Coaching Staff Coaching Group 2019

Oct 2, 2016
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Congratulations to Tadhg Kennelly on getting the role as defensive coach for the Swans

Also welcome to the coaching team Jeremy Laidler & Lloyd Perris who will be development & NEAFL coaches

Sydney Swans 2019 coaching group
John Longmire – Senior Coach
John Blakey – Director of Coaching & Head of Development
Brett Kirk – Assistant Coach
Dean Cox – Assistant Coach
Steve Johnson – Assistant Coach
Tadhg Kennelly – Assistant Coach
Jeremy Laidler – Development Coach
Lloyd Perris – Development Coach

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2018-11-09/coaching-group-finalised-for-2019
 
Congratulations to Tadhg Kennelly on getting the role as defensive coach for the Swans

Also welcome to the coaching team Jeremy Laidler & Lloyd Perris who will be development & NEAFL coaches

Sydney Swans 2019 coaching group
John Longmire – Senior Coach
John Blakey – Director of Coaching & Head of Development
Brett Kirk – Assistant Coach
Dean Cox – Assistant Coach
Steve Johnson – Assistant Coach
Tadhg Kennelly – Assistant Coach
Jeremy Laidler – Development Coach
Lloyd Perris – Development Coach

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2018-11-09/coaching-group-finalised-for-2019

Perris is back, sad what-if player
 
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I was a massive Lloyd Perris fan and he had a terrible run, great news

Me too. And I like that the club is giving such a young guy an opportunity to be a coach.

It's also nice that a Sydney-born guy is rising through the coaching ranks. Not many of them in the league.
 
Me too. And I like that the club is giving such a young guy an opportunity to be a coach.

It's also nice that a Sydney-born guy is rising through the coaching ranks. Not many of them in the league.
Hot Damn! How good is this? I wish him all the best!
 
Agree with most of you, I was on the Perris bandwagon & really felt for him when he couldn't get up for senior footy. Terrible luck but a good footy head it seems (if the club are confident enough to give him such a role).

I'm very happy with our coaching makeup this season albeit without a key cog in Shawry :(
 
Good on Perris, hopefully gets more joy out of coaching involvement at the club than he did in the rehab room.

Not sure I’m rapt about all the long-time, old-school Swans Horse is building around him. Blakey, Kennelly, Kirk and Laidler. Unsure if it’s what we need right now.


Easier to take with him when he gets the arse
 

bungee

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Good on Perris, hopefully gets more joy out of coaching involvement at the club than he did in the rehab room.

Not sure I’m rapt about all the long-time, old-school Swans Horse is building around him. Blakey, Kennelly, Kirk and Laidler. Unsure if it’s what we need right now.
Not unexpected. It's good to work with known quantities. Other successful coaches (and yes, that includes Horse by most pundit's reckoning) have gathered their flock about them. These guys are from a winning culture. Some are also known from their playing days, like Blakey, and others have done a stint elsewhere before coming back to the fold, like Kirk. Kennelly may be a one club player but he also brings a Gaelic Football insight the club. Miss Shawry though.
 
Not unexpected. It's good to work with known quantities. Other successful coaches (and yes, that includes Horse by most pundit's reckoning) have gathered their flock about them. These guys are from a winning culture. Some are also known from their playing days, like Blakey, and others have done a stint elsewhere before coming back to the fold, like Kirk. Kennelly may be a one club player but he also brings a Gaelic Football insight the club. Miss Shawry though.

But I'm not so much worried about culture. I think our culture is just fine. I'm worried about the way we play. And I know that's an argument that has two extreme sides, but I think the way Horse, Blakey, Kirk, Kennelly, Laidler etc see the Swans is different to the way we need to be. I think we can no longer be the team that moulds players into soldiers that all play for the same brand. That method worked with the previous few generations of players, but I don't think it will work with this generation. They won't benefit from being moulded as such, they need to just play to their own individual strengths more. It's a very different way of coaching to the way any of those names above have ever coached, or played under.
 

bungee

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But I'm not so much worried about culture. I think our culture is just fine. I'm worried about the way we play. And I know that's an argument that has two extreme sides, but I think the way Horse, Blakey, Kirk, Kennelly, Laidler etc see the Swans is different to the way we need to be. I think we can no longer be the team that moulds players into soldiers that all play for the same brand. That method worked with the previous few generations of players, but I don't think it will work with this generation. They won't benefit from being moulded as such, they need to just play to their own individual strengths more. It's a very different way of coaching to the way any of those names above have ever coached, or played under.
I see what you're trying to say but i don't agree you can have a team of individuals playing to their own tunes. The trick is to use their strengths to create the whole. Wherever they're coming from they still need to form part of a cohesive and synchronised unit. We need to play a team game. In fact, I'd argue that it's when players lose sight of the team game that we become most vulnerable. I'll take Aliir as an example as I know you're particularly fond of him. Aliir's natural game is to play loose, intercept and play on at all costs. That's not something we want to lose BUT he needs to know when to curb his natural ebullience and when to let it flow. It's no good Aliir playing on quickly if the rest of the team have flooded back. I've seen that happen and turnovers result. Contrast Aliir's style with more cautious souls like Nick Smith or Heath Grundy who are 'dour defenders' by nature. The coaches' role is to find a balance that takes the best of both.

