Johnny Roberts
22nd May 2003, 05:47 PM
Swans preparing for physical clash
2:46:48 PM Thu 22 May, 2003
Karen Collins
afl.com.au
Tough, physical and hard.
That is what Sydney coach Paul Roos is preparing for when his side meet the Kangaroos at Manuka Oval in Canberra this weekend.
While admitting Sydney was sore after its victory over Geelong, a light week of training and a seven-day break have ensured they will be sharp in time for Sunday?s encounter.
?Whenever you play the Kangaroos they have always been a physical team so I don?t think we expect anything different from them this week,? Roos said.
?All our games against them have been tough games, they have got some hard players as Denis (Pagan) instilled that mentality in many, many years and Dean Laidley played under Denis and has just continued that.
?They have got some very good players who go hard at the footy and we wouldn?t expect anything different from them this week than we have in our encounters with them for the last seven or eight years.?
Roos believes his growing-in-stature youngsters will be well versed for such a match given the Sydney reserves now play in the strong Canberra League.
?One of the positives for our young guys is playing in the Canberra League which is quite a physical competition,? Roos said.
?I mean it?s fair but I really noticed a huge difference with our younger guys when we first played in that league to the way they are playing now and I really think that has helped them coming up to senior football.
?There are some big strong lads playing in Canberra and they like to tackle and they go to the ball hard and I think that has been a real positive.
?So when the younger guys have come up, (Mark) Powell, (Adam) Schneider, LRT (Lewis Roberts-Thomson), (James) Meiklejohn, they haven?t tended to be too fazed by the physical side of football.
?So I think we can take a lot of credit for the seconds competition as part of that.?
2:46:48 PM Thu 22 May, 2003
Karen Collins
afl.com.au
Tough, physical and hard.
That is what Sydney coach Paul Roos is preparing for when his side meet the Kangaroos at Manuka Oval in Canberra this weekend.
While admitting Sydney was sore after its victory over Geelong, a light week of training and a seven-day break have ensured they will be sharp in time for Sunday?s encounter.
?Whenever you play the Kangaroos they have always been a physical team so I don?t think we expect anything different from them this week,? Roos said.
?All our games against them have been tough games, they have got some hard players as Denis (Pagan) instilled that mentality in many, many years and Dean Laidley played under Denis and has just continued that.
?They have got some very good players who go hard at the footy and we wouldn?t expect anything different from them this week than we have in our encounters with them for the last seven or eight years.?
Roos believes his growing-in-stature youngsters will be well versed for such a match given the Sydney reserves now play in the strong Canberra League.
?One of the positives for our young guys is playing in the Canberra League which is quite a physical competition,? Roos said.
?I mean it?s fair but I really noticed a huge difference with our younger guys when we first played in that league to the way they are playing now and I really think that has helped them coming up to senior football.
?There are some big strong lads playing in Canberra and they like to tackle and they go to the ball hard and I think that has been a real positive.
?So when the younger guys have come up, (Mark) Powell, (Adam) Schneider, LRT (Lewis Roberts-Thomson), (James) Meiklejohn, they haven?t tended to be too fazed by the physical side of football.
?So I think we can take a lot of credit for the seconds competition as part of that.?