Mick McGuane analyses Sydney’s injury woes and how the Demons and Pies can find winning form
As Bombers star Joe Daniher nears a return for the Bombers, potential suitor Sydney has a litany of injuries to key players. Once miracle workers with injured players, the Swans have a big question mark, Mick McGuane writes.
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Joe Daniher is a very good footballer, but the Sydney Swans will have to be 100 per cent sure they’re going to get bang for their buck if they go after the Essendon star again this off-season.
Lance Franklin has provided that outstanding value for the Swans and it’s only really been the last year or two that Buddy has had some real issues with his hammies.
But when you look at guys like Sam Reid and Sam Naismith and then players they’ve brought in from other clubs like Kurt Tippett and Daniel Menzel, the Swans just haven’t been able to keep them on the park consistently enough to provide that top tier value.
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When you’re bringing in players from other clubs, you want to ensure their bodies are in a good state to play good, competitive, strong football and that they have the confidence levels to do that.
In 2005 when the Swans won their first premiership under Paul Roos, they used just 32 players that season – second least in the competition that season.
Then when they claimed their next title in 2012, John Longmire used only 31 players, the least of any team.
Everyone was asking, what do they do? What’s in the water in Sydney? What’s in the Harbour up there?
How can they not have the injuries considering the bash and crash one-on-one style they play?
The played with their hearts and heads. You could see Brett Kirk coming off with blood streaming from his face, and it was amazing the way they could recover and never had the soft tissue injuries that other clubs had and they were the envy of the competition.
But those good fortunes have taken an about turn, for sure.
The dramas involving Franklin and Reid in particular to start this season means they will have to think long and hard about Daniher who still seems about a month away from playing his first match since round 9 last year.
It’s not an ideal injury toll and the club will probably have to look at why there are so many. But they would know the answers more than I would as an outsider.
With the amount of money they put into sports science to make their players’ welfare first and foremost the priority, but also get them to perform at a high level consistently – the bottom line is you can’t get a kick in the grandstand. It’s pretty important to get that right.
If they think there’s a need for a review because of their tumultuous run with injury then there’s no doubt they’d look at it for sure, that’s what professional organisations like the Swans do.
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HOW TO FIX THE DEES
Memo Simon Goodwin.
It’s time to recalibrate and reinvent the team.
Here’s how it can be done.
BALL MOVEMENT
Melbourne needs more courage by playing more corridor footy and less boundary.
The ball carriers must remove the blinkers. Footy isn’t played in straight lines, so scan, see, hit and have corridor thoughts.
You play a ballistic style, but haven’t got the right players between the arcs to play at speed and/or have the composure and skill to hit teammates further afield.
Widen your radar, slow down, look inside and understand the angles or patterns a teammate will be running based on where you received the footy from. It’s called predetermined awareness.
Simplify your kick. Short 20m kicks to find a forward who gets separation is something you don’t do well. Lifting and lowering one’s eyes is another skill a ball carrier must possess.
It’s like the players are looking long but don’t see what’s in between. Are they applying literally the coaches’ message of getting territory with “deep entries”, meaning they aren’t playing the game on its merits?
No wonder there is frustration.
.
RESHAPE THE TEAM
Stop the trickery. Just put players where they play their best footy.
Positivity will flow as a circuit breaker. Don’t forget you were the No. 1 scoring team in 2018, scoring more than 100 points in 14 of 22 home-and-away games
Time to play Clayton Oliver as a high half-forward. He must get a better balance in his game to help team requirements – more run-and-carry and effective kicks.
Get him into space to rediscover his composure and kicking ability. He is a “rusher” right now. His hunt for the ground ball and willingness to apply pressure in forward 50 can never be questioned.
Jayden Hunt should play back. Forget the forward experiment. Let him run and bounce and make the play.
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Bayley Fritsch has hit the scoreboard (4.7 this year) but your biggest issue is hitting targets going inside 50. He is a good kick when he has possession in space. So put him on the wing where he can find space!
Give Christian Salem more responsibility by playing him wing or on the ball. He is good in the contest and a clean ball handler.
You must stabilise the back seven. Play Steven May (deep) and Oscar McDonald (high) as key defenders, and Jake Lever and Michael Hibberd as interceptors.
Neville Jetta, Hunt, Jay Lockhart can all play on smalls/hybrids. Let them play together as continuity is key.
Angus Brayshaw is your relief inside mid, Aaron Vandenberg a pressure forward, Ed Langdon a relief outside/inside mid or tagger.
Harley Bennell is your X-factor. He kicks goals and sees the game in front of him really well, an attribute the team needs.
A big recruit over summer, Adam Tomlinson has poor foot skills and slows your ball movement.
For a player who has played more than 140 games and is on big money, he is yet to register a Brownlow vote.
He is serviceable at best, not a match winner. Steve Moneghetti could run but never played AFL.
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Originally published as Mick McGuane analyses Sydney’s injury woes and how the Demons and Pies can find winning form