Everything now is a bonus

[disgruntled goat]

THIS is probably the best time to post this, but I wanted to get my thoughts in now, before the raw emotion of tomorrow night takes over.

Whatever the result tomorrow night, I think this has been a remarkably successful season for Sydney. Of course, a loss tomorrow would be momentarily painful, and overwhelmingly emotional for two great clubmen and all us fans, but based on my pre-season expectations, no matter what happens at the MCG, I'm very content and optimistic for our future.

Despite ongoing injury concerns with several absolutely key players, from early in the season, and a couple of very ordinary defeats, Sydney has managed to finish fifth with a much-criticised (what's new?!) team, then won a sudden-death final when all seemed lost.

If someone had offered that to me at the start of the season, I'd have taken it without flinching - I did not think we'd make finals, for starters, and it's been a treat and a great look into our future to see Roos try so many youngsters.

I'd love us to go at least one more week - and wouldn't it be even more fitting for Roos and Kirk to say their goodbyes in a Grand Final?

These are just some thoughts on what I consider a bloody satisfying season (so far).

 

[Theprofessional]

Agreed, it frustrates me a bit when we talk ourselves up as potential Grand Finalists when we dont really deserve it. However I am pleased at how far we have come, and from this point on I am more then happy with any wins.

 

[swansfan51]

I wholeheartedly agree, we have overachieved this season and anything from here is a very welcome bonus. But I'm not ready to predict great things in our future. There are some powerhouses brewing in the bottom 8, and that's not even including the Gold Coast. Everyone always assumes their team will improve each season, due to "natural progression" of young players. This is a dangerous fallacy, as there is never any guarantee that young players will continue to improve, and may even go backwards. History is littered with rising star nominees and high draft picks who have soon been delisted or dropped.

The positive for us has been a decreasing reliance on our older players this season, with guys in their early 20s leading the way. But make no mistake, we are going to face a real battle to make the finals ahead of teams like Melbourne and the Gold Coast in the next few seasons.

 

[Dangas]

haha received priority two gf ballot from swans today, have to register mid next week though if we win, before the prelim which is interesting

 

[MF]

I completely agree. I think we should beat the dogs tomorrow night but there will be no shame whatsoever if we don't. I hope that regardless of the result, every swans fan will stay until after the final siren to pay their respects to Kirk, Roos and the rest of the team.

Go Bloods!!!

 

[barry fu]

Agreed, it frustrates me a bit when we talk ourselves up as potential Grand Finalists when we dont really deserve it. However I am pleased at how far we have come, and from this point on I am more then happy with any wins.

This is the sort of inane input that fv<king leaves Fu fumming!!!!!

Dont fecking deserve it, WTF.
Why - because B2, Bradshaw and Seaby missed most of the season. Or perhaps due the lads felling Freo at Subi for the first time since b&w telly. Again, Adelaide in Adelaide, you would have to go back to Tyson Edwards having hair, teeth and a locker.
The club deserves every bit of success that comes it's way!

 

[MF]

Well said FU. IF we make the GF it will be because we stood up and took our heckin'g chances when other teams didn't.

 

[SM]

Agreed, it frustrates me a bit when we talk ourselves up as potential Grand Finalists when we dont really deserve it. However I am pleased at how far we have come, and from this point on I am more then happy with any wins.

How do we not deserve it?! Huge portion of our best 22 out for the majority of the year in Bradshaw, C Bolton, LRT, Bird, Seaby and then guys like McGlynn out for extended periods.We deserve what happens, we've fought bloody hard for it with some youngsters really stepping up. IN no way would a Sydney GF be a 'Bradbury' in fact it'd be a reverse Bradbury.

 

[AG]

Agree.

If we do end up getting flogged tomorrow night I hope the usual suspects don't spin the youth > finals arguments. The last quarter of last weeks game is a great memory and that's what finals football can deliver.

Great season, Roos has done his job to near perfection in his last year and leaves us in good shape.

 

[BIGBEZ]

was just watching geelong/freo game thinking the same thing about Freo. Freo fans must be stoked, well not right at the moment...

 

[Rassilon]

was just watching geelong/freo game thinking the same thing about Freo. Freo fans must be stoked, well not right at the moment...

I understand what you mean, but if we go down as comprehensively as Freo did last night, I'll be gutted.

I don't know who's going to win tonight, nor by what margin, but fck I hope if we don't win, we go down the way Kirky would have us go down, fighting all the way.

Carn boys, get up again!

 

[ssfc0203]

As long as we go out fighting, I'll be happy. Being laid down by a team and trampled is just going to be plain disappointing.

I don't think we can challenge the flag for another year or two yet, but until then I'm stoked with where we are.

12th (not to mention losing Jolly, Leo, Mick, Crouch) to possibly top 4 is nothing to scoff at.

 

[Dangas]

Exactly, lose with dignity

 

[Rassilon]

That's right.

I'm preparing for an honourable defeat.

Preparing by heading on down to Dan Murphy's and getting a slab of Gage Roads.

