IT HAS been a tough induction to the AFLW for Sydney. After building a program in the space of three months, in the toughest footy state in the country, the Swans sit at the bottom of the ladder, winless after eight rounds.
They have been held goalless and beaten by 11 goals twice in what might have otherwise been spirit-breaking performances, but energy is up in the Swans camp and, despite their four-point loss to Essendon on the weekend, they seem to have turned a corner.
THE RUN HOME Top spot is Lions' to lose, your club's final two rounds
Kicking 7.2 (44), their highest score to date, the Swans won their first-ever second and fourth quarters, pushing the Bombers until the final siren, and looked like a more cohesive, thoughtful team than in any of their previous seven games.
It started with some key positional changes from coach Scott Gowans. No.1 draft pick, and premier midfielder, Montana Ham spent most of the game out on the wing, while Sydney's second and third selections in the draft, Sofia Hurley and Cynthia Hamilton, each played more time in attack than we've seen in the past.
The latter two offered tangible results on the scoreboard, each kicking two goals, but the impact of those adjustments went much further than those four goals. Although young, the trio played very disciplined footy, knowing when to be drawn to the ball and, importantly, when to maintain their space from the contest.
In the past, the young Swans were often guilty of being drawn to the play, flooding their back half, and simply kicking long to an outnumber when attempting to go forward. Against Essendon, their discipline, along with Rebecca Privitelli's role in attack, meant that Sydney's structure ahead of the ball was maintained for longer periods of time, so when it did win the ball, there were options ahead of play.
Because of this, it was able to find more possession and control up forward, taking their second-most marks inside 50 and kicking a goal from 29.2 per cent of their inside 50 entries.
As Sydney's possession heat maps show, in round eight the side was able to find more possession through the midfield and in attack than it has done over the opening seven rounds, when the side was largely winning its possession deep in defence.
In partnership with this higher disposal, the Swans played a slower, more considered game style. Instead of looking to run and gun with every possession, mark, or free kick, ultimately inviting pressure from more experienced sides and turning the ball over as they had done in previous rounds, they slowed it down, used short kicks and picked out options to move the ball more methodically down the field.
This was reflected in several key statistics, including their 36 marks, and the fact that they conceded just 57 tackles. It makes it much harder for an opponent to apply pressure if you are marking the ball and hitting targets around the ground.
Another key, which Gowans has alluded to in recent weeks, is the Swans' ability to win the contested ball. The side has won the contested possession count just once this season, in round five against Hawthorn, but against Essendon on Saturday it registered a season-high 103 contested possessions, well up on its average of 88.3 between rounds one and seven.
In terms of defence, although conceding 48 points and 17 marks inside 50 for the game, Sydney forced higher shots from the Bombers than it has been allowing earlier in the season, and 47.8 per cent of Essendon's scores came from outside 30 metres, compared to just 23.2 per cent of scores conceded from outside 30m between rounds one and seven.
By possessing the ball higher up the field, and controlling larger portions of the game, Sydney's last line of defence wasn't as vulnerable and didn't have to scrap as hard to prevent opposition scoring. Instead, they were able to play that defensive role higher in the back 50 arc and force more difficult shots on goal.
Although there is still progress to be made, and the Swans remain winless, Saturday's performance against Essendon should give fans and players alike an indication that they are in fact improving on the go and that it's not necessarily as bleak as their ladder position suggests.
