IF SYDNEY is to win a second premiership under coach John Longmire, it will have to overcome a horror six-week patch that ranks it among the competition's bottom four teams in key statistical areas.
Saturday night's 112-point hiding at the hands of Port Adelaide was the icing on a stretch the Swans would rather forget and leaves them vulnerable to losing the minor premiership.
With Collingwood (SCG), Essendon (Marvel Stadium) and Adelaide (SCG) remaining to round out its home and away season, Sydney has a lot of holes to plug to stop its ship sinking.
For Longmire, it starts with the contest.
"There's no magic wand you can wave," he said following Saturday night's rout.
"You've just got to be able to go out there and compete.
WATCH NOW John Longmire speaks to the media post-match
"If you don't come to compete and fight you get shown up, no matter who you play.
"We've got to win some contests, it's pretty basic stuff. At some point you've got to put yourself in the fight and push back."
Over the past six weeks, which have included five losses, statistics from Champion Data show the Swans are ranked 17th in contested possession differential (-7.7 a game), 18th in clearance differential and 18th in groundball differential.
Their Pressure Rating of 175 over that period is good enough for just 15th in the League.
| SWANS' CONTEST CONCERNS | ||
|---|---|---|
| DIFFERENTIALS | R16-R21 | RANK |
|
Contested Possession Diff |
-7.7 |
17th |
|
Groundball Diff |
-9.7 |
18th |
|
Clearance Diff |
-6.2 |
18th |
|
Pressure Rating |
175 |
15th |
The loss to Port certainly embellished those numbers a touch, with most statistics among the worst in Longmire's tenure.
The margin, shots at goal differential and points from turnover differential have never been greater since Longmire took over in 2011.
| SWANS' HORROR NIGHT v PORT ADELAIDE | ||
|---|---|---|
| DIFFERENTIALS | R21 v PORT | UNDER LONGMIRE |
|
Scoreboard |
-112 points |
Worst result |
|
Shots at Goal |
-28 |
Worst result |
|
Points from Turnover |
-63 points |
Worst result |
|
Points from Clearance |
-49 points |
Second worst result |
|
Inside 50s |
-35 |
Second worst result |
|
Disposals |
-95 |
Sixth worst result |
|
Groundballs |
-24 |
14th worst result |
|
Contested Possessions |
-27 |
16th worst result |
|
Pressure Rating |
-18 |
16th worst result |
Although the contest might be the Sydney coach's greatest headache, and how his players can address such a drop-off, defending turnovers is equally troublesome.
Only bottom-placed Richmond and 16th-placed West Coast have conceded more points from that score source than the Swans over the past six weeks.
It's far from insurmountable for a team that has proven itself the best in the competition over 20 games, but there's a lot to fix and not much time to do it.
