‘Not up to standard’: Sydney Swans’ fatal pressure flaw laid bare after second-straight loss

A sense of complacency has crept into the Swans’ pressure game. John Longmire has read the riot act to his team and is hopeful they’ll bounce back this Saturday against North Melbourne.

The Swans’ pressure has dropped off in recent weeks and is showing opposition teams how they can be beaten. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

The Swans know their best footy is still more than enough. But over the past fortnight, a lack of effort has been exploited and suddenly what once appeared to be an impenetrable aura has come crashing back down to earth.

Make no mistake, Sydney are still the ones to beat in 2024, especially with a two-game gap on the rest of the competition. However, in the past two weeks they’ve displayed a blueprint of how to get on top of them, especially if they don’t change their act.

Since round 12, the Swans have the second-lowest pressure rating in the competition. That’s down from the third-highest in the opening 12 weeks of the season.

Pressure has normally been a fait accompli for John Longmire’s side, even last year through their torrid injury patch they were consistently in the top calibre of pressure teams in the AFL.

Longmire knows there’s not one single reason for the drop-off, but he has read his players the riot act that enough is enough.

The loss to St Kilda was Sydney’s third defeat this season by less than a goal. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

“Upon review there’s still some elements that we need to sharpen up on,” Longmire said.

“I mean 40 tackles very rarely gets it done in a game of football and our pressure around the footy hasn’t been up to standard. We need to get back to applying enormous amount of heat around the ball.

“We had a lot more inside 50s, we had more scoring shots, we still had an opportunity to try and win the game at the very end. But we need to make sure we bring the heat around the ball. That should be what all teams focus on around the footy.

“It’s probably a combination of a few reasons. Regardless of what it is, you’ve got to get it done. It’s not just what the coach demands, it’s what the game demands. Usually good things happen when that works.”

The breakdown of the Swans’ pressure numbers against the Saints provide a stark insight into what went wrong.

During the second quarter when Sydney kicked six goals to two, the Swans had a pressure rating of 188. In quarters one and three, that rating dropped to 154 and 153 respectively. They lifted slightly in the final term to 165 but it was too little too late as St Kilda held onto the surprise win.

The Saints also had 126 marks for the match. 29 more than the Swans, and 28 more than St Kilda’s average for the season as they were able to move the ball around the wings and find uncontested players with ease.

As Longmire said, they had the chances to win the game. They even finished with eight more scoring shots in the match. But if you don’t compete for four quarters in the AFL, you will get found out.

Fremantle’s one-point win over Sydney was the perfect example. While Nat Fyfe took on a light tagging role against Isaac Heeney, the whole team bought into the pressure philosophy.

Longmire knows his team has to make a change because they’re currently not up to standard. Picture: Brendon Thorne/AFL Photos/Getty Images

They didn’t allow the Swans’ midfielders any space through the corridor, they rarely were able to take more than five steps without getting tackled and it completely threw the hosts off.

The Saints then very clearly studied and replicated that formula to success against a Swans team who couldn’t find the energy to bounce back.

The numbers also suggest that Sydney’s struggles have stemmed from moving the ball out of defence. When teams get their defensive set-up right and don’t allow any easy targets forward of the ball, the Swans are simply creating too many errors.

All season the Swans have been one of the worst teams for conceding defensive half turnovers. But since round 10, they’re other sides are capitalising by scoring more points and pressuring Sydney players into poor kicks.

Key players who see a lot of the ball such as Heeney, Errol Gulden, Ollie Florent, Tom Papley and Justin McInerney all had a kicking efficiency of 70 per cent or lower against St Kilda. It’s not the end of the world, but as the Dockers and Saints have shown, it makes the Swans vulnerable.

Saturday’s clash against North Melbourne is an important line in the sand for the playing group. The Swans have the luxury of a two-game advantage on the rest of the competition and in welcoming back captain Callum Mills will have plenty of motivation to get back in the winner’s circle.

But to win the premiership this year, they need to bring the pressure they’ve become known for consistently. Especially when they’re taking on the teams they’re expected to defeat.

“I think (North Melbourne) have been tracking the right way,” Longmire said.

“I was down and watching them a few weeks ago when they played Collingwood and they just got rolled at the very end. But their first quarter and a half was as good a footy as any team has played, and that was against last year’s premier.

“They’ve got young players with great belief. It’ll be a tough game, so we need to play well, we need to bring our pressure.”

Originally published as ‘Not up to standard’: Sydney Swans’ fatal pressure flaw laid bare after second-straight loss