Sydney’s nightmare night ‘unacceptable’, says Cox; Ward’s inspirational speech fires Giants to victory

Dean Cox delivered a scathing assessment of Sydney’s performance in his post-match press conference and said everyone at the club needed to look at themselves in the mirror – himself included.

“It was unacceptable and embarrassing,” he said.

“I didn’t expect that, on such a massive night for the footy club, when you have a 20-year [premiership] reunion, for a team that played desperate, uncompromising, ruthless football. And that was that far from it. We need to strip it back and get to work, real quick. Everyone.

Under scrutiny: Swans coach Dean Cox.Credit: Getty Images

“We are going to fight our way through this. Everyone that’s involved at the footy club. And there’s going to be no easy way through it. I said to them, ‘Expect some tough sessions’. That’ll happen.”

Though some of Sydney’s statistics didn’t appear too bad – somehow they were +11 in contested ball and +13 in clearances – Cox bemoaned the impact that the Crows were able to make and his side’s inability to curb the damage.

Adelaide’s Wayne Milera told the ABC post-match that they could sense that the Swans were “a bit of a rabble, just hearing them on the ground.”

Cox conceded Sydney’s problems had to be predominantly mental.

“We’ve been inconsistent. We’ve said that sort of all the way through the year. Inconsistent weeks, games. Fluctuated far too far from what we know works or what we want to do to hopefully get it to work. That’s my responsibility,” he said.

“Part of it comes to confidence when you are inconsistent – but the number one thing that brings consistency is you spend time on your game. So you know exactly when you finish the week and you start, I’m confident in my ability because I’ve done the work. That’s the only way you build confidence. So we need to make sure that we’re doing as much as we possibly can, so come game day the players are confident to execute. And that’s something that, you know, I’ve certainly got to drive harder, and I’m going to.”

Asked if the Swans have been doing enough at training to reach that standard, Cox said: “Yeah, maybe not. I think that’s where you’ve got to reflect on everything within the program, and it starts with me. So I’ll do that and then I expect everyone to do that also.”

Thanks for joining us today everyone. Super Saturday for the first of the AFL’s bye rounds for 2025 had a bit of everything – happy days for Fremantle, GWS Giants (more relief than anything) and the Adelaide Crows in the late game.

Enjoy your weekend.

Crows coach Matthew Nicks was in a far chippier mood, as you might expect after notching his first win over the Swans since taking on the job.

“It was a great team effort, wasn’t it?” he said.

“It was a really balanced performance. We knew Sydney would come out hard and we had to match that, and I thought our guys did a fantastic job. The way we started the game just really pressured them as much as possible, and then we were able to get the game on our terms. I’m trying to think through who our standouts were and from a coaching point of view that’s the most pleasing part of the performance.”

Asked if he was surprised at the lack of resistance offered by the Swans, Nicks said: “I thought we brought contest as good as we had done. [We’re] mindful it’s tough to do that every week, but I thought our guys were outstanding tonight.

“We did bring pressure to a team. They want to move the ball off halfback and take you on through the corridor. Let’s say there’s been eight games up here over the last six years we’ve played them in, and they’ve done that to us more often than not. It’s nice to get one on our terms this time.”

Dean Cox delivered a scathing assessment of Sydney’s performance in his post-match press conference and said everyone at the club needed to look at themselves in the mirror – himself included.

“It was unacceptable and embarrassing,” he said.

“I didn’t expect that, on such a massive night for the footy club, when you have a 20-year [premiership] reunion, for a team that played desperate, uncompromising, ruthless football. And that was that far from it. We need to strip it back and get to work, real quick. Everyone.

Under scrutiny: Swans coach Dean Cox.Credit: Getty Images

“We are going to fight our way through this. Everyone that’s involved at the footy club. And there’s going to be no easy way through it. I said to them, ‘Expect some tough sessions’. That’ll happen.”

Though some of Sydney’s statistics didn’t appear too bad – somehow they were +11 in contested ball and +13 in clearances – Cox bemoaned the impact that the Crows were able to make and his side’s inability to curb the damage.

Adelaide’s Wayne Milera told the ABC post-match that they could sense that the Swans were “a bit of a rabble, just hearing them on the ground.”

