Like most folks here, I am disappointed that the Swans bowed out of the finals in such a disappointing fashion. That said, I am proud of the team this year, especially, and am very optimistic of the future. Here are some thoughts I have had while the season is dwindling away in the fourth quarter. Please remember, I am a native born Yank, so I may miss some of the nuances, but I hope my overall points may be considered somewhat valid. Plus, it helps me get through my disappointment to write all of this out!
The Swannies are a special team. They have made the finals fifteen of the last sixteen years. That is an incredible feat and it shows the absolutely rock-solid foundation this team is built on from the top on down. Teams normally have to cycle from success to failure because of the draft system, especially in sports with a salary cap. The Swans are the Patriots. The Swans are the Spurs. They donât always win, but they always find a way to be in the mix. That is incredibly difficult.
It seems to me that the AFL is a sports league that is build upon some form of âequitable engineeringâ compared to other leagues that I watch. The NHL never had a COLA to compensate for the very large discrepancy between Canadian and American salaries due to the currency exchange rate. The GWS Giants seem to be a team that was largely engineeredâŚthe league wanted another successful team in New South Wales and were going to make darn sure it happened. I can imagine the powers-that-be are furious that GWS was so injured this year.
The Swans have been able to succeed in the last few years, despite have a stacked deck. From the COLA trade ban (a direct reaction to Buddy, in my opinion), to the inherent Victoria bias, the Swans find a way to get there. This year had been especially unfortunate. The Swans are built for the SCG, IF they have their tall forwards. Tippett bows out. Sam Reid misses an entire year (again). Naismith is also gone for the entire season and Sinclair has to fill inâŚmaking him unavailable as a tall forward. Buddy then gets a bad injury on a crappy ground (thank you Perth) and he never really gets a chance to recover because the Swans simply ran out of options.
Melican was developing into quite a defender and then he is gone for the year. The Swans then lose their rising star to an absolutely immature and inexcusable injury. I hope Mills was given the riot act behind the scenes because, young or not, there is NO excuse for a professional athlete to get injured playing another physical sport recreationally with their friends during the season. This was a big year for Mills to step up and now expectations will be even bigger.
Then there is Gary RohanâŚa polarizing figure to say the least. Unfortunately, his tragic personal situation, as well as injury, really made him unavailable to the team. There is Hanners. He isnât old by any means, but I donât think his body can hold up.
And donât forget the Swans had the second most difficult fixture this year.
Despite these challenges, the Swans have been able to work in a large amount of young players and get them invaluable time on the big stage. These players have had off periods, but also moments of superb playâŚRonke, Flourent, McCartin, Hayward. They should continue to grow and improve. McVeigh isnât perfect, but looks fantastic for his age a lot of the time. Parker, Kennedy, Rampe, Franklin still have solid years left.
The Swans set the model for rotating in new players but maintaining a standard of excellence. Of course, we all wish they had more premierships. (I still believe 2016 was an officiating disgrace that rivals Super Bowl XL. A little hintâŚsports leagues NEVER admit that officiating is substandardâŚeven when it is terrible. When the league states, for the public, that officiating was ânot up to standardâ, then you know that it was abysmal bordering on scandal proportions. I for one believe there was no way the Bulldogs were going to be allowed to have their Cinderella Story ruinedâŚbut that is another post). We Swans fans sometimes get a bit spoiled expecting that excellence and it can be frustrating to see the team have a down year. This was a âdown yearâ and the team was one loss from being top four again.
The Swans are in a good position. Hanners should be dealt and they have money to spend. The young ones will continue to grow and, barring another rash of devastating injuries, this team should be playing another final one year from now.
So donât get too down about this defeat and here is to 2019. GO SWANS!!!!!!!
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