The Sydney Swans Are Emotionally Traumatised
Back to back time trials, during pre-season training have not delivered the results that Swan’s head coach Dean Cox would have wanted. Running the hard yards, twice, has not indemnified the playing group against failure out on the paddock. The narrative currently being hawked around by AFL media ‘talking heads’ is that the Sydney Swans are emotionally traumatised by grand final wallopings in 2 of the last 3 seasons. I called them Black Swan events because they are usually very rare and totally unexpected. Not for the Swans, it seems, this playing group has been belted off the park twice on the biggest stage in the AFL calendar.
Are The Swans Demoralised By Repeat Grand Final Drubbings?
Have the bitter defeats in grand finals drained the spirit of the Sydney Swans AFL team? Picture the scene, the changerooms at the MCG, 23 young men have finally arrived at the penultimate step prior to the absolute AFL pinnacle – the Premiership. Win this and the next step is onto that stage where they hand over the Cup and medallions. Butterflies in the belfry? Give me a break, this must be a whole battalion of buzzing beasts in your guts – talk about nervous energy! Flash forward to the immediate aftermath of complete scoreboard annihilation and players staggering around in a daze of defeated shock. One side is crying with joy and the Swans are shedding tears of real pain and frustration at not being good enough again. Not by a long shot!
Can The Swans Keep Demanding More From These Players?
Can you keep going back to the well? Can you expect players to keep digging deep, season after season, because these young men are not robots. AI hasn’t taken over the game yet. The physical demands of AFL are profound. Just take a look at the retired players a decade later – many of them are prematurely old men in appearance. Hair has turned grey or fallen out. Knees have seized up, along with backs and other degenerative complaints. These are the walking wounded heroes of yesteryear. We only see a smattering of them made up with makeup for the TV cameras on footy shows. The majority are forgotten gladiators living in the shadows. The extreme physical demands upon these men and boys are mighty high and they have consequences, especially in the longer term. We are only, now finding out about the effects of concussions from head knocks over the journey.
Deeply Wounded Or A Doppelganger?
The Sydney Swans are emotionally traumatised, according to the pundits on AFL 360. The Sydney Swans have looked weak and not up to it – over recent weeks. Uncharacteristic thrashings by contending teams have seen them head to the bottom of the AFL ladder. Brody Grundy, a grey beard, literally and not metaphorically, labours like some character from ancient Greek myth during games for the Swans. He wrestles with both opponents and time, it seems, as the game has, perhaps, gone past him. Younger heroes, Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner battle manfully, each week, on behalf of the red and white mob. Even these, remarkable talents, are waning under the combined onslaught of better performing sides. Nick Blakey, the Lizard, rarely makes his scattergun runs of late; something is wrong in the city of Sydney. A new coach, the tallest head coach in the game, is finding it hard to resurrect the Blood’s spirit in season 2025. Is it a case of a deep wound in the minds and hearts of these Swans? Or are the real Sydney Swans capable of standing up in 2025?
Bring Your Mouth Guards To Training Boys
Will all the yelling and harsh words in the world be able to resurrect their spirit and application? Will ever more physical demands in mano on mano contests at training spark a midseason revival? The Sydney Swans are emotionally traumatised, apparently. AFL, the game itself, has changed heaps of late – it is all about ball movement on the outside and much less accountable. Players don’t really play on each other anymore. It is basketball on grass, being all about speed and precise passing. Look at the body types of the AFL players – they all look like long distance runners. It is a running game and a game of keepie off.
“SYDNEY players were ordered to attend an early morning beach session just hours after their Saturday night smacking at the hands of Adelaide.
It is understood the previously unplanned Clovelly venture was at the directive of the club’s leaders in the aftermath of the SCG hammering and took place before sunrise on Sunday morning.
Players braved the waters and were put through some old-school physical exertion as part of the session, with push-ups and sit-ups also forming part of the gruelling morning’s activities.”
Offence vs Defence
Yes, you still have to win the ball out of the centre to get it forward but ball winning is not as important as it once was. The Champion Data stats tell us that in 2025. Ball movement is king this season. The trouble with this, is that players put all their eggs into the one basket – called offence. Too many are looking to receive on the outside and not two way running to get back to help with defence. The Swans have been so easy to score against, which is not the Sydney longtime MO. None of these players are willing to tackle hard and effectively enough. The suspensions to Joel Amartey, Justin McInerney repeatedly, and Mills have been for the bump to the head. Bumping is a sign of a lack of physical commitment. A tackle is a real contest. It aint easy because umpires rarely reward the tackler in AFL any more. Players drop it cold and get away with it these days. Tackler holds on too long and gets pinged. It’s crap really! The game is not in great shape, in my opinion.
Can the Swans playing group mount another charge? Do they have it in them in 2025? The outer shell appears normal but underneath is where their real problems reside? Does the Sydney Swan’s club have the expertise to handle this situation? Oh Dear, what can the matter be? Does Dean Cox have the repertoire to solve this dilemma? We will have to wait and see.
“There are no easy answers to complex things.”
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
©HouseTherapy