Cox conceded Sydney’s problems had to be predominantly mental.

“We’ve been inconsistent. We’ve said that sort of all the way through the year. Inconsistent weeks, games. Fluctuated far too far from what we know works or what we want to do to hopefully get it to work. That’s my responsibility,” he said.

“Part of it comes to confidence when you are inconsistent – but the number one thing that brings consistency is you spend time on your game. So you know exactly when you finish the week and you start, I’m confident in my ability because I’ve done the work. That’s the only way you build confidence. So we need to make sure that we’re doing as much as we possibly can, so come game day the players are confident to execute. And that’s something that, you know, I’ve certainly got to drive harder, and I’m going to.”

Asked if the Swans have been doing enough at training to reach that standard, Cox said: “Yeah, maybe not. I think that’s where you’ve got to reflect on everything within the program, and it starts with me. So I’ll do that and then I expect everyone to do that also.”

On a night when the Sydney Swans honoured the heroes of their famous 2005 premiership win, the battlers of 2025 showed just how far they have fallen – and the troubling extent to which they have strayed from the club’s foundational ‘Bloods culture’.

This was an utter bloodbath. An embarrassment. For the Adelaide Crows, it was like shelling peas as they waltzed to a thumping 90-point win at the SCG to further underline their flag credentials.

This time last year the Swans were clearly the best team in the competition. It was only eight months ago that these players – most of them, anyway – were playing off for a flag on the AFL’s biggest stage. It feels like a lifetime ago.

Falling 21.5 (131) to 5.11 (41), in front of 35,229 fans, this was one of their worst displays at home in recent memory, and their biggest loss at Moore Park in 27 years.

Yes, they have injuries, but that doesn’t explain everything. At some point, and we’re probably there now, serious questions need to be asked of the coaching, and whether Dean Cox is capable of charting a way out of this malaise his team is in.

Handed a squad that was more than capable of contending for honours by his predecessor John Longmire, they look miles off the pace, and a shadow of their old selves.

Coming off a listless defeat to the Demons at the MCG, the Swans needed to start well, and they did. Sort of. Hayden McLean gave the Swans the game’s first goal inside the opening three minutes, and the crowd felt alive. The effort was there. The first 10 minutes or so were decent. And then ... well, just nothing.

Riley Thilthorpe.Credit: via Getty Images

The Crows kicked the next 12 goals, and did so with increasing ease. They had free men everywhere, and everything they tried - long shots, narrow snaps, raking cross-field kicks, a desperate toe poke on the line from the imposing Riley Thilthorpe – came off. The opposite was true for Sydney, whose slow and sloppy ball movement and aimless attacking raids invited further pressure. Every entry was actually a door slammed shut by the Crows. As the visitors piled on the hurt, the effort and application from the Swans began to drop away.

In the second quarter, Adelaide scored seven straight goals while the Swans could only muster two behinds – the latter of which, from Angus Sheldrick’s stray shot, was greeted by ironic cheers from the SCG faithful.

Long before the 2005 team did their half-time lap of honour, the outcome was assured. And when the match resumed in the third quarter, there were suddenly a whole lot of empty seats across the ground, left vacant by Swans fans who’d seen enough and headed home.

They missed a slightly improved performance from Sydney, who kicked four of the first five goals after the break, though the Crows had more than earned the right to take their foot off the throttle. And it was worth nought – less than nought, actually, because Adelaide extended their half-time lead by 10 points.

The sight of former Swan Jordan Dawson slotting one from the top of the goal square, having been brought to within point-blank range by an undisciplined 50-metre penalty, rubbed further salt into the wound. The pain didn’t end there, either.

The game really lacked a bit of zip after half-time (when the damage had well and truly been done), but Adelaide will enjoy these four points.

FINAL: Adelaide 21.5 (131) d. Sydney 5.11 (41)

Main possession-winners:
27 - Justin McInerney
25 - Alex Neal-Bullen
24 - Josh Worrell
23 - Mark Keane, Isaac Heeney, Brodie Grundy

Another goal to Ben Keays. It’s deep into time-on ...

A 100-point win remains a chance. A few minutes of footy to come.