#deancox

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Sydney Swans In 2026

Here is my take on the Sydney Swans in 2026. Sydney Swans coach Dean Cox seems like a ripping bloke. A very likable chap who once was the greatest ruckman of his era. Now, in his second year as head coach of the AFL harbour side team he has begun the season 2 and 1. The Swans have a number of seriously talented footballers who are still on the more youthful stretch of their career curves. Errol Gulden, Chad Warner and Nick Blakey are game breaking talents. Isaac Heeney is the older superstar at the Bloods but he is still just on the right side of 30 at 29. That is the good news, the bad news is that Errol Gulden is out again with an injury for up to 4 months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1khA40_7DA

The Swans Take A Hit With Another Long Term Gulden Injury in 2026

Gulden is a play maker and distributor of the football. He was out for half the season last year and the Swans struggled to win games in his absence. AFL football is a team game, however, with 18 players per team on the field. The media likes to make it all about the stars of the game but that is as much a narrative position as an absolute reality. They want to tell a story and having a heroic individual at its heart sells newspapers and gets eyeballs on screens. Coaches talk about systems and that players perform roles within those systems in a bid to win games. In defiance of that some superstars seem to be able to lift themselves above the pack to do things, which appear to turn matches. Sydney will have to do it without Errol for up to 4 months in season 2026.

Handball Forward For Metres Gained In 2026 For The Swans

AFL is an extremely skilful game, which happens at breakneck speed. The more skilled players facilitate scoring goals by beating the opposition via hitting targets by hand and foot. The 2026 version of AFL is about moving the ball more quickly by running and handpassing to overcome defensive zones. Pressure on and around the contest remains the key, especially when the going gets tough. Highly skilled teams can be undone through applying maximum pressure around the contest. We saw Hawthorn defeat the Swans via this very methodology. Teams that apply pressure in multiples of players, hunting in packs, like the Hawkes did can overcome their opposition. The Swans seemed to be lacking teamwork in losing these contests. There was no shortage of effort from the Bloods but I did not see players backing up their mates in the contest enough. This was unlike Hawthorn who hunted in packs and won contests on this basis.

Coach Dean Cox Too Open With Game Plan

Watching the pre-game TNF show on Fox Footy we saw Dean Cox sharing lots of game plan information with David King and the panel prior to the match. Sam Mitchell, the Hawkes coach was far more cagey in his interaction with the footy pundits. I thought to myself at the time, here is one bloke not trying to be everyone’s best friend and instead hellbent on winning this game. In the end, the chocolates went to Sam and Dean got to eat his dust. Coach Cox did not look a happy bloke after losing this one at the MCG before the bye. The Sydney Swans in 2026 are 2 and 1.

Swans Tried Hard But Couldn’t Get The Job Done

The Swans played their hearts out but were outgunned and outpressured over 4 quarters. The Sydney talls at either end were poor and outplayed by their Hawthorn opponents. Tom McCartin was well beaten by Chol and Gunston, especially in the first half. Lewis Melican lacks defensive skills in aerial contests and loses them too many times. Logan McDonald plays like a half forward flanker rather than a key forward. It is time to build him up and get some aerial presence out of him. Charlie Curnow has been disappointing but it is early days yet. Overall the Sydney team lacked intention and were beaten by Hawkes at key contests. Nick Blakey has been great and continues to give wonderful run and metres gained from the half back line.

Sydney’s Lack Of Aerial Presence A Concern

Of course, Sydney really missed Isaac Heeney, both around the ball and forward. Too often Sydney players fail to take marks around the ground. Joel Amartey was poor in this manner against the Hawkes but had been potent the previous 2 weeks in front of goals. Brody Grundy never stopped trying and gives everything most weeks, he could take more marks, however, around the ground. I do remember a number of games last season when the Swans were outpressured and beaten in contests. Not being strong aerially compounds problems when Sydney are under the pump. Whether the team needs a plan B to cope with these games or it is purely a matter of meeting and beating that level of pressure around the ball, I do not know.

