THE SYDNEY Swans' lauded midfield failed to deliver against Geelong and the onball brigade is the main reason the side has lost its hold on a top-four place, according to coach John Longmire.
Longmire did not spare his experienced midfield core of hefty criticism, particularly for their effort after half-time, as the Cats ran out 32-point victors at Simonds Stadium on Saturday night.
And the reinforcements might not be coming anytime soon with star forward Lance Franklin, who missed the game against the Cats with a back issue, no certainty to return for Friday night's showdown with Collingwood.
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"I thought our midfield was smashed in the second half," Longmire said.
The Swans allowed seven goals and six behinds from stoppages and kicked just four behinds themselves, which Longmire pointed to as the ultimate difference in the game.
The Swans had just two players – Josh Kennedy (five) and Kurt Tippett (two) – who won centre clearances during the game.
The Cats, on the other hand, had seven players to record a centre clearance with Mark Blicavs (four), Joel Selwood (three), Cameron Guthrie (two), Mitch Duncan (two), Jordan Murdoch (one) and George Horlin-Smith (one) all contributing to the stats sheet.
Longmire said it was his side's inconsistency in its attack on the ball that worried him the most, with the Swans registering just one goal after half-time as they struggled to put a score on the board without Franklin in attack.
"We get to half-time we're in front (by 13 points) but Geelong to its credit played really well after half-time and we didn't rise with them," Longmire said.
"That was the really disappointing part. They had their tails up after half-time and we needed to go but we didn't go."
WATCH: John Longmire's full post-match media conference
Despite a handsome 52-point win over Adelaide last weekend, the Swans have now dropped three of their past four games.
And Longmire has identified a number of areas his side needs to address as it tries to keep pace with the top four teams.
"It's our consistency with attack and hardness at the ball (on Saturday night). Some weeks it's our ball use, some weeks we're not winning enough one-on-one contests," Longmire said.
"There's been a couple of different things over the journey."
Longmire said Geelong's midfield dominance prevented him from moving Tippett out of the ruck and stationing him as a permanent forward.
"For five or 10-minute patches we had some momentum in that part of the ground (the midfield), but we'd drop away or we wouldn't sustain it as long as Geelong did," he said.
"We needed to get the ruck stuff sorted because of their scores from stoppages – that's a good indicator where the game was. That's why we kept him in the ruck.”
Franklin, Ben McGlynn – who was a late withdrawal with hamstring tightness before the game against the Cats – and Gary Rohan, who is looking to return from a hamstring strain, will all come into the selection mix, according to Longmire.
However the Swans coach is unsure of their statuses ahead of a huge Friday night clash against Collingwood at the SCG.
