Kurt Tippett says Sydney Swans chasing redemption after 2014 embarrassment
KURT Tippett says the 2014 Grand Final loss to Hawthorn was an embarrassment that is driving the Swans to redemption against the Western Bulldogs.
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KURT Tippett says the 2014 grand final loss to Hawthorn was an embarrassment that is driving the Swans towards redemption against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.
The Hawks beat up the red and whites physically and mentally in their 63-point win and left some scar tissue which Sydney are desperate to erase.
“We learnt a lot that year,” Tippett told The Daily Telegraph.
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“We were embarrassed by the way we turned up and it’s something we don’t ever want to do again. We were very disappointed with our performance that day and we want to go back there to the MCG and be proud of the way we perform for ourselves, the club and our supporters.
Two years ago Alistair Clarkson’s men blew the Swans away in the first half dominating the contested football and pressuring them into mistakes.
They had them on the back foot right from the start and couldn’t recover. Judging by last week’s comprehensive preliminary final win over Geelong it looks like Sydney has learnt their lesson.
“You always focus in on your first couple of contests and we do as a side,” Tippett said.
“You want to start the game well and set up a strong performance and that’s the way we go about it.”
Tippett was one of six grand final debutants in 2014 and Jake Lloyd was another. The small man struggled on the big stage picking less than half his normal quota of disposals with just 11 for the day. Lloyd said the size of the event made it easy to be distracted.
“It’s such a big week leading into the game,” Lloyd said.
“The parade, family and friends and their messages of support for you are nice but they’re distractions. You can get drawn away from the game of footy you have to play on the Saturday. This time around I’m not as nervous or worrying about that at all. It’s about playing another game of footy and performing.”
Lloyd agrees with Tippett about the need to make an impression right from the first bounce but says this game will go down to the wire.
“It’s crucial to start well but it can go either way the Bulldogs are a quality side,” Lloyd said.
“They’ll turn up to play and it’ll be a hard scrap for four quarters. If we’re up or down we have to keep focusing on what works for us and stick with it.”
Originally published as Kurt Tippett says Sydney Swans chasing redemption after 2014 embarrassment
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