Preview Sydney Swans vs Essendon Bombers, Thursday April 8 @ SCG - Rd 4, 2021

[the hypnotoad]

I don’t think this is unreasonable. If you aren’t allowed to get excited and optimistic now, then when can you? We as fans don’t decide the outcome so we can say what we like, your confidence won’t be the reason the Swans succeed or fail.

To me it’s a matter of why not? There seems to be dynasties all over the place. 4 in the last 20 years and we were an almost dynasty but couldn’t pull it off, but why can’t it be us? We have the ingredients now and the plan, and sure things will go wrong along the way but I’m choosing to believe we are witnessing the start of something great.


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i'm usually pessimistic with the swans, always have been ... never took any game for granted, always feared the worst, and kept expectations low ... but not with this group ... i cannot recall a collection of young players, basically rookies, with such skills and talent, they play with an intensity and speed that you'd think will bring them unstuck at some point, but maybe not ... they could be good enough ... i'm looking at 10-12 players who are potentially elite level, and there may be enough of a spread of that talent to carry each other through the 'down' games ... can't believe it's me saying this about the swans, getting this friggin excited ... but as you say, why not!?!

 

[sataris]

Can we promise to collectively not lose our sh*t when we eventually do have an inevitable dip in performance? Even if it is this week against this rabble..

No

Sack horse.

Sack Pridham

Burn the SCG to the ground.

Then I will have a latte.

Then burn the coffee shop to the ground.

 

[The Devils Advocate]

We don’t drop this though , they are missing about 4/5 best players

Yeah but our 4/5 best players aren't good lol

 

[the hypnotoad]

Much respect for the rant. Love your optimism and we can never have too much of it on here. God knows I try to be optimistic but end up getting sucked into the scepticism too much at times.

I will say I am particularly with you on Brisbane. I distinctly remember a few years back when our kids were being doubted over how good they were and our list was being unfavourably compared to Brisbane's, who had just completed a rebound from 15th to 2nd, and Richmond's, who had just won their second flag in three years. I found both comparisons unfair for two reasons:

1. I didn't think we could accurately rate how Berry, McCluggage, Bailey, Andrews etc were going as youngsters for Brisbane, because even though they were impressive as kids in a top four side that had rebounded out of the bottom four, their resurgence was still being driven largely by a group of senior players, a number of who they had actually traded in. Their top 10 in the B&F in 2019 included Neale (then-26), Zorko (then-30), Lyons (then-27), Rich (then-29), Cameron (then-25), Martin (then-31), and Robinson (then-30). The kids were impressive but were surrounded by quality senior players all in their primes.

It's only early but if the season ended now with us as a top four side and the B&F was held now, our top 10 could legitimately include any of Florent, McCartin, Wicks, Warner, Gulden and McDonald. Among the others that might feature - Mills, Papley, Dawson - none of those three are over 24. We've had quality senior contributors this year - Hickey, Parker, Heeney - but they are the minority, they do not make up the majority of our team, unlike Brisbane's. It shows the youth has actually been integral to our resurgence, not a bonus on top of it, which I believe Brisbane's were.

2. The Richmond comparison was simply absurd, because it was seen as a foregone conclusion that this group wouldn't lead us to the success Richmond enjoyed. I don't know if they ever will. They may never win a flag. They might win five. We have such a long way to go that it's not even worth thinking about yet. But to put a fork in the kids that they'd never be good enough to do so was premature and illogical. Especially when you consider that many of Richmond's dynasty players all started out just like ours: inconsistent and uncertain youths in a struggling team. Only in their mid-to-late 20s did most of them amount to anything. There was no reason our youngsters couldn't do the same. Early signs suggest they're amounting to something ahead of Richmond's schedule.

They also had one particularly influential and consequential off-season, in which they signed Prestia, Caddy and Nankervis, cleaned up their board, and re-wired their coaching and game-plan. There was no reason we couldn't have the same kind of off-season. Early signs suggest our off-season is already proving to be very consequential (the recruitment of Hickey, the drafting of Braeden, Errol & Logan, and the acquisition of Don Pyke.)

In short: I wish people cared less about what other teams were doing and trying to find reasons why what we are building is inferior to them. If you look hard enough you will find those reasons. But make no mistake about it, there's not a single club in the comp with as much to be excited about as us. I mean FFS we just played a game without our best player and our best kid and we literally did not notice their absence. That is the surest sign of a team, and a system, that is capable of anything.

i keep going back to that group of brisbane players ... mccluggage, berry, rayner, hipwood, andrews, et al ... andrews i rate a genuine star but the likes of mccluggage and rayner, geez ... from what we've seen, gulden, campbell, mcdonald, mccartin, warner, wicks, mcinerney are all better, or at least potentially better ... dawson and florent now look ready to step to that level, mills and heeney are already there (i keep saying it, heeney is our x-factor superstar), blakey i'm sure will make it, and then there's papley, much better than i ever thought ... and parker, rampe, kennedy and franklin a long way from finished ...
sorry to harp on, but this is potentially as good a group across the potential 22 week in, week out as i can recall seeing

 

[the hypnotoad]

Really feel like our chance here is that you've been drinking your own bathwater. Which is possible with a young squad. Our young fellas might have their sails up after smacking St. Kilda.

as fans, we'll drink as much bathwater as we can ... as long as the players don't ... and, as another poster pointed out, your win over st kilda will surely have our players focused and respectful

 

[Tesla Tenet]

Can we promise to collectively not lose our sh*t when we eventually do have an inevitable dip in performance? Even if it is this week against this rabble..