Pressure Ratings Down In 2026

Overall pressure ratings have been down in these first 3 matches of 2026. Having said that, this is true of most AFL sides this season. The rule changes have sped the game up and reduced contests it seems. The powers-that-be have been manipulating the game via rule changes to produce a fast and high scoring contest. The stand rule enforcements favour those with the ball to a remarkable degree. Defending has never been more challenging in the AFL.

https://rsn.net.au/news/2026/03/25/afl-2026-sen-com-aus-game-ratings-for-round-3

The Blood’s Midfield

Angus Sheldrick is coming on and improving as a budding midfielder for the Sydney Swans in 2026. James Rowbottom remains the rock in the middle via his hard tackling and contest pressure. Chad Warner has had a slow start to the season and needs to do more to regain his mantle as a real star of the game, in my opinion. Isaac Heeney, now Vice Captain, is the Swan’s champion in the middle and continues to be a world beater. Tom Papley had an injury interrupted preseason and his pinch hitting in the midfield is a work in progress. James Jordan is another defensive midfielder, at times, and is a worthy contributor most games on this basis. The absence of Errol Gulden will be felt once again. Caiden Cleary was disappointing against Hawthorn, but that was one game and he is just getting started in AFL. Justin McInerney has been a standout in 2026, with his run through the middle and kicking goals against Carlton, Brisbane and Hawthorn.

“Heeney was almost knocked out by a careless Florent knee to the temple, whilst he lay prostrate on the ground. It says something about the character of Oliver Florent, in my view. Good riddance to a bitter lesser light. Isaac Heeney recovered and went on to play some fine football in that second half. “

- (https://www.golfdom.com.au/sydney-swans-season-2026-opening-round-game/)

Where will the Sydney Swans in 2026 end up, ladder-wise? Does Dean Cox have the nouse to take this team to the top? Perhaps, the inclusion of Simon Goodwin on the coaching panel will enhance the prospects of the Swans this season? I think, Charlie Curnow will need to fire up forward and start taking some contested marks and kicking goals for the Bloods to win enough games to be real world beaters. The team will have to toughen up and start winning the hard games, like the one they dropped to the Hawkes at the MCG if they are to progress to the upper echelon. It all starts again with the West Coast at Optus this week and the Eagles have won back to back for the first time in years. Go Bloods!

https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/afl

Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The AI Heresy; What Price Life?; America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump; and other titles. NOW AVAILABLE AT APPLE BOOKS & GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS. Google Play Books AUDIOBOOK

©GolfDom

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Red & White Tears Stain My Swan’s Scarf In 2025

What a crap footy season it has been! If you bleed red and white in the AFL it has been an annus horribilis. The Giant defeat to end slim final hopes left a bitter taste in my mouth. Sydney Swans halftime heroes and full time failures. Indeed, red and white tears stain my Swan’s scarf in 2025. Not even the return of Errol Gulden could turn this season around. Isaac Heeney’s Colgate smile, similarly, could not breathe enough fresh confidence into a losing campaign. Even the bloody Red Cross weren’t able to transfuse life into an injury riddled Dean Cox debut season as head coach.

Sydney Swan’s Floundering Footy Year Stained With Failures

We supporters are unused to the view from the bottom half of the AFL ladder. A couple of decades of unrelenting success will do that. Red and white is usually associated with victory. This year was an anomaly, an aberration. Do you hear me Dean Cox? Swans will rise above them all. There are, however, no guarantees in football or life. We need some new talent. Sydney requires an injection of something that is lacking from the current squad. Brute strength and a little bit of nasty.

