Ollie Florent opens up about the aftermath of Sydney’s horror Marsh Series loss to GWS
It was the type of video session no player likes sitting through. What sort of feedback did the Swans get after their 94-point loss to GWS? Young gun Ollie Florent says there was certainly some colourful language used.
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Ollie Florent and his Sydney Swans teammates have emerged from a nasty video session determined to avoid a repeat horror show.
As they prepare to face North Melbourne in Tasmania on Monday, the red and whites are still smarting from a 94-point drubbing at the hands of the Giants last weekend. It was a display slammed as ‘unacceptable’ by coaching staff.
Florent insists a few other colourful words would be equally apt with the midfielder admitting the Swans must swiftly rediscover ‘the fire’ so glaringly absent from their performance last week.
But ahead of their final hitout before the new campaign Florent is confident of a positive response.
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Some “real horrible clips” were on the cards in the team meeting Florent said but there was no hiding from the Giants shocker.
“What we have to do is learn from it and get back on track as there’s not much time (before round one),” the 21-year-old told The Daily Telegraph.
“It looked like we didn’t have any fight in us, no real competitive fire. So, yes unacceptable.
“It’s a reminder of what can happen if you’re not at where you need to be.
“Sometimes you lose but if you do, you want to have given it everything out there.”
Florent expects the Kangaroos will also have watched last weekend’s debacle and will be licking their lips ahead of the clash.
“They would have seen our performance on the weekend thinking that these guys are pretty easy pushovers,” he said. “We’re not going to let that happen. We’ll make it a big focus. They’re a great side but we’ve beaten them before and we’re not afraid of them.”
Florent was one of the few Swans to impress against the Giants. He finished with 24 disposals, six inside 50s, four clearances and 573 metres gained.
Not that the player himself took that view.
“I wasn’t happy with my performance at all. It lacked that competitive edge as well,” he said.
The speedy Florent is looking for more inside time this season and is happily taking every opportunity to learn from more experienced colleagues.
“I want to bring both sides to my game,” he said.
“Luke (Parker) and Josh (Kennedy) have obviously been around for a while and they they’ve been through every situation.
“They’ve been really good at helping me out. I’m obviously new to the inside role and just working with them on what little tips I can get off them and bring to my game, has been really helpful.”
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The Swans overcame adversity when they met North in the Apple Isle last season – round nine’s 11.11 (77) to 10.12 (72) victory.
The Swans were missing six of their most experienced players on that occasion, including Lance Franklin.
“We played them and got the win with one of the youngest sides we’ve had,” Florent said.
The Swans will welcome back Tom Papley, Jake Lloyd and Callum Mills on Monday from State of Origin duty for the Roos clash with Isaac Heeney also named after recovering from a broken thumb.
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