Yes, I can do that, just not this week or next week against the faux macho giants or until round 15 or thereabouts, then I'm cool.

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[Kosmo19]

Hey guys,

Long time Swans member and lurker on BF - I've just signed up so im on 3 day probation or I'd start my own thread.

Just wondering if were passing the hat around this year for a Redback sponsorship?? I ve searched the threads and candidates find anything since 2020?
If we are ill jump straight in.

 

[Tesla Tenet]

i keep going back to that group of brisbane players ... mccluggage, berry, rayner, hipwood, andrews, et al ... andrews i rate a genuine star but the likes of mccluggage and rayner, geez ... from what we've seen, gulden, campbell, mcdonald, mccartin, warner, wicks, mcinerney are all better, or at least potentially better ... dawson and florent now look ready to step to that level, mills and heeney are already there (i keep saying it, heeney is our x-factor superstar), blakey i'm sure will make it, and then there's papley, much better than i ever thought ... and parker, rampe, kennedy and franklin a long way from finished ...
sorry to harp on, but this is potentially as good a group across the potential 22 week in, week out as i can recall seeing

I would take McCluggae every day of the week and was pick 3.

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[Ticky009]

Weather Report: 25c and 40% chance of rain

 

[the hypnotoad]

I would take McCluggae every day of the week and was pick 3.

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i really rate him but, to me, he's been disappointing this season, and he's not as quick or as relentless as our crop of youngsters

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

No

Sack horse.

Sack Pridham

Burn the SCG to the ground.

Then I will have a latte.

Then burn the coffee shop to the ground.

And Alan Jones. The fat in his noggin would burn for a week.

 

[Donza]

Weather Report: 25c and 40% chance of rain

Chance of rain at 7pm <5%

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Swans by 18 & Dodoro to offer a 3rd rounder for McDonald.

 

[Donza]

Dodoro did the swans a massive favour by being a dickhead.

 

[momentbymoment]

Can we promise to collectively not lose our sh*t when we eventually do have an inevitable dip in performance? Even if it is this week against this rabble..

No ...
I will be losing my sh*t.

 

[tombomb]

Dodoro did the swans a massive favour by being a dickhead.

Should be a statue of Dodoro built outside the SCG.

And Dangerfield deserves at least life membership for winning that game last year himself.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

i keep going back to that group of brisbane players ... mccluggage, berry, rayner, hipwood, andrews, et al ... andrews i rate a genuine star but the likes of mccluggage and rayner, geez ... from what we've seen, gulden, campbell, mcdonald, mccartin, warner, wicks, mcinerney are all better, or at least potentially better ... dawson and florent now look ready to step to that level, mills and heeney are already there (i keep saying it, heeney is our x-factor superstar), blakey i'm sure will make it, and then there's papley, much better than i ever thought ... and parker, rampe, kennedy and franklin a long way from finished ...
sorry to harp on, but this is potentially as good a group across the potential 22 week in, week out as i can recall seeing

On a tangential note - why did it take me nearly 6 decades on earth to first hear the surname McCluggage?

 

[Tesla Tenet]

i really rate him but, to me, he's been disappointing this season, and he's not as quick or as relentless as our crop of youngsters

True, but has he had the same development coaches, maybe not.

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[anotherletdown]

On a tangential note - why did it take me nearly 6 decades on earth to first hear the surname McCluggage?

You didnt grow up in Scotland??

 

[eth-dog]

Dodoro did the swans a massive favour by being a dickhead.

He was overruled on that trade

 

[Kapers]

He was overruled on that trade

Well, whoever overruled him probably changed the direction of our club drastically.

We don't win nearly as many games in 2019 without Papley, go into the 2020 draft without our first-round pick.

Crazy how hindsight changes everything.

 

[tombomb]

Well, whoever overruled him probably changed the direction of our club drastically.

We don't win nearly as many games in 2019 without Papley, go into the 2020 draft without our first-round pick.

Crazy how hindsight changes everything.

I think most of us on here always wanted us as far away from that trade as possible.

 

[Kapers]

I think most of us on here always wanted us as far away from that trade as possible.

It was pretty 50/50, and I still think Daniher is a great player.

Most of us didn't want to lose Papley though, and I think that is what turned most of us off Daniher

 

[tombomb]

It was pretty 50/50, and I still think Daniher is a great player.

Most of us didn't want to lose Papley though, and I think that is what turned most of us off Daniher

I think it was more 80/20 on here. And it wasn't about Daniher's ability as a player, it was that the cost was always going to be way too high.

 

[RW]

Danger game?