The Sydney Swan’s defence is a leaky boat. These defenders just don’t defend enough when it matters. Tom McCartin standing off when his player is free, resulting in goals to Adelaide. Too many Sydney defenders guarding space when they need to be on a man. AFL has forgotten what a defence is really about, as there are too many attacking players who just cannot defend. Riley Bice has zero defensive skills and he is not alone in this regard back there. The only man on man defender in the Swans backline is Will Edwards and he is a rookie. Will Edwards struggles to take a mark when it really matters. You are not going to win a premiership with this leaky boat and winning finals look beyond this team right now.
Swan’s Lack Of Grit Sinks Hopes Of Victory
Sydney lack gritty players. The transfer of Luke Parker to North Melbourne has seen the demise of this type of player at the Swans. Have a look at the body types prevalent throughout this AFL side. They all look like long distance runners. The sports science department has taken over the game of AFL. Apart from Isaac Heeney and James Rowbottom there are no hard stocky body types in the squad, it seems. Angus Sheldrick is a nuggety type but he did not measure up against the Crows in this fight on this night. Adelaide outmuscled and outperformed Sydney all night. They won contest after contest. Sydney players were second to the ball all evening. Too many downhill skiers like Jake Lloyd, Matt Rosas and others who cannot handle the heat.
“ADELAIDE has stunned Sydney on a soggy Friday night at the SCG, fending off a late fightback to win by 16 points and shatter the Swans’ unbeaten home streak. The Swans reeled back in the Crows’ game-high 27-point lead in the second term but were unable to run over the visitor as they took a 10.11 (71) to 13.9 (87) victory.”
Highlights In Hairdos But Few On The Field For Sydney
Some of the Swan’s boys visited the Paddington hair salons and let loose on the peroxide bottle. New hairdos are exciting; but I wish they had the same fervour for winning games of football by putting everything on the line. The whole team needs to develop a bit of mongrel about them. The Swans lack true grit big time. You cannot trust this group when the pressure is on them. Dean Cox must wonder about the character of some of these guys. Errol Gulden had his worst outing since coming back from a long layoff. Heeney cannot carry this side on his lonesome. Charlie Curnow had a shocker. Ineffective tackling plagues the Swans like a virus. Broken tackles mount up in numbers like infected folk in a pandemic. Hayden McLean has not taken a contested mark for a fortnight and tackles like a man half his size, if at all. Are the pressures of a modern metrosexual world undermining these once suburban and country lads now living in a big city? The Adelaide Crows were harder at it for longer and wanted it more.
The Good Among The 23 On The Night At The SCG
The really good players on the night were Chad Warner and Braeden Campbell in his return game in 2026. Both Swans’ were exciting and broke the lines frequently. Tom Papley was brilliant up forward kicking four goals. Paps was the fire starter even on this wet night of football at the SCG. Nick Blakey was great off half back, as per his usual high standards. Jai Serong and Brodie Grundy tried hard all night but were not quite at their best. Matt Roberts was pretty darn good for four quarters too. James Rowbottom was huge in the second half kicking goals and tackling like a machine. I wonder why other Sydney players cannot apply themselves defensively like Rowbottom? Are they too afraid of getting their hands dirty?
Signs Indicate Swans Down On Confidence
You know when the Swans team are down on confidence, because they cannot take marks under pressure. Brodie Grundy needs to take more marks around the ground. A lack of aerial presence and missed shots at goals tell us, psychologically, that these players lack belief! Curnow missed repeatedly and failed to kick a goal all night. McDonald missed his first opportunity in front of the big sticks. ADELAIDE, IN CONTRAST, KICKED THEM EASILY! Especially, in that opening quarter, where it seemed apparent that the home team were still thinking about their hairdos rather than the defending. It was a f****** disgrace! Getting absolutely belted by the Dockers in that second half has left a few scars, obviously. The Sydney Swan’s defence is a leaky boat and few players can swim by the looks of things. Will this be yet another wasted season, where the red and whites cannot fulfill their destiny? Talent of the few cannot defeat the belief of an entire committed team. This was apparent against Adelaide on a wet SCG night.
Lightweight Running Defenders Cannot Get The Job Done For Sydney
Why is the Sydney Swan’s defence a leaky boat? There are too many attacking players down there and too few real defenders. Nick Blakey is a star and a great attacking half back. Riley Bice is a similar style of player but without the defensive skills or inclination. Tom McCartin is a wonderful footballer but plays both roles in defence and, therefore, gets caught out too often. Dane Rampe is getting long in the tooth and cannot handle the lockdown roles he used to. Callum Mills is not big enough to take on the big dogs. Will Edwards is a rookie. Harry Cunningham is another getting on in years and copped a swinging arm from Fogarty to go down with concussion. The Sydney defender body types back there are too lightweight. Riley Thilthorpe and Fogarty were too big and strong for the Swan’s defence on the night. The Dockers made mincemeat of them the week before. I cannot see Sydney winning finals with the current lineup and defensive mindset. Mark McVeigh is the current defensive line coach at the Swans.
https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/afl/coaches
Downhill Skiers??????
“The accusations are coming quick and hot – ‘they can’t win the premiership!’ ‘Swans just not good enough!’ The Sydney Swans’ downhill skiers. Too many players running ahead looking for the easy option rather than winning contests. For the first 7 games of the 2026 season Sydney had this aggressive forward handpassing, which was tearing opposition sides apart. Now, according to the loud mouthed ‘so-called’ experts, those opposing teams have worked out how to stop the juggernaut. The Sydney Swans have struggled to beat ordinary AFL sides of late and are losing to the real contenders, Hawthorn, Geelong and Brisbane.”
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer; The AI Heresy; What Price Life?; America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump; and other titles. NOW AVAILABLE AT APPLE BOOKS & GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS. Google Play Books AUDIOBOOK
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