Get 'em young, ease 'em in

[dimelb]

A quote from this week's AFL Record:
"Research shows the average AFL career starts at age 18 and lasts about four years."
Roos and his little helpers (and large in the case of Horse) seem to do it differently. Is this because they are aware of the research (the article doesn't give any source) or have they worked it out for themselves?
Their method seems to be to hold youngsters back a while generally speaking (Schneider was an exception I think) so that they arrive in the firsts a bit later than kids in most other teams. When they hit the big time they seem to be ready for it - Malceski is probably the outstanding example, but we are also getting good value out of McVeigh lately. And maybe as a result they will last longer and deliver more. The pity is that the AFL rookie system forces us to turn them over fairly quickly on the average, although a club can always make room for late developing talent by recycling them through the draft, e.g. Kirk.
Thoughts, people?

[liz]

I don't think you can conclude on Roos' approach yet because we haven't seen him in the downward (or bottomed out) cycle of the team.

He's had a consistent core of match-hardened good quality players at his disposal throughout. Sure, he's shown a willingness to augment this with trades, but he inherited the nucleus and then has been able to drip feed in the odd younger player. The likes of Schmidt and Willoughby haven't been deliberately held back until they are ready - nor were Malceski or McVeigh. They simply have had trouble forcing their way into the senior team.

The wheel will turn and the Swans will find themselves struggling at some point in the future - it is simply the way the game goes. We won't know until then how many youngsters will be fast-tracked.

[ROK Lobster]

Originally posted by liz
I don't think you can conclude on Roos' approach yet because we haven't seen him in the downward (or bottomed out) cycle of the team.
[...]
The wheel will turn and the Swans will find themselves struggling at some point in the future - it is simply the way the game goes. We won't know until then how many youngsters will be fast-tracked.
Sounds odd I know, but I would love to see what Roos would/could do with a bottom-ed out side.

[giant]

Originally posted by liz
The wheel will turn and the Swans will find themselves struggling at some point in the future - it is simply the way the game goes.


Nooooooo!!! Say it ain't so!

[timbo]

i agree noooooooo!

can we do what carlton did and play fairly well for a hundred years (16 premierships) before a few of just plain sucking (ill be gone by then ;) )

[Bart]

We don't rebuild at Sydney :cool:

[tantrum]

Even when Mr Rocket Eade was coach, I felt the Swans were a lot more conservative in playing the youngsters than most other teams in the AFL.

[msb]

The wheel will turn and the Swans will find themselves struggling at some point in the future - it is simply the way the game goes.

Possible but the simple fact is sydney can NEVER bottom out and they will recruit accordingly each year, as they have done the last two years ie. Jolly, Richards, Chambers and to a lesser extent Spriggs.

[liz]

Originally posted by msb

Possible but the simple fact is sydney can NEVER bottom out and they will recruit accordingly each year, as they have done the last two years ie. Jolly, Richards, Chambers and to a lesser extent Spriggs.

Recruits like Jolly, Richards and Chambers were to top up a challenger to take us that "next step". Clearly with Jolly it worked.

I don't subscribe to the idea that the Swans can never bottom out but I certainly hope they never bottom out to the extent that the Saints and Hawks have done. I think its just a case of how deep the bottom is.

[liz]

Originally posted by ROK Lobster
Sounds odd I know, but I would love to see what Roos would/could do with a bottom-ed out side.

I'm with you there. We won't really get a sense of how good a coach he really is until we've seen him with a struggling side. I just wonder whether he has the appetite to stick at coaching long enough to go through the whole cycle.

[elroy67]

Rawhide!

[OldE]

At the AGM this year, one of the staff said that the Swans pretty much commit to having a player in the system for five years before delisting them, the exception being if they "deselect" themselves through attitude, etc. I'm not sure if that was just said for the benefit of members at the meeting, but it is an interesting idea.

[Go Swannies]

Originally posted by elroy67
Rawhide!

That's for a different sort of club