Can Horse and co. achieve this ? I think that's the way we are going. 2018 was a year of necessity under considerabvle restraints. 2019 will open the floodgates (if slowly)
 
I see what you're trying to say but i don't agree you can have a team of individuals playing to their own tunes. The trick is to use their strengths to create the whole. Wherever they're coming from they still need to form part of a cohesive and synchronised unit. We need to play a team game. In fact, I'd argue that it's when players lose sight of the team game that we become most vulnerable. I'll take Aliir as an example as I know you're particularly fond of him. Aliir's natural game is to play loose, intercept and play on at all costs. That's not something we want to lose BUT he needs to know when to curb his natural ebullience and when to let it flow. It's no good Aliir playing on quickly if the rest of the team have flooded back. I've seen that happen and turnovers result. Contrast Aliir's style with more cautious souls like Nick Smith or Heath Grundy who are 'dour defenders' by nature. The coaches' role is to find a balance that takes the best of both.

Can Horse and co. achieve this ? I think that's the way we are going. 2018 was a year of necessity under considerabvle restraints. 2019 will open the floodgates (if slowly)

I agree that it’s about finding the balance between the players implementing the team ethos and brand and also playing to their own strengths and instincts. I guess with Swans teams over the last 15 or so years, that ratio has often been too one-sided, because it had to be. We’ve often had to take players with limited ability and turn them into soldiers that can carry out that team ethos consistently. It was brilliantly executed by Roos and Horse because it meant guys like Bolton, Kirk, Jack, Hannebery, Barry, LRT etc became stars when maybe their natural ability meant they wouldn’t have otherwise.

But we’re no longer in that situation where the coach has to be super aggressive with enforcing his brand. Because we actually, for once, have a list of youngsters who are very talented and dynamic. They can win games from their own instinct and their qualities like pace and aerial capacity, things that Horse typically hasn’t had the luxury of working with. But I think a lot of the times these kids aren’t in situations where they can thrive like that because they’re being asked to be grinding, old-school Bloods. I just don’t see that for them, so I know Horse has to have a game plan and get the players to buy into it, but it has to be one that actually benefits them. This will be a real test of Horses flexibility IMO and like you say, who knows if the changes will come in 2019. But based on his history, I’m going with unlikely.
 

bungee

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I agree that it’s about finding the balance between the players implementing the team ethos and brand and also playing to their own strengths and instincts. I guess with Swans teams over the last 15 or so years, that ratio has often been too one-sided, because it had to be. We’ve often had to take players with limited ability and turn them into soldiers that can carry out that team ethos consistently. It was brilliantly executed by Roos and Horse because it meant guys like Bolton, Kirk, Jack, Hannebery, Barry, LRT etc became stars when maybe their natural ability meant they wouldn’t have otherwise.

But we’re no longer in that situation where the coach has to be super aggressive with enforcing his brand. Because we actually, for once, have a list of youngsters who are very talented and dynamic. They can win games from their own instinct and their qualities like pace and aerial capacity, things that Horse typically hasn’t had the luxury of working with. But I think a lot of the times these kids aren’t in situations where they can thrive like that because they’re being asked to be grinding, old-school Bloods. I just don’t see that for them, so I know Horse has to have a game plan and get the players to buy into it, but it has to be one that actually benefits them. This will be a real test of Horses flexibility IMO and like you say, who knows if the changes will come in 2019. But based on his history, I’m going with unlikely.

So many coaches end up building up a great list of young talent. The longer they spend on the bottom the more they get. In fact, it's a huge credit to our recruitment staff that we have such a pool of young talent. But it's not enough to win a premiership. Ask Gold Coast.

I know you have a bias in the particular case of Aliir. That's fair enough. We all have our faves. But I don't think he's any less a player for the work that's been put into rounding out his game. Far from it. It's made him less predictable to the opposition and more predictable to his teammates. It's also made him more dependable. For example, he played a great game on Majak Daw this year but his loose checking also gave away a lot of goals. So he needed to cover both, to find the balance between defence and attack. And he has got a lot better, especially close to goals. He's learning to play tight when he has to and when to open up. He's learning to punch rather than mark sometimes. It's not his natural game but his teammates are also coaching him. You can bet Macca has more words in his ear than Horse ever does, and plenty of pointing so we all know who's getting told off. Rampe's not exactly reticent to speak up and Smith wouild have given him a few earfuls. The most encouraging thing is Aliir seems to be taking it all onboard. He's going to be a fantastic player.

