SACKED podcast 2024: Paul Roos discusses motivation of Andrew Demetriou’s ‘ugly’ comments in Sydney’s 2005 premiership year

In the latest episode of SACKED, Swans premiership coach Paul Roos reveals how former AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou served as motivation in their 2005 premiership season. LISTEN HERE.

SACKED podcast 2024: Paul Roos discusses the motivation of Andrew Demetriou’s ‘ugly’ comments in Sydney’s 2005 flag season.

Sydney premiership coach Paul Roos says his players believed the umpires were influenced by Andrew Demetriou’s “ugly” football comments as the Swans used his extraordinary claim as motivation during the 2005 premiership season.

Roos says he has long since moved on from those comments but was surprised at the time no one from AFL House came out to hold Demetriou “accountable” for the anti-Swans tirade.

Demetriou said midway through 2005 the Swans played unattractive football which some critics had decried as “ugly”.

The Swans were shocked that the then AFL chief executive would trash their brand so publicly, with Roos at one stage pulling out of a speaking engagement at an AFL function given the insult.

Roos told the Herald Sun’s Sacked podcast his players and even rival coaches believed that Demetriou’s comments saw his side umpired differently.

PART TWO: THE BARRY HALL MOMENT ROOS REGRETS

He believes subconsciously the umpires tried to keep the ball in motion with free kicks when umpiring Sydney’s games, with the Swans having the last laugh by winning the 2005 premiership playing a dour, contested style.

“It just seemed like a really bizarre comment. We were the only team at the time in Sydney,” Roos told Sacked.

“I was really surprised that no one held him accountable from the AFL. My first response is ‘can you imagine the CEO of Coca Cola saying, don’t drink Coca Cola in New South Wales. Drink Pepsi?’

“And I remember being on one of the big sports shows not long after he said it and legitimately the host said, ‘Roosy, what does he mean by ugly footy? Because it’s a rugby league town, it’s a physical town, it’s a town that likes toughness.’

“Did we use it at times (as motivation)? Yeah, we did. And did we feel like the AFL was against us? Probably at times we did, yeah, there’s no question about that. It was just a really bizarre thing for the AFL CEO to say.

“We just knew we were out of form (in the midway part of the 2005 season). We knew, you know, we were what we were capable of. But yeah, it was, it was a bit of a weird time.”

Andrew Demetriou, Paul Roos (R) and Adam Goodes in 2005. Picture: Dan Peled

Roos said the club didn’t stick the offending story up on the change room walls but felt in the aftermath to the comments that the umpires almost tried to officiate in a way that did not favour the Swans’ stoppage-heavy game.

“We generally felt the way we played impacted the umpires,” he said. “And that comment, that was probably one part of it. We did feel there were times when we were umpired differently. It was interesting. We had (an assistant) coach who came in 2006 or 2007 after we had won the premiership (in 2005) and he made an interesting comment doing the (game) review and he said, ‘Guys, it’s funny. Now that I am here, I actually realise that you are umpired differently’.

“I don’t think it was intentional. This is not a criticism of the umpires, but umpires are human. You know, we want the ball moving.

“We want goals. The players because they are on the ground, they know when a free kick is paid and not paid, and I am not suggesting it was intentional but that was the feeling the players got.”

He confirmed he had a “bit of a blow up” with then AFL umpires manager Jeff Gieschen during the 2005 finals series.

“This is in no way shape or form a criticism of the umpires,” he said. “My interactions with the umpires, apart from that little blue with Giesch, was fantastic.

“I can’t speak highly enough about them … but yeah, you’ve always gotta fight for your territory.

“It’s a tough job. It’s a really hard job, and they’re human … they read the paper and they know what’s going on. They are 100 per cent impartial … but the umpires are human.”