Youthful exuberance is the prime difference between Sydney’s 2005 premiership side and the one playing in Saturday’s AFL grand final, says Jared Crouch.
Now Sydney’s reserves coach, 34-year-old Crouch says the week has triggered a lot of great memories of playing in the team that broke the club’s 72-year premiership drought with a four-point win over West Coast.
While key ingredients like the famous Bloods commitment remain intact, he says the differing talents of some players, and their relative youth, make coach John Longmire’s 2012 team distinct.
“Most of the change (since 2005) is just personnel,” Crouch said on Wednesday.
“There’s a couple still around (from the premiership team), but we didn’t have a Lewis Jetta – someone with amazing pace.
“(Young key forward) Sam Reid’s a little bit different to a Barry Hall.
“The culture of the place is similar, it’s about what each individual brings to the team.
“The youngsters that I mentioned, throw in Luke Parker, they all bring something a bit different that I guess us old stagers back then didn’t have.
“Maybe we were stronger in a different area?”
Daniel Hannebery, Alex Johnson and Reid have been some of the Swans’ most important players this season despite a combined age of 61.
Johnson and Hannebery have played every game in 2012, while Reid would have if not for injury.
Lewis Roberts-Thomson, whose versatility remains a major asset to the Swans, was one of the freshest faces in the 2005 side and he too points to the contribution of the 2012 youngsters.
“This year there’s a great mix of experience and youth,” 29-year-old Roberts-Thomson said.
“A lot of young guys have really stepped up – Lewie Jetta, Sammy Reid, Lukey Parker.
“They’ve come into the fold, they’re playing some really good footy. So it’s easing the load on a few of the older guys.”
Roberts-Thomson will be among senior players able to give some timely advice to the younger players ahead of their appearance on the game’s biggest stage at the MCG on Saturday.
“No doubt when we get to Melbourne, we’ll have a chat with the young guys and say ‘just take it all in,” he said.
“These sort of occasions don’t come around all that often.”