Too Much White & Not Enough Blood Red Ever since the ‘no dickhead’s’ policy of Paul Roos, back in the day (which was wise at the time), things have gone a little too far in that virtuous direction. Football sides are made up of a variety of human beings and this needs to be respected. Sure, it might be easier to homogenise the team but every footy club culture requires the balance of all sorts playing with what they uniquely bring to the mission. The current Swan’s squad lacks that bit of bastardry. The savage animal thinly disguised in a footy jumper. There are too many clean skins living within the Sydney AFL side. Too much white and not enough blood red in the current identity. The old Paul Roo’s blue collar midfield ethos no longer exists to the detriment of the team. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDTDm6MT-hw&t=343s Swans Recruit Some Hard Men, Please Sydney Swans need to recruit some brute force, enforcer type AFL players to bolster the thin ranks in this regard. Finals and big games are won with hard men playing their hearts out. Lightweights will not get it done on the last day in September, as we have seen repeatedly. No matter how darn clever and talented these boys might be. It takes real grit in the trenches. 4 quarter efforts week in week out – all qualities missing in 2025. I don’t know if Dean Cox has got what it takes – we will have to wait and see. He requires the cattle to get the job done, however, and the paddock looks bare right now in this regard. Too many red and white tears stain my Swan’s scarf in 2025. On Their Way Out & Injury Prone Dane Rampe, Harry Cunningham, Jake Lloyd, Robbie Fox, Taylor Adams, and Joel Hamling are all on their way out. Age shall weary them. One more season at tops for any of them. Joel Amartey is, unfortunately, injury prone, as is Tom Papley in season 2025. Lewis Melican has been iffy in this regard over the journey too. Hopefully, Logan McDonald is going to come back strongly in 2026. Similarly, Callum Mills has missed much of the last 18 months and is a watch as to whether his body stands up going forward. These 10 players and their fates create plenty of room on the list for fresh blood to be injected into the Swan’s list. “SYDNEY coach Dean Cox has admitted the future of champion defender Dane Rampe remains up in the air as the Swans start to plan for 2026 and beyond. Rampe, 35, is out of contract at season's end and is hopeful of playing on for a 14th year, but his coach stopped short of providing those assurances ahead of the clash with Essendon on Saturday at the SCG.” - (https://www.afl.com.au/news/1377239/veteran-dane-rampes-future-unclear-as-sydney-swans-coach-dean-cox-plans-for-2026-and-beyond) Bigger Bodies & Snarling Types, Please There are some wonderful AFL players on the Sydney list, but they require something extra in the form of big blokes with deadly intentions. Enough of the Peter Pan let’s see some mongrel! Can we get a big bodied, fast, mature age recruit or two to fill the absence of grit? I, for one, am sick of seeing Swans run over by bigger and more determined opponents. The culture will need to change a bit to accommodate these requirements. If we are serious about ever winning another premiership, this is what it will take! “Halftime heroes and full time failures, the Sydney Swans turn toes up once again in Giant defeat. I don’t know what coach Dean Cox serves up at the halftime break but it might have been a lullaby because his players fell asleep. The GWS, well down after the first half of football at their home ground, came out post the long break and destroyed Sydney. Winning contests and running amok to kick multiple unanswered goals. Chad Warner was nowhere to be seen nor Isaac Heeney in that third quarter demolition. It reminded me of the game against the Gold Coast earlier in the year with a similar awful result for the Swans.” - (https://www.golfdom.com.au/swans-turn-toes-up-once-again-in-giant-defeat/) Too many red and white tears stain my Swan’s scarf in 2025. Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer; Money Matters and America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump. ©GolfDom

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Swans Turn Toes Up Once Again In Giant Defeat

Halftime heroes and full time failures, the Sydney Swans turn toes up once again in Giant defeat. I don’t know what coach Dean Cox serves up at the halftime break but it might have been a lullaby because his players fell asleep. The GWS, well down after the first half of football at their home ground, came out post the long break and destroyed Sydney. Winning contests and running amok to kick multiple unanswered goals. Chad Warner was nowhere to be seen nor Isaac Heeney in that third quarter demolition. It reminded me of the game against the Gold Coast earlier in the year with a similar awful result for the Swans. Halftime heroes and full time failures Sydney Swans In A Tale Of Two Halves Of Football Charles Dickens may not have been present at this match but a tale of two distinct halves it was. Red and white crusaders became witches’ hats in the second half, as the Giants tore them apart. It is like Sydney is a boxer with a glass jaw, all class until they get hit with the pressure. Then, the Swans crumble and fall apart. I have rarely witnessed an AFL season where the class difference between those teams vying for the 8 are so far out of the league of the also rans. “The Giants have capped an unfathomable second-half Sydney Derby blitz, trumping the Swans 15.12 (102) to 8.10 (58) to kill their finals dream. GWS trailed by as many as 35 points in the second quarter before incredibly piling on nine goals to Sydney’s one in the third quarter to lead by almost four goals at the final change.” - (https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/live-afl-2025-gws-giants-vs-sydney-swans-round-20-live-scores-and-updates-blog-stats-derby-battle-of-the-bridge-start-time-aest-and-how-to-stream/news-story/7f788611e73d331a96a506ecf0b9c4c0) Swans Cooked After Halftime By Giant Sizzle Unfortunately, Sydney in 2025 carry too many piss ordinary footballers in their game day 23. When things are going alright and their way the swans appear to be pretty good but turn up the intensity and contest and they fall away rapidly. Yes, there were a few excuses like losing Hayden McLean in the opening minutes to a head clash and knock – he was stretchered off. Joel Hamling, who had been holding his own down back copped a leg injury and could take no further part after halftime. Tom Papley has been a crock, physically, all year. He gives plenty but his body will not stand up. Lewis Mellicen had to shoulder a lot down back and could not measure up to the Giant talent forward. Errol Gulden was mighty, effort wise, but you can tell he lacks match hardness due to the long lay off with serious injury. Callum Mills is in a similar situation and cannot go with someone like Jake Stringer when it really mattered. Sydney for 2 quarters looked darn good with Warner and Heeney firing early but GWS hadn’t got going. Sydney Swans turn toes up once again in Giant defeat. Not Bloody Good Enough Swans Sink Jake Lloyd tried hard all game, as did James Rowbottom. James Jordan was likewise in the mix most of the game. Sydney was thrashed by the Giant halfbacks in the third term and the run they created fried the Swans. Brody Grundy was a tireless contester all match and had a great duel with Briggs. Too much talent all over the park when it mattered did for Sydney in the end. Sam Wicks was disappointing. Aaron Francis cannot hold a mark under pressure and that told all game to the detriment of Sydney.

