Pass the calculator as Roos talks finals
By Jessica Halloran
August 11, 2003
Battle of the birds: Sydney's Ryan O'Keefe fails to stop Hawk Peter Everitt marking at the SCG on Saturday night. Photo: Simon Alekna
Sydney 14.9 (93)
Hawthorn 17.8 (110)
At the crowded after-match function, Sydney coach Paul Roos took the podium to speak, and a fan in the boozy red-and-white crowd asked the question on everyone's lips. "Will we make the top four?" he shouted.
Roos, smiling subtly, mused for a couple of seconds as he did the maths before replying. "If we win three from three we will, two from three we might, one from three we won't, none from three we won't," he said with a grin, and in his shielded fashion.
Just an hour earlier, Sydney had stumbled and fallen to a desperate Hawthorn by 17 points in front of 33,473 fans, but the Swans now face two revealing tests against last year's grand finalists: premiers Brisbane away next Sunday, then Collingwood at Telstra Stadium.
"You need to know how far you have come," Roos said. "We beat [the Magpies and the Lions] in the first round. Both teams are probably playing better now than what they were then . . . it's going to be a real challenge for us."
Yet, the game against the Hawks at the SCG on Saturday night was one many thought the Swans could pencil in as a win, but they were off balance, always struggling to make a contest.
Roos could not pinpoint why his team had nosedived. "It's always hard to put a finger on why it sort of drops off all of a sudden," he said.
"To be honest, I really don't know. It's hard to get in the head of all the players, but for whatever reason, we just didn't have too many that turned up to play tonight. We said all along if that happens we are not going to win. I don't think there's any secret formula for us."
Roos said normally skilful players were kicking to the opposition and his men simply couldn't get the ball.
"It's hard to be critical of players when they have been up for so long, it's a long year," he said. "Today's game, you probably needed a [Tony] Lockett to kick five in a quarter . . . you know you are down but [if] a bloke like that kicks a few goals . . . That's what probably wins games like that today, when you perhaps haven't got the effort across the whole 22."
With Jason Ball out injured for the rest of the season, leaving Adam Goodes in charge of the ruck and young Lewis Roberts-Thomson trying to pick up some slack, Hawthorn ruckman Peter Everitt turned on a strong performance, finishing the game with 17 touches and one goal - quite an impact after seven weeks out through injury.
As his coach, Peter Schwab, put it: "He didn't fumble or miss a beat. It just showed how much we missed him."
The Swans were exposed at the stoppages and, defensively, unable to contain Hawthorn. Midfielder Sam Mitchell was one of the Hawks' best with 27 touches and one goal.
Perhaps the best move of the night for Hawthorn was playing Shane Crawford on the half-forward line, causing talented Sydney tagger Brett Kirk to step out of his usual playing pattern. Kirk was strong but not as damaging as he had been in some of his previous matches.
The Hawks also flooded the Swans' attack for a large part of the match, making it incredibly hard for a Sydney forward to get a touch. Barry Hall made a gallant effort with four goals, but the Hawthorn tactic worked from the first bounce to late in the game.
Richard Vanderberg started things for the Hawks with a goal early in the first quarter, although goalsneak Adam Schneider was quick to reply for Sydney. Hall, too, goaled later but majors from Angelo Lekkas, Mark Williams and Jade Rawlings underlined Hawthorn's authority and it was 4.4 (28) to 2.3 (15).
Roos said his side looked like "a pretty ordinary footy team", especially in the second term. The Hawks controlled the midfield, and with Everitt leading the way went into half-time 10.5 (65) to 4.6 (30).
Five consecutive Sydney goals from Hall (2), Daryn Cresswell, Ryan O'Keefe and Michael O'Loughlin revived the Swans' hopes during the third quarter. But the momentum was lost as a Nick Holland goal late in the term had the Hawks ahead going at the final break 13.7 (85) to 9.7 (61).
Mark Graham continued his smart holding job on Michael O'Loughlin, and not even a tricky goal from Jared Crouch, bouncing high just before the goal line and over the heads of O'Loughlin and Graham, could save the Swans. Hawthorn charged home.
Sydney survived without any major injuries, and ruckman Stephen Doyle may be back for the Gabba trip.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...454085510.html
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