Played: 24
Won: 13
Lost: 10
Drew: 1
Finished: 5th
Best and fairest: Jarrad McVeigh
2009 IN BRIEF
Coach: Paul Roos
Co-captains: Brett Kirk, Craig Bolton, Adam Goodes
Coaching staff: John Longmire (coaching co-ordinator), John Blakey, Peter Berbakov, Mark Stone, Brett Allison (development), Daniel McPherson (development).
ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES
Arrivals
Exchange period – received: Rhyce Shaw (Collingwood)
Rookie elevation: Matt O'Dwyer, Nick Smith
NAB AFL Draft: Dan Hannebery (Oakleigh Chargers), Campbell Heath (Gippsland Power), Lewis Johnston (North Adelaide)
International rookie selection: Kyle Coney (Tyrone, Ireland), Mike Pyke (Canada)
NAB AFL Rookie Draft: Taylor Gilchrist (Sandringham Dragons), Kristin Thornton (Sydney Swans)
Departures
Retired: Peter Everitt, Ben Mathews
Delisted: Luke Brennan, Nick Davis, Peter Faulks, Kristin Thornton, Matthew Beckmans (rookie), Aaron Bruce (rookie), Dean Terlich (rookie)
FIXTURE
The Swans play top-four sides Hawthorn, Geelong and St Kilda twice while also meeting fellow finalists and bogey side Collingwood on two occasions.
Four home games will be played at ANZ Stadium, with the Pies, Hawks, Eagles and Cats all set to visit, with the remaining seven at the SCG.
Of their 11 away fixtures three are at the MCG, but two are short hops to Canberra where they play the Demons and the Bulldogs.
INJURY LIST
Campbell Heath (knee) – season
Henry Playfair (hamstring) – indefinite
Leo Barry (knee) – eight weeks, expected to resume AFL mid-season
Tim Schmidt – four to five weeks
Michael O’Loughlin – expected to resume AFL in round three
MATT BURGAN’S PLAYER RATINGS
5 – Adam Goodes, Darren Jolly, Brett Kirk, Jarrad McVeigh, Ryan O'Keefe (5 players - 25 points)
Goodes remains a star, O'Keefe an elite half-forward and Kirk one of the game's best midfielders. Kirk's protégé McVeigh is now among the Swans’ best, after winning the club's best-and-fairest award last year. He should only continue to prosper. Jolly is one of the best rucks in the AFL and critical to the Swans' fortunes.
4 – Paul Bevan, Craig Bolton, Jude Bolton, Barry Hall, Nick Malceski, Martin Mattner, Jarred Moore, Ted Richards, Rhyce Shaw (9 players - 36 points)
Bevan and Moore finished inside the Swans’ top 10 at the B&F and should only improve. New Swan Shaw starts here after his best season with the Pies in 2008. He should also gain greater opportunities in 2009. Malceski, back from his knee injury, should also bounce back. Richards is unfashionable, but consider his durability – he has played 70 of 72 matches at the Swans. He is very important for the Swans.
3 – Luke Ablett, Ed Barlow, Leo Barry, Craig Bird, Amon Buchanan, Jared Crouch, Heath Grundy, Kieren Jack, Michael O'Loughlin, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Patrick Veszpremi, Jesse White (12 players - 36 points)
Barry and O'Loughlin are club greats, but injuries have ruined them lately. Ablett and Roberts-Thomson have also had interrupted pre-seasons. Barlow, Grundy, Veszpremi and White should step-up and play more regularly this year. Crouch is up-and-running again and should also feature. Bird, Jack and Buchanan are very talented and will impress this year.
2 – Ryan Brabazon, Daniel Currie, Matthew Laidlaw, Brett Meredith, Matt O'Dwyer, Daniel O'Keefe, Henry Playfair, Tim Schmidt, Nick Smith, Brendan Murphy (rookie), Jake Orreal (rookie), Mike Pyke (rookie), Kristin Thornton (rookie) (13 players - 26 points)
Brabazon, Laidlaw, O'Dwyer and Smith have six matches between them after debuting last season. Expect them to build on that. Currie, Meredith and Daniel O'Keefe are also likely to debut this year. Playfair remains out indefinitely with a hamstring injury and Schmidt is overcoming knee surgery. Due to retirements and injuries, four rookies could feasibly play in 2009 – Murphy, Orreal, Pyke and Thornton.
1 – Nic Fosdike, Daniel Hannebery, Campbell Heath, Lewis Johnston, Tadhg Kennelly, Kyle Coney (rookie), Taylor Gilchrist (rookie) (7 players - 7 points)
Fosdike has already retired due to a knee injury and Kennelly has returned to Ireland to play Gaelic Football. Both are losses, in particular Kennelly. Coney, another Irishman, has also returned home after a brief stint. Draftees Hannebery and Heath will remain in Victoria to complete studies this year. Heath will also be sidelined in 2009 due to knee injury. Johnston, who looms as a long-term beauty, will be given time.
Total team rating – 130 (14 of 16, league-wide)
THE YEAR AHEAD
With the departure of several experienced players including Tadhg Kennelly, Nic Fosdike and Peter Everitt, the Swans need their young players to follow Kieren Jack, Craig Bird and Jarred Moore, who all enjoyed breakout seasons in 2008.
A productive year from a fit, focused Barry Hall will also help, while coach Paul Roos will hope Michael O’Loughlin and Adam Goodes – who were restricted by injury last year – can stay on the park long to produce their best regularly.
A seventh straight finals campaign isn’t out of the question, but if injuries hit hard, the Swans appear vulnerable beyond their established senior core.
WHAT THE CLUB SAYS
“We want to be competitive, like we strive every year to be. We know it’s an extremely tough business. Obviously, our premiership in 2005 took 72 years to win, so we understand how tough it is. Everyone else is improving and we need to make sure we keep improving.
“We still think we’ve got a quality core list of senior players that can still be valuable contributors for us and we think we’ve got some exciting young players underneath that have had a taste of footy, who have shown that they’re willing to go forward.”
- Coaching co-ordinator John Longmire
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