New Talent With More Gumption Required The Swans will need to recruit some new talent for next year if they are to get back up the ladder. Cunningham, Rampe, and Lloyd are all getting long in the tooth for AFL. Jack Buller looks a likely type and could deliver long term. Sydney needs a powerful fast player like a Bailey Humphrey or a Finn Callaghan. Someone to break packs and burst through. Too many lightweight types make up the red and white ranks to the detriment of the team’s performance under pressure. Perhaps, a trip up the Kokoda to harden these lads up might be in order? Something has to buck the piss weak trend exposed in losing Grand Finals by double figures. It is tough to barrack for a club with a glass jaw that can’t handle the pressure when it really matters. Sydney Swans turn toes up once again in Giant defeat. “It is bloody disgraceful the way the team is playing in 2025. Sides blanket Heeney, Blakey and Chad, and the Swans don’t fire a shot. Too bloody easy that stratagem. What is Dean Cox doing about that? Bugger all, as far as the results indicate. Not good enough Sydney.” - (https://www.golfdom.com.au/dean-cox-cant-coach/) Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer, Money Matters and America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump. ©GolfDom

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Sydney Swans Took One Small Step

The Sydney Swans took one small step toward recovery in 2025. Yes, the red and white team recorded a victory over Richmond, last year’s wooden spooner. It was a match between the 2024 minor premiers and the bottom side of that season. Of course, a year or 6 months is a long time in AFL footy. It was great to have Harry Cunningham back in the team for the first time in 2025. It was like having an adult in the 18 out on the ground who knew what to do and how to go about his business. Similarly, Callum Mills played his second game of season 2025 and was solid for most of the afternoon. Swans Not World Beaters Yet Having too many kids in the side becomes a vulnerability, especially as the season progresses and their form wanes at times. The Swans did not look like world beaters by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a step in the right direction. Nick Blakey was really good all day in so many areas of the game – best player on the ground, I think. James Jordan kicked 3 goals and shut down the Tiger who loves to lift his arms in the tackle Nick Vlastuin. Hey, umpires open your eyes, the arm lift in the tackle is so bloody obvious, especially when  a player does it 8 or 9 times. The 4 umpires were iffy at best; gee the standard of AFL umpiring has been ordinary this season! Sydney Victory Over Tigers An Improvement “An unanswered 10-goal run from Sydney resulted in the 11.14 (80) to 4.12 (36) victory.” - (https://www.afl.com.au/news/1336972/sydney-swans-regain-mojo-with-demolition-of-hapless-richmond-tigers) James Rowbottom was huge with a dozen tackles and his contest and pressure were awesome all day. He shut down the Tiger’s best player in the first quarter, Dion Prestia, too, for the remainder of the game.  Brody Grundy got the better of Nank and he, Grundy, just got better as the match progressed. Aaron Francis was handy up forward. Hayden McLean played a solid game too. Gerard Healey reckons McLean needs to widen his stance in the marking contest to provide the anchoring required not to get pushed out of the way so easily. Do they have technique coaches at the Swans? The Swans desperately need more aerial presence around the ground and up forward. Tom McCartin was the best Swan in the air and played one of his best games in defence. Riley Bice looks better on a wing than at half back – wingers can be more attacking without having to defend as much. “Cox provided some "tough love" to his troops following the deplorable defeat, and although Saturday's clash with Richmond started nervously, the Swans restricted the Tigers to one goal after quarter time.” - (https://www.zerohanger.com/sydney-coach-lauds-midfielder-for-selfless-role-as-troops-set-to-return-following-bye-163622/) Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney were good without being great. Angus Sheldrick played well and was tough in the contest too. Sheldrick needs to improve his ball use going forward. It was a good team effort from a struggling side playing on the MCG, where a lot of bad memories must reside. Swans have a bye next week. “The Sydney Swans can ill afford to lose another game in 2025. Quite apart from finals becoming out of reach, what about the rapidly expanding lack of respect from the competition? “ - (https://wordsforweb.com.au/sydney-swans-can-little-afford-to-lose/) Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer and America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump. ©WordsForWeb Read the full article

