team, but I think most would admit that if we don't do it this year there is no way back in 2016.
Mark
Guest
But you're trying to start one with him. Think before you type.
Mark
Guest
Well said. WIG, you just copped a belting my friend.
Mark
Guest
Don't expect a reply from WIG, he doesn't respond well to common sense.
Mark
Guest
So you're assuming that's gonna happen? Talking about things when they are convenient to your argument...
Mark
Guest
Hawthorn losing in 2012 is not far off in the choking stakes. While we got belted as slight favourites, Hawks were almost unbackable, being clearly the best team of the year and losing to the much less fancied Swans. Just saying.
Warren Cooper
Roar Guru
WhereisGene - if they are rumoured payments to Jack and Goodes, why on earth mention it? To prove what? The fact is, Isaac Heeney may have been playing NRL because the opportunities to play to line AFL in NSW is limited, especially in Newcastle, which is a strong rugby league heart land. That was where he was discovered by the Swans and introduced to the academy. But what would I know ... And no, under the old and under the new rules, the Swans don't get "exclusive" rights to academy players - that's a fallacy. They had the opportunity to use the Father / Son rule under the old, under the new, it is the new bidding system. No the academies haven't watered down the F/S rule, it could be argued Gary Ablett Jr. being selected at pick 40 did that. In fact, hadn't the Swans found him, at the very least he would have been playing local footy and nothing more. But what would I know ...
Warren Cooper
Roar Guru
Every supporter from their chosen club believes their club has the best supporters. There are good and bad supporters at every club. None of them are perfect. I've already made mention that I believe the COLA going is good news for the Swans. The Swans board have made a mention of the lifestyle advantage - that is what lured Tony Lockett to the club in 1994 - in the end. The accusation the Swans have been given handouts, is factually wrong. The AFL were not sympathetic to the Swans dire mess in 1993 at all. The VFL actually had plans for a Sydney team before South relocated. And then they were considering starting all over again with a brand new Sydney franchise. Andrew Demetriou and Wayne Jackson were not sympathetic towards the Swans. Gillon McLachlan attacked the Swans last year - sour grapes for Buddy not going to the GWS. The Giants on the other hand are the AFL's baby. That club is all about a code war, which eventually see the club settle in Canberra, one thinks. I may be wrong ... Hawthorn have been phenomenally successful since the 60's, no one denies that.
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
I agree with the academies in that sense yes. Jack and Goodes would never go anywhere, so money is not an issue for those two. Club champions do not go anywhere...
Warren Cooper
Roar Guru
Sorry, what did I start? You throw out an accusation, without fact, and then expect me to say nothing? It wasn't feedback, it was a personal attack disguised as feedback, TomC.
Warren Cooper
Roar Guru
And here comes WhereisGene using the old, "Swans fans are so out of touch" yada yada yada. Apparently, according to the likes of WhereisGene, Swans fans, whether they are Sydney based or old South supporters, have no idea. And then here comes WhereisGene wheeling out the same old lines about the COLA and the alleged unfair advantages, clutching at straws are we? Actually only the Lions had a problem with the Swans COLA, because they lost their salary cap concession. Fair enough. In fact much of what you say is riddled with sour grapery. No Eddie wasn't the only one, we know that. Andrew Newbold and Peter Gordon head the list. Any ways, the COLA is being phased out and the Swans are already re-signing players regardless. The COLA being phased out won't stop the Swans - especially with the multi-million dollar corporate backers now behind the club. And especially with the club at record high membership numbers. They could crack 100,000 by the end of the decade - I kid you not.
TomC
Roar Guru
You're not interested in feedback. You want to start a fight. You won't start one with me.
WhereIsGene
Guest
Are the bulk of Swans fans so laughably out of touch with the football community that they assume Eddie is the only bloke in the country infuriated by the preferential treatment the AFL gives Sydney & GWS? I know it suits your argument to paint Eddie as some sort of crackpot with a personal vendetta against the Swans but the reality is that the Presidents of all 16 clubs outside NSW & QLD all feel extremely similarly. Watching the Swans being given advantages their clubs can only dream of, win two premierships in 7 years and then recruit two of the biggest-name forwards in the sport because no other club could match Sydney's offers has incensed football supporters around the country. Eddie is simply a rent-a-quote for the lazy football media. Whenever they need an opinion on the Academy or COLA issues he's their go to man, but that hardly means he's the only person out there who feels that way.
WhereIsGene
Guest
So you're saying Isaac Heeny would be playing NRL right now had he been drafted from the academy by Hawthorn? or Collingwood? Or West Coast? There is ZERO reason why Sydney & GWS deserve exclusive rights over every player produced by the NSW Academy - other than the AFL's desperate wish to grow the game in NSW to increase ratings and the corresponding TV Rights value. As for the Ambassador payments - Adam Goodes & Keiran Jack are both receiving them (rumored to be in excess of $500k per year, the AFL won't even tell us exactly how much they're getting) which are paid *outside* the salary cap and effectively allow Sydney to pay those two player that much less inside their cap, since they'd both forfeit those payments if they requested a trade to a non-NSW club. Effectively, those two payments represent an extra $1M in the Swans salary cap or whatever their combined total amounts to. Yes, thankfully the COLA is kaput next year. Which gives us hope that a more level playing field is coming. The next step must be the inclusion of Ambassador payments in the Swans salary cap followed by allowing all clubs equal access to Academy talent. The Academy should exist to produce football talent for ALL clubs, not funnel the creme of it onto Sydney & GWS lists.
Warren Cooper
Roar Guru
Oh come andyl12, get real mate - are they really? If they weren't jealous, then why is there a problem. You're meaning to tell me the Hawks were really OK about losing the 2012 flag - the one they were supposed to have in a bag? But no, I don't only say that. I talk about the plight of the game in NSW and QLD. We all know Hawthorn had a big old whinge about the COLA - Jeff Kennett had a good old go about it two days after the 2012 Grand Final, and Andrew Newbold not long after. West Coast Eagles CEO Trevor Nisbett conceded he could see why the Swans needed it. He tried to get a COLA for the Eagles, which was denied by the AFL Commission. The Lions were only opposed to it because they had their salary cap allowance stripped from them. They also had draft concessions stripped from them - but please, tell me how the game is going in Queensland? Make whatever assumption you like about me, it makes no difference to me. The fact you're a Hawthorn supporter trying to tell me I basically have not right to write an article with a Swans view or angle - that says it all.
Me Too
Guest
Doesn't hurt me or my team - which obviously aint the Hawks. As a neutral in the Sydney v hawks rivalry I think the Hawks are the better team and unlikely to give the Swans the same chance if they meet in a GF rematch. But on any given day any team can win it.
WhereIsGene
Guest
"STOP LIVING IN THE PAST" What's cute is if Sydney wins this year's Premiership, Swans fans like you will fall over themselves to label it "redemption". So ignore history when it suits but remind us about it when its convenient huh? Hard to take anyone with that sort of attitude seriously.