 

[NobleBlood]

Definitley agree. Was saying so to my sister earlier.

When we were 8th, with 4 games to go, I looked at our last 4 opponents without much optimism. We had Hawks home, Freo away, Bulldogs home, Brisbane away. After our current form, it looked as if we'd lose 3 of those games, and our percentage would probably not be strong enough to keep us in the Top 8.

Somehow we won all 4. I went to the WB game, knowing the WB were favourites. But I had to go for Kirk, and we smashed them. After that game, I saw the season as a success.

I would hate to get smashed and see Brad Johnson's stupid smile again, but I'd easily take an honoured defeat as someone said above. Ideally, I want to decimate them. But yes, the season has been a success. A big thankyou to all the new players especially.

 

[Theprofessional]

This is the sort of inane input that fv<king leaves Fu fumming!!!!!

Dont fecking deserve it, WTF.
Why - because B2, Bradshaw and Seaby missed most of the season. Or perhaps due the lads felling Freo at Subi for the first time since b&w telly. Again, Adelaide in Adelaide, you would have to go back to Tyson Edwards having hair, teeth and a locker.
The club deserves every bit of success that comes it's way!

We have been up and down all season, have a fair few players injured, if we were to get through to the grand final because of Western Bulldogs having a shattered list, and St. Kilda to say play poorly.

I still would find it hard to consider us in the top two teams in the AFL.

As this season we have been at our best, not really that level, and our worst was smashed by Melbourne, collapsing against Richmond etc.

 

[SM]

We were top of the table for two weeks, which demonstrated that for those two weeks we were the best team in the league. That demonstrates that our personnel do deserve to be crowned that if they win the title.

 

[skipper kelly]

I'm easy to please or just a battered old fan but anything after 2005 is a bonus to me.

 

[Banyo Bloods]

I'm easy to please or just a battered old fan but anything after 2005 is a bonus to me.

I'm with you, though 2005 has made me want to win more than before.


A loss tonight might be where we are at with our list but nothing like proving that little nugget wrong.

We won an elimination final against North then got thumped by the bulldogs with a great up and comer in the side in Vez we then seemed to come back to the pack and struggled.

When we made the prelim against Brisbane (but lost) it gave us momentum into the following seasons and we did the unthinkable.

So I place a fair bit of importance in getting a win and looking to build on a great season.


If we play underdone or injured players like the Bulldogs and Freo have and even Hawthorn then our chances of progressing are slim. Generally the teams managing their list with injuries are the real contenders and the Saints and Collingwood seem to be best placed with weeks off. If the Saints play Baker next week regardless of their opponent I will be very surprised.

Will be a very interesting night waiting to see our final team list.

 

[dread and might]

Agree with OP. My pre-season hope was to win one final. This did not factor in injuries to key players, just a realistic best case scenario.

Not pretending I won't be disappointed if we lose tonight, but, put quite simply, if we can't beat the dogs tonight with all their outs, we don't deserve to be in a PF

 

[Maddhew]

Agreed, it frustrates me a bit when we talk ourselves up as potential Grand Finalists when we dont really deserve it. However I am pleased at how far we have come, and from this point on I am more then happy with any wins.

If we did make it we would deserve it. We would have beaten
Hawks
Freo
Dogs
Lions
Blues
Dogs
Saints
in consecutive weeks.

I agree with the OP, but i honestly believe we are some chance of making it. In any case this finals exposure for our younger players is invaluable.

 

[Swans120]

It might be premature RIGHT NOW to talk about us as potential grand finalists. But if we were to make it, as has been said, we will have deserved it.

We will have won 7 games in a row, defeating every team in the top 8 (bar the top 2, who will play each other) along the way. That's a deserved GF spot in my mind.

In any case, we have a lot to overcome before any of this GF talk becomes relevant.

 

[TheGoatBaron]

I agree with Swans120, I think it's quite silly to talk up a Grand Final spot just yet.

I would just be happy to finish Preliminary Finalist. Let's not get ahead of ourselves people.

 

[TRAWP]

Everything after making the 8 was a bonus, we were a long shot this season. The first season after seeing of the likes of Hall, MickyO, Jolly etc but Swans have been resilient like this since Eades and now Roos. Should we beat the Doggies, yes.

Should we make the GF? We probably wont, but if we do it is even more deserved with an understrength side that we have, with some big names out. But hell guys!

Be bloody happy of the boys, I have been since Round 1!
I got this bloody tattoo on my arm because I wanted to express my love for the team I love and always will, I'll never turncoat them and even though the game I saw that I got this tattoo prior was the bloody Richmond loss and I was there standing devastated... I am still here and always will be..

GO THE SWANNIES! We will win tonight and know why!?
BECAUSE WE ARE THE GOD DAMN SYDNEY SWANS, AND THATS WHAT WE BLOODY DO!
GOOOOO THE SWANNNIIESS..

 

[skipper kelly]

I'm easy to please or just a battered old fan but anything after 2005 is a bonus to me.

I was wrong. This one hurts badly.

Time for me to move on from 2005 I suppose.