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Dean Cox Can’t Coach

It has taken them 12 weeks but they have decimated the confidence of the playing group. Dean Cox can’t coach on the available evidence at Sydney. The Swans are now an embarrassment and a pale reflection of what they were under John Longmire. The jury is no longer out and the Cox hand over has been an almighty failure. Injuries, as an excuse, just don’t cut it anymore. There are plenty of AFL sides with similar levels of injured stocks and playing a hell of a lot better than the Swans.  Right from the season opener, the Sydney team has been falling short and getting progressively worse.

Head Coach Cox Making A Mess Of Swans

The last 2 efforts against good sides, Melbourne and Adelaide, have been absolute shockers. The wins the Swans have had have been only just victories over lesser sides, apart from North Melbourne. They have lacked system and signs that the team have a winning methodology. Cox looks all at sea in the coaches box and has no answers to the strategies of superior sides like Collingwood, Hawthorn and Brisbane. The red and white team have lost their confidence and ball movement skills. That is down to poor coaching in my book. Errol Gulden aint superman and spiderman rolled into one, he’s just one very good player not playing for the Swans.

Swans Physical Conditioning Too Light Apart from the coaching calamity, the playing group are too physically light weight, in my opinion. None of them can tackle effectively and very few can break tackles. Their body types look like distance runners rather than AFL footballers. Are the physical conditioning settings right? I wonder? The Swans appear physically less than their opponents, especially in terms of upper body strength. Hayden McLean is too thin. What is the story there? He gets pushed out of the way too bloody easily in contests, as do too many Swans’. Overhead marking is piss weak at the Swans. Yes, technique plays a big role in all of these AFL skills but so too does physical conditioning in terms of size. Sydney might be able to run all day, but they are not strong enough in the contest.  It makes us appear weak and the team is playing like that. Adelaide and Melbourne laughed at how bloody easy it was to beat the Swans in all phases of the game.

The Cox Swans Are An Embarrassment Dean Cox can’t coach by the evidence proffered after 12 weeks in season 2025. Not sure about the rest of the coaching group but they are a part of this shit show so far. I don’t see the improvement. Do you? Isn’t the idea when you appoint a new coach to get something better, a lift? I don’t see any lift. Do you? It is bloody disgraceful the way the team is playing in 2025. Sides blanket Heeney, Blakey and Chad, and the Swans don’t fire a shot. Too bloody easy that stratagem. What is Dean Cox doing about that? Bugger all, as far as the results indicate. Not good enough Sydney. “In fact, I wonder, as I imagine many Sydney Swans fans and members wonder, why Luke Parker is no longer a Swan? Right now, we are going so poorly we could really do with such a senior midfielder playing well.” - (https://www.golfdom.com.au/gee-i-wish-luke-parker-was-still-a-swan/)

Missing You Blokes! Key Swans’ Players Lose12 weeks To Suspensions in 2025 How does an AFL club, with injuries to multiple senior players, allow suspensions to cost them a further 12 weeks of lost key players to top it all off? Where is the steady hand on the tiller? Sydney has rarely had a playing group discipline problem during the Longmire and Roos coaching stints. What is the go here? Head coach not up to the task, perhaps? Piss poor showing Sydney Swans. You let the 2005 AFL Premiers down big time. In fact, it was so dire had to stop watching in the last quarter and I have never done that before. “A RED-HOT Adelaide has asserted its premiership credentials with a 90-point demolition job over Sydney at the SCG on Saturday. On a night celebrating the famed Bloods culture, the Crows mauled last year's beaten grand finalists, slamming through 12 unanswered goals on their way to a 21.5 (131) to 5.11 (41) victory at the SCG on Saturday.” - (https://www.afl.com.au/news/1332534/murder-by-crows-leaves-swans-season-teetering) - - Gee Taylor Adams was bad on the night. He was not alone, however, with plenty of underperforming mates out on the SCG in the red and white. Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump. ©GolfDom

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The Sydney Swans Are Emotionally Traumatised

Back to back time trials, during pre-season training have not delivered the results that Swan’s head coach Dean Cox would have wanted. Running the hard yards, twice, has not indemnified the playing group against failure out on the paddock. The narrative currently being hawked around by AFL media ‘talking heads’ is that the Sydney Swans are emotionally traumatised by grand final wallