Coming off wins against Eastlake and Tuggeranong in Sydney, the Swans sit two points ahead of Queanbeyan on the ladder going into their round 15 match at Dairy Farmers Park this Sunday.
Despite beating the Tigers last time they played, Allison admits the team is "nervous" heading into this weekend’s match, with both teams vying for the fourth spot on the ladder heading into finals.
"We know that Queanbeyan always come to play and give us a really solid contest every time we play them. It’s at their home ground, we did beat them last time but our record in Canberra this year has been fairly poor in terms of winning games,’’ Allison said.
"It’s certainly a big game and it’s a game that decides whether you hold onto a spot in the finals or not at the moment and you can’t afford to be losing games at this time of year if that’s what you want to do, play finals footy.
"We’ve got to hold onto that fourth position and that’s why it’s a big game this weekend against Queanbeyan obviously because they’re fighting for the same spot.”
The Swans run into the finals doesn’t get any easier after this weekend, with games against Belconnen, Eastlake and Tuggeranong in the final three rounds of the season.
“We’ve certainly got the top two sides coming up so that makes this week more important to win because it’s only going to get even harder against those top two teams in Belconnen and Eastlake the following two weeks,” Allison said.
“If we slip up this weekend there’s certainly no guarantee that you’ll get over the line the following two weeks so it makes this week even more important.”
Numerous injuries have disrupted the team’s chances to reach their full potential so far this season, with key players Tim Schmidt, Daniel Currie, Matthew Laidlaw and Brendan Murphy all spending extended time on the sideline, but things are starting to look better.
“We are only just beginning to get the sort of numbers we had available last season, it’s just starting to happen now.
“So touch wood, no further injuries to players who are just starting to come back, we should be fairly competitive from this time on,” he said.
Despite the team’s five wins, eight losses and one draw record so far this season, there has been some positives in 2009, including the development of listed players.
“I know we haven’t been winning games but it’s been a really productive season for the Swans listed players… obviously you’d prefer to be winning games but you’re able to move the players around and see how they perform in different areas of the ground.”
Another positive has been the amount of younger players at the Club, including Nick Smith, Ryan Brabazon, Kristin Thornton and the club’s newest promotion, Daniel Hannebery, getting a run in seniors.
“I think it’s been really positive, certainly for the younger players who have sort of been here for a little while. It’s given opportunities to…play some senior football and the reserves are also aware that if they are playing good football and they are in form then an opportunity is going to be there to play senior footy.
“Daniel Hannebery is debuting this week so it’s another exciting weekend for the club and certainly as development coaches, it’s certainly the reason we are employed at the club…to get those young blokes in the team, so it’s very exciting.”
The Swans play Queanbeyan at 2pm at Dairy Farmers Park on Sunday.
