AFL Grand Final: Swans earn unwanted tags after another Grand Final shock

There have been many comparisons between Sydney and Geelong in the modern era and they are brilliant. Now there is a new similarity. The difference is that it really hurts.

Sydney’s 60-point defeat against Brisbane was the Swans’ fourth consecutive Grand Final defeat; It’s a record of failure on the biggest stages that no team has matched since the Cats’ defeats in 1989, 1992, 1994 and 1995.

But at the time, even Geelong had been hammered in at least two of those defeats; The six-point classic against Hawthorn in 1989, one of the greatest Grand Finals of all time, and the 28-point defeat against West Coast over three years. The Cats were then four goals ahead at one stage.

The situation for the swans is much more grim. Since their infamous upset of Hawthorn in 2012, they lost by 63 points to the Hawks in 2014, 22 points to the Western Bulldogs in 2016, 81 points to Geelong two years ago and have now managed to keep a further 10 goals.

In the days, weeks, and months of spiritual searching that will inevitably follow this catastrophe, Sydney would do well to avoid taking the comparison to the Cats even further.

Because the last of those Grand Final losses was basically the end of Geelong for the next decade. The Cats performed well again, of course, and how, but under different management, a different coach and a completely different group of players.

Of course, what would further shake the Swans’ brain confidence was that this was one of those unpredictable “shocking events at the worst possible time” in the afternoon, similar to the same incident 10 years ago when Sydney also finished top. she barely squealed on the big stage.

Two years ago, against the Cats, the oldest team to take the field in an AFL match gave a masterclass to a young, raw and still learning caper Sydney team.

It is impossible to say this in 2024. This season the Swans were the fifth most experienced team in the tournament in terms of games played. So what happened? Although contemporary football is all about complex analysis, there are some basic elements that come into play first. And on the biggest stage, Sydney wasn’t having it.

Bitterly disappointed coach John Longmire said, “Compared to what we did, I think we gave it our best shot and didn’t do what needed to be done that day.”

“We were outplayed at ground level and they managed to get past us too easily. We didn’t put enough pressure around the ball. You can’t play in the second quarter and expect to compete at the required level.”

READ: Resilience incarnate – great Brisbane earn redemption in Grand Final

Isaac Heeney revealed when asked after the match that he had been carrying a stress fracture in his ankle throughout the entire finals series. He smiled sadly as he described his injury, because even being incapacitated on this biggest stage couldn’t explain the surrender of the entire team.

“In big games you need pressure, you need a challenge and we didn’t show that. They were tougher, they were cleaner, they tackled better and we couldn’t resist their pressure. They forced us to defend and they got 76 points. We got unacceptable marks in the first half and “This is where it all started.”

That Heeney was able to quote that figure immediately showed not only that his coach had emphasized the issue strongly during the break, but also that much of Sydney’s planning involved the imperative not to allow so many loose balls to Brisbane.

And it’s not surprising. Over the past four years, the Lions have won 30 and lost just three when scoring 110 points in a game. In this race they had already made 111 in three quarters and finished with a massive 158.

Meanwhile, five of the Swans’ previous six defeats this season have come when the opposition were able to play a controlled style of play. And control was something Brisbane implemented from the word ‘go’, even though not for the first time, necessarily turning their possession into scoring.

Still, with 22 points from 50 to 9, 158 points to 88 and nearly 80 more uncontested possessions to spare, even some profligacy on the scoring front would not cost the Lions this time.

Simply, for Sydney, it was another shocker, pure and simple, as far as one shocker could be afforded. And that doesn’t make the scrutiny and six-month soul-searching any easier for Longmire and his friends.

Heeney, Chad Warner and Errol Gulden were the AFL’s three best players all season, let alone Sydney; but arguably only Gulden could be considered one of the Swans’ half-dozen best players in the Grand Final.

For the first time Sydney’s key forwards could barely make a shot; Logan McDonald played through injuries and was as successful as Sam Reid played through injuries against the Cats two years ago.

But that has been the case for many other weeks this season as well, with the Swans still strong enough to finish the season as the AFL’s highest-scoring team. But on the day it looked like a huge gap and Brisbane’s team of Joe Daniher, Eric Hipwood and Logan Morris were a team full of envy.

Sydney’s defense has been tight all year and yesterday they moved into third place with the fewest points. But the Swans’ backline looked loose, unmanoeuvrable and with more holes than Swiss cheese on this day.

In summary, the Swans held on all season until the Grand Final. So how exactly does Longmire deal with this? And if it’s about character, how do you test that before that day comes?

“I’m not sure yet man, that’s the honest answer,” acting captain Dane Rampe said in the subdued losers’ room. “We need to do some research and dive into it because you can be the best all year, but it doesn’t really matter unless you’re ready to take it on the big stage, right?

“But just because we came up short today doesn’t mean we can’t get back there. The one thing I know about this club is that we will fight tooth and nail to get back and we won’t let it define us.”

Considering what a successful club the Swans have been for so long, you can’t doubt Sydney’s capacity to be that successful. And yet the concern now is that when you consistently lose the biggest games by the biggest margins, maybe you’re already defined by whatever happens next.

You can read more of Rohan Connolly’s work at: FUTIOLOGY.