Can Horse improve a naturally talented young player ? Let's look another even more controversial case. Tom Mitchell spent extended stints in the NEAFL, when we all knew he was good enough to take Craig Bird's spot in the midfield. When he got senioor games Horse had him chasing guys like Sam Mitchell, scragging and following the greats. He kept sending him back to the NEAFL to work on his defensive game. Many of us couldn't understand this. We could relate to how Tom must be feeling. The guy was good enough but the simple fact was that Tom wasn't the complete player he is today. He was very talented. No doubt. But he ended up far more rounded, able to run hard both ways and switch easily between an attacking and defending mindset. He became the best he could be. Some give Clarko too much credit forgettiong that Mitchell had a more or less permanent midfield role for his last two years here and was already producing some incedible stats. (Also putting a lie to the claim that he left to get more games). Mitchell had demonstrated that he was the complete player long before he went to the Hawks. Clarko would have been as happy as a pig in s**t to know he had such a young talent who'd been hewn into a great player.

Talent is overrated in my view. It's talent combined with hard work that is the killer app. How many extremely talented young players do we see fall by the wayside every year ? Not prepared to take on criticism. Convinced that they already have what it takes. Far easier for a coach to work with someone less talented but determined to take on feedback and become their best.
 
So many coaches end up building up a great list of young talent. The longer they spend on the bottom the more they get. In fact, it's a huge credit to our recruitment staff that we have such a pool of young talent. But it's not enough to win a premiership. Ask Gold Coast.

I know you have a bias in the particular case of Aliir. That's fair enough. We all have our faves. But I don't think he's any less a player for the work that's been put into rounding out his game. Far from it. It's made him less predictable to the opposition and more predictable to his teammates. It's also made him more dependable. For example, he played a great game on Majak Daw this year but his loose checking also gave away a lot of goals. So he needed to cover both, to find the balance between defence and attack. And he has got a lot better, especially close to goals. He's learning to play tight when he has to and when to open up. He's learning to punch rather than mark sometimes. It's not his natural game but his teammates are also coaching him. You can bet Macca has more words in his ear than Horse ever does, and plenty of pointing so we all know who's getting told off. Rampe's not exactly reticent to speak up and Smith wouild have given him a few earfuls. The most encouraging thing is Aliir seems to be taking it all onboard. He's going to be a fantastic player.

Can Horse improve a naturally talented young player ? Let's look another even more controversial case. Tom Mitchell spent extended stints in the NEAFL, when we all knew he was good enough to take Craig Bird's spot in the midfield. When he got senioor games Horse had him chasing guys like Sam Mitchell, scragging and following the greats. He kept sending him back to the NEAFL to work on his defensive game. Many of us couldn't understand this. We could relate to how Tom must be feeling. The guy was good enough but the simple fact was that Tom wasn't the complete player he is today. He was very talented. No doubt. But he ended up far more rounded, able to run hard both ways and switch easily between an attacking and defending mindset. He became the best he could be. Some give Clarko too much credit forgettiong that Mitchell had a more or less permanent midfield role for his last two years here and was already producing some incedible stats. (Also putting a lie to the claim that he left to get more games). Mitchell had demonstrated that he was the complete player long before he went to the Hawks. Clarko would have been as happy as a pig in s**t to know he had such a young talent who'd been hewn into a great player.

Talent is overrated in my view. It's talent combined with hard work that is the killer app. How many extremely talented young players do we see fall by the wayside every year ? Not prepared to take on criticism. Convinced that they already have what it takes. Far easier for a coach to work with someone less talented but determined to take on feedback and become their best.

I'm not sure Mitchell is the best example as he is exactly the kind of limited player I'm talking about when I talk about typical Swans types. He doesn't have much pace, he's not explosive nor is he super athletic or agile. He doesn't have an aerial ability, nor is he super silky by hand or by foot. But those types Horse has always thrived with, because they suit his ultra-defensive style of footy. The likes of Mitchell, Bolton, Kirk, Hannebery, Kennedy, Bird etc are all perfect players for the Roos-Longmire school of footy, because the best asset they have is their ability to be moulded into ball-hunting, physical warriors. We had a stoppage-based game, slowed the tempo down a fair bit, tackled hard and pressured in zones. All the stuff that Horse (rightfully so) values most as a coach. Which is why we've been in five grand finals over the last fifteen years or so. Now if we had a list like that right now, I'd be all for that same methodology being used.

But we don't have that list... we deliberately went after players like Aliir, Florent, Heeney, Ronke, Hayward, Jones etc.. those who benefit most from playing instinctive footy. Did the club actually believe that we were going to be able to turn those youngsters into a hardened Bloods 3.0?? It just won't happen. The Aliir example you used is true, he has become a more rounded and less risky player. But I think that risk is something we need more of if we are going to truly capitalise on this list we have. We need Aliir to go ever-so-slightly back towards the loose cannon side. We need Jones to bite off more than he can chew to reap the benefits when he pulls it off. We need Florent to keep having his little moments of magic and trying to take the game on. We need Heeney to continue leaping for the ball so that he can have more quarters like his fourth against Melbourne. We need Ronke to continue to believe that he can side-step and shrug off three or four Hawthorn players to kick a goal. These are all things that I think will make us a better team, and I think if the coaching staff increased their faith in them that faith would be rewarded down the road. As it stands, all these old-school Swans faces still at the helm leads me to believe that we're still trying to replicate that which bought us our last two flags.
 

Vin Rogue

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I'm not sure Mitchell is the best example as he is exactly the kind of limited player I'm talking about when I talk about typical Swans types. He doesn't have much pace, he's not explosive nor is he super athletic or agile. He doesn't have an aerial ability, nor is he super silky by hand or by foot. But those types Horse has always thrived with, because they suit his ultra-defensive style of footy. The likes of Mitchell, Bolton, Kirk, Hannebery, Kennedy, Bird etc are all perfect players for the Roos-Longmire school of footy, because the best asset they have is their ability to be moulded into ball-hunting, physical warriors. We had a stoppage-based game, slowed the tempo down a fair bit, tackled hard and pressured in zones. All the stuff that Horse (rightfully so) values most as a coach. Which is why we've been in five grand finals over the last fifteen years or so. Now if we had a list like that right now, I'd be all for that same methodology being used.

But we don't have that list... we deliberately went after players like Aliir, Florent, Heeney, Ronke, Hayward, Jones etc.. those who benefit most from playing instinctive footy. Did the club actually believe that we were going to be able to turn those youngsters into a hardened Bloods 3.0?? It just won't happen. The Aliir example you used is true, he has become a more rounded and less risky player. But I think that risk is something we need more of if we are going to truly capitalise on this list we have. We need Aliir to go ever-so-slightly back towards the loose cannon side. We need Jones to bite off more than he can chew to reap the benefits when he pulls it off. We need Florent to keep having his little moments of magic and trying to take the game on. We need Heeney to continue leaping for the ball so that he can have more quarters like his fourth against Melbourne. We need Ronke to continue to believe that he can side-step and shrug off three or four Hawthorn players to kick a goal. These are all things that I think will make us a better team, and I think if the coaching staff increased their faith in them that faith would be rewarded down the road. As it stands, all these old-school Swans faces still at the helm leads me to believe that we're still trying to replicate that which bought us our last two flags.

Those old swans faces are not your typical swans. Kirky brought calming meditation into the cool down/rehab routine. Kennelly was the most aggressive rebounding defender in our 2005 Premiership team. Laids was barely a best 22 Swan, spent more time as a Blue and a Cat. Blakey was an incredible "ageless" defender at North. Our other coaches - a West Coast ruckman and a Geelong forward will arguably be AFL team of the century contenders. Have hope and faith in the group of coaches to provide the ability for individual flair and team plays to co exist.
 

luderick

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It appears to me that our assistant coaches with the exception of Blakey are very inexperienced like Kirk, Cox, Johnston, Kennelly
How do they stack up against the other sides?



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It appears to me that our assistant coaches with the exception of Blakey are very inexperienced like Kirk, Cox, Johnston, Kennelly
How do they stack up against the other sides?



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I suspect a lot of sides have an inexperienced coaching panel as that is reasonably normal. I just hope that Longmire is listening to the new and inexperienced coaches.
 

Deccas

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It appears to me that our assistant coaches with the exception of Blakey are very inexperienced like Kirk, Cox, Johnston, Kennelly
How do they stack up against the other sides?



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Kirk and Cox have both been coaching for a while at a different clubs. And kennely too at junior level. I think that inexperience is overstated.

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So ah, I think this is Kirk & Cox's second season in charge of the midfield group and they haven't looked too hot. Feel like we've gone backwards in that area a lot (understand personnel changes don't help that) but we should consider rejigging this group further?
 
Cox has only had Sinkers to work with until Grassy's recruitment (it seems clear that Cameron, rightly or wrongly, is considered a bust). He gets a pass.

More have run through the mids this year, but we have among the worst set of mids on current performance. Kirk and Horse get some points running a few more through middle, but they are the only ones Kirk gets.

I do not see our group as untalented, they just play as if they are.
 
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