John Longmire a Coach of the Year contender after guiding Sydney from 0-6 to finals

IF THEY were handing out the Coach of the Year award today John Longmire has a very strong case after guiding Sydney from 0-6 to finals. FINALS FORMGUIDE

Lance Franklin kicked 10 goals in his last game.

IF they were handing out the Coach of the Year award today John Longmire has a very strong case.

Never in the game’s century-plus history has a team started 0-6 and played finals, no team has made it from 0-5.

North Melbourne in 1975 are the last team to do it from 0-4 and they went on to win the premiership.

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It could be a good omen for Longmire’s team who must now follow the Western Bulldogs lead from last year and win four straight to claim the flag.

There is no doubt they believe they can do it.

They are the form team of the competition winning 14 of their last 16 matches including victories over each of the top four teams Adelaide, Geelong, Richmond and GWS on their home decks.

Sydney players after the Round 3 loss to Collingwood at the SCG.

So how did they achieve this remarkable feat of bouncing back from oblivion at 0-6?

It’s worth looking back at what the messaging from the coach was when they were beaten by lowly Carlton at the MCG in Round 6.

“It takes a lot of time to develop a brand and a reputation as a team and it doesn’t take long to lose that,” Longmire said after the match.

He was right, the loss to the Blues made the Swans the first team to play in a Grand Final and lose the next six games of the following season.

But the messaging to the players and public was clear, the game plan is the right one but the team were simply not executing it.

“It is unacceptable,” Longmire said.

Sydney players celebrate the Round 23 win over Carlton.

“It’s nowhere near the brand we would like to play. It is an overall competitive spirit to the contest, with the ball and without the ball.

“The three phases of the game, we’re not playing anywhere near the standard which is required to compete on a regular basis at AFL level, it’s just not happening. It’s not something where we can go into our reserves and grab five or six players. There is no easy way out of it you just have to compete a bit harder.”

There are few secrets to Sydney’s game plan, it is driven by an 18-man defence and relentless pressure. With Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker and Dan Hannebery leading the charge the can win the ball at the stoppages and now have added the speed of Zak Jones and Isaac Heeney to their mix.

They score heavily from turnovers caused by forward half pressure and their backline concedes the fewest points in the AFL.

Throw in the most talented forward in a generation in Lance Franklin and it’s a winning formula.

Since Round 6 they have scored and average of 101.4 points per game and conceded just 66 per game.

Sydney coach John Longmire at Swans training.

Hannebery believes the 0-6 start to the season has had them living on the edge for most of the season and sharpened their resolve.

“We weren’t locked in till we beat Adelaide in Adelaide,” Hannebery said.

“In a way that’s helped us out and kept our focus narrow. For us as a week to week prospect we couldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves because of the situation we were in.”

Hannebery and Tom Papley will both enjoy the break leading into the finals as they shrug off hip and knee injuries respectively.

“With that week off it helps us,” Hannebery said.

“It’s a rare luxury and makes it quite even and you can challenge from anywhere in the eight. High intensity and high pressure, work for each other every game. That’s the blueprint, everyone knows it. It’s just about executing on the day.”

TALE OF THE TAPE

SYDNEY SWANS

Disposals differential: -2.3 (11th)

Kicking Efficiency differential: -0.5% (12th)

Disposal Efficiency differential: -0.3% (8th)

Contested Possession differential: +3.1 (7th)

Uncontested Possession differential: -6.5 (11th)

Tackle differential: -2.4 (14th)

Inside 50 differential: +2.6 (8th)

SCORING

Points For: 95.1 (5th)

Points Against: 75.0 (1st)

STOPPAGES

Clearances differential: +0.3 (8th)

Scores from clearances differential: +9.4 (2nd)

ESSENDON

Disposals differential: +24.2 (2nd)

Kicking Efficiency differential: -0.2% (10th)

Disposals Efficiency differential: -0.1% (7th)

Contested Possession differential: +1.0 (10th)

Uncontested Possession differential: +22.9 (2nd)

Tackle differential: +4.1 (3rd)

Inside 50 differential: -1.8 (11th)

SCORING

Points For: 97.0 (3rd)

Points Against: 91.1 (12th)

STOPPAGES

Clearances differential: -1.9 (14th)

Scores from clearances differential: +0.5 (9th)

FAST FACTS

Swans shot at goal accuracy of 34 per cent against Essendon in Round 14 was their second worst in any game this year. Lance Franklin kicked 0.6.

Lance Franklin averages 4.6 goals against Essendon over his career. The most against any side.

Since Round 7 the Swans are No.1 for points for (102) and points against (66).

Originally published as John Longmire a Coach of the Year contender after guiding Sydney from 0-6 to finals