Robbo: How Sydney Swans of 2021 can replicate the ‘Baby Bombers’ of 1993
There are many similarities between John Longmire’s ‘Young Bloods’ and the Baby Bombers of 1993. And after they passed the big Tigers test, the fairytale could be real.
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If anyone knows the power of youthful exuberance, it’s Kevin Sheedy.
His 1993 Essendon team was known as the “Baby Bombers’’ after winning the most unlikely of premierships.
The injection of a bunch of young, talented and carefree kids helped transform Sheedy’s mediocre team into a contender. Clearly, fortune did favour the brave.
The Sydney Swans of 2021 — the “Young Bloods” under coach John Longmire — are brandishing the same youthful exuberance.
Rebuilding for several seasons, Longmire this season has unleashed a bunch of kids who have helped transform a regimented team into one with dash and adventure.
The Young Bloods passed the big test at the MCG on Saturday, surprising the most regimented and adventurous team in the competition, reigning premier Richmond.
The win announced the Swans as a premiership contender.
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Clearly, the Swans of ’21 are more advanced than the Bombers of ’93 at the same stage of the season, but the same point of difference is that power of youthful exuberance.
“Youth brings energy and excitement, a freshness and newness, but with us, it had to be tempered by getting Tim Watson back,’’ Sheedy said.
There’s another similar storyline between the two teams.
The veteran Watson retired at the end of the 1991 season and returned to the game midway through ’93.
Sydney’s Lance Franklin did not play a game in 2020 and returned to the senior team last week.
“For Watson to get up and start kicking goals and adding flavour to that youthful enthusiasm, where they wanted to know as quick as they wanted to know, well, that’s what they bring,” Sheedy said.
“It’s the same for Franklin and the Swans. The other thing is the Swans have one of the best coaches in the AFL in John Longmire.
“He consistently keeps the Swans in the ballpark and we need the flag flying in Sydney for our game. That’s where he is a brilliant coach.’’
So, how do you coach youth?
The practicalities of their role within the team is the constant messaging, but how do you temper that against their instinct to play the game?
Youth has to be harnessed for the greater good, but, at the same time, confident and fearless young players can’t be entirely tethered, either.
Especially this year. The ground has opened up allowing for instinct to flourish, or at least to be tempted by the possibilities.
“I coached with reasonable structure but not over-structure,’’ Sheedy said.
“Everybody and every coach talks about structure these days, which can annoy the fans because fans like to see rock and roll.
“That’s the time for the player to come out of himself.
“That’s what I like to see and the fans like to see that, too. You can have all the structures in the world and make our game boring, but I think the coaches have pulled back on that at the moment and have allowed the goal flow to happen.
“We have seen a little more openness this year.
“Every team has probably looked at Richmond and said Richmond plays with structure and flair and people love watching them.’’
The new-look Swans have kicked 19.11 and 18.13 in the first two games of the season.
It’s not the heady days of 1987, for example, when, in three consecutive games, the Swans kicked 30.21, 36.20 and 31.12.
But springing out of the congested climate of recent years, it is a veritable scoring avalanche.
Sheedy is intrigued by the Swans team, as much for what it is producing on the ground as what it is producing for the Sydney market — which is a Sheedy passion
He watched Saturday’s game at the ’G before heading to Marvel Stadium for Essendon v St Kilda, which is another team deep in youthful transition.
It was almost 30 years ago when the Baby Bombers created history.
Comparing Essendon’s Round 2 team of 1993 to Sydney’s Round 2 team of last week highlights the youthful similarities between the two teams.
The Swans were better represented in the 100-200 game bracket and Franklin was the ultimate veteran with 301 games.
Essendon had just the one player with more than 200 games played, Anthony Daniher, because a reconditioning Watson didn’t enter the team until Round 8 against St Kilda.
Clearly the Swans have more seasoned players.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Bombers had six players under 10 games: Stephen Alessio, James Hird, Mark Mercuri, Joe Misiti, Tony Delaney and Dustin Fetcher who had played in the first of his 400 games.
By Grand Final day that year, Michael Long (102 games) was back in the team and they had introduced Ricky Olarenshaw (16 games) and David Calthorpe (13 games).
Last weekend, the Swans had six players with fewer than 11 games beside their name: Justin McInerney, Sam Wicks, Chad Warner, Errol Gulden, Braeden Campbell and Logan McDonald.
Not playing because of injury, but certain to return to senior football, is James Rowbottom (29 games).
History shows the Bombers had unveiled a premiership crop.
The future can only tell us if the Swans have done the same.
In today’s much-advanced professionalism, there are academies and the under-19 system to help fast-track talented youth.
Way back when, the Bombers team were educated via its reserves team.
“I had a very good assistant coach in ’92 to get these kids right, it was Denis Pagan,’’ Sheedy said.
“Terry Daniher was the captain of the reserves premiership team. I asked Denis to come over from North Melbourne to get the kids ready and, you never know, the world could be our oyster.
“I went on to get a premiership early and he went on to become a sensational coach at North.’’
Sheedy’s belief in youth was one of the foundations of his coaching — that and a ruthless edge.
“You only had to watch Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson, it’s just amazing what young people can achieve in life,’’ he said,
“That’s what youth does, it brings entertainment to the sports field. We had that. And the Swans are entertaining.’’
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The football world is similarly enthused about the Swans and their possibilities.
Malcolm Blight said this week: “They’re exciting to watch.’’
Ross Lyon said the same. And Gerard Healy can’t believe the transformation of the Swans from last season to this season, accomplished in part by the addition of former Adelaide coach Don Pyke as an assistant.
Statistics have been available all week. Their D50 transition to scores and forward-half chains to scores, for example, are ranked No.1 in the competition.
Their brand is adventurous and daring, which are terms synonymous with youth.
James Hird, whose 20th game of football was in the ’93 Grand Final, once said of the Baby Bombers: “When you’re young, you don’t have any fear and looking back we didn’t have any fear.’’
The transformation of the Bombers then was stunning.
In Round 20, 1992, the Bombers were beaten by Hawthorn by 160 points.
That day, Jason Dunstall kicked 12.8 and took 17 marks. Twenty-seven games later, the Bombers won the premiership.
“That was a fairly decent hiding, an absolute slaughter,” Sheedy said.
“I must have been looking for a full-back. Fletcher was only in Year 11 that year, I thought he was too young to play Year 11.’’
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