FORMER West Coast Eagles football analyst Mark Stone has gone from trying to outwit the Swans to being in charge of Sydney's stoppage strategies.

“There will be subtle changes and differences in how we go about [the stoppages] and hopefully those subtle changes will bring us some more scoring opportunities,” says the new Sydney assistant coach.

“But with that we realise any team that has a successful formula is going to come under scrutiny from the opposition… that will happen to Geelong now because they’ve found a way for their player group to be the best at what they do and other teams are really going to study them carefully now.”

Stone isn’t the only new addition to the coaching staff. Development coach Daniel McPherson has also been added to what is now a seven-man coaching department.

“It feels good to be part of this team, first and foremost. It’s good to be part of a football club that’s willing to spend money to expand to improve and to put in resources they need to have success,” Stone says.

Stone’s appointment is the first time that the Swans have had an assistant coach specifically responsible for set plays and stoppages. Previously, the midfield coach was responsible for that area of the game plan.

“The job of the midfield coach is becoming more and more difficult because of the speed at which things happen… to separate the stoppages from being part of the midfield coach's role is a smart move and I think a lot of clubs will go down that road."

Players are educated on various set play strategies from the coaches' playbook with PowerPoint presentations and vision from matches and training.

They’re also encouraged to sit with the coaches if they’ve any queries about what has been discussed at player meetings, so Stone isn’t short of visitors to his office.

“Now that we’re into playing games, I’m getting about two or three players a day coming in to ask questions about various aspects of the stoppages depending on what area of the ground they’re playing in.

“They’re aware that they can’t afford to be caught out, through either lack of knowledge or understanding which may cost them in terms of performance. So they’re pretty conscientious about that and they’ll come and see you and make sure they’ve got it clear in their own heads.”