With co-captain Adam Goodes primed to return from injury and the club’s Melbourne hoodoo broken, Swans coach John Longmire says his team have provided themselves with the ideal launching pad to attack the second half of the AFL season, and an all-important top-four spot.
Sydney have been one of the surprise packets of 2012 with Longmire, as Paul Roos did before him, instilling the Swans’ ‘bloods’ culture at the heart of the club’s work ethic on and off the field.
“It’s terrific to be close to the top of the ladder at this stage. The players will get a lot of confidence out of that,” Longmire said.
“We are really pleased with the first half of the season. We have had a few hiccups and we have had a few performances we would have liked to have been a bit stronger. But over the 11 games, we have been pleased with the players’ commitment and what they have been able to do to this point.
“Hopefully that gives us a good launching pad for the second half of the year and to be able to really rest up this week and come back for the game against the Cats on Friday (June 22) for what will be a huge game for us.”
After bursting out of the blocks and winning their first five games, the Swans’ momentum stalled in round six when Goodes suffered a quadriceps injury in the loss to Adelaide that has kept him out for six weeks.
That loss was one of three in a month for the Swans, broken up by a victory over the lowly Demons, and criticism began to flow that Sydney were not a competitive outfit with Goodes sidelined.
But those accusations were put to rest with a round-10 thumping of the Bulldogs, which included 10 first-half goals, and their thrilling last-start win over Essendon at Etihad Stadium.
“All teams have momentum and whether it is through the period of a game and you have to wrestle that back, or you can lose a bit of momentum through the course of the year at different times and you still have to try and win those games, and we have done that,” Longmire said.
“If you lose a couple of games, you have to get that momentum back. Sometimes it can last a week – sometimes it can last four weeks.
“What I have been pleased with is the players’ attitude to come back and play really strong, competitive football.”
Goodes remains on track to resume against the Cats next Friday night at the SCG.