The exact moment Sydney fixed their 2017 season

AN AFL great has pinpointed the exact moment the Sydney Swans fixed their season after shocking fans with a horrible slump in form.

It wasn’t a good start to the season for the Swans.

WHAT the Sydney Swans have done this year is bordering on unbelievable.

The red-and-white warriors began the season in the worst possible fashion: capitulating in six straight losses after coming second in the 2016 season.

The Swans had fans in a state as they struggled to find answers to their disastrous form. Some suggested their era had ended after falling to Carlton in a demoralising round-six loss.

Coach John Longmire was livid at his side’s lack of energy as they went into round seven without a win.

“We are playing an unacceptable brand of football. It takes a long time to develop a brand as a team and not long to undo all of that,” he said after his club endured the worst start they’ve had in 24 years.

The Swans have now won nine out of their last 10 games as they sit at sixth on the ladder going into round 18. They now sit one game outside the top four with six rounds remaining.

Former Bulldogs and Richmond coach Terry Wallace kept a keen eye on the battling Sydney unit and says he’s identified the moment which sent them skyrocketing out of their disastrous form slump.

“I saw a side that just lost a bit of their edge at the start of the year, and one of their players in

Round Six was bullied on the MCG — that was Callum Mills,” Wallace said on SEN’s The Run Home Tuesday.

Callum Mills copped a beating in the early rounds — and it may have been the kick in the backside the Swans needed.

“The other Sydney players didn’t protect him, he was a young kid, didn’t protect him too much.”

Wallace said Mills’ beating inspired the Swans to be more proactive and aggressive as they teetered on the edge of a completely butchered season.

“From that day onwards their contested footy went through the roof as well, because you’re back to being combative,” he said.

“Your mindset changes. (They’d be thinking) ‘we’ve had enough, we’re not taking it. We’re going to go after people.’ It only needs to be percentage driven, but it makes a difference.”

Wallace said from round seven onwards the Swans did something completely different to what they’d been displaying in the first six rounds of carnage.

“(If) you have a look at what the Sydney Swans did in round seven, they have targeted a player every single game for the rest of the year,” he said.

“Just call it mindset ... you’re going after someone every single game. Right from the outset you’re at war and it’s put that hard edge back onto that side.”

“I was up in Sydney on the weekend, (they targeted Nathan) Wilson, the week before (Jarrod) Harbrow, same type of players that we were just talking about.

“That’s the type that they’ve gone after every single game and it’s just hardened up their edge.”

There’s only one thing left to do now: take home the flag.

FAITH IN LONGMIRE HELPING SWANS TO HISTORY

Even when Sydney reached their lowest ebb, a board intervention was never an option for Swans chairman Andrew Pridham.

Six straight losses to open this AFL season is about as bad as it gets for a club better known for grand final appearances.

But Pridham said his faith in coach John Longmire’s ability to turn around their fortunes never faltered.

He just didn’t foresee such a staggering resurgence.

With nine wins from their past 10 matches, Longmire’s men are now the competition’s form team.

“John is a fantastic teacher,” Pridham said at the Swans’ diversity action plan launch on Tuesday, ahead of Saturday’s pride game against St Kilda. “Anyone who’s human, if you lose the first six games of the season it’s very, very difficult. The weight of the world is on your shoulders. But he’s an incredibly positive person ... he’s clearly one of the elite coaches in the AFL.”

The Swans were in an undeniable state of chaos before round seven.

For that reason, Pridham never attempted to tell the on-field expert what to do. Longmire, who’s led the Swans to September footy every season of his six-year tenure, experimented with players and made positional adjustments to cater for the injuries of several key players.

The result is the prospect of becoming the first team since North Melbourne won the VFL in 1975 to recover from a 0-4 or worse start and make the finals.

“One of the reasons the Swans have been successful is that we let people play their roles,” Pridham said.

“The board’s role is the governance of the club and John Longmire’s role is to coach the club.

“We don’t walk around saying ‘you’ve got our full support’, but we are supportive and the board had no doubt we would turn it around.

“When you lose the first six games of the season, clearly it’s never been done to make the finals, so it surprises you in that sense.

“We’re not there yet and we don’t forget we have to keep winning and there’s no room for slip-ups.”

Meanwhile, neither Sam Reid (groin) nor Gary Rohan (hamstring) trained on Tuesday and remain in doubt for Saturday night’s clash with the Saints.

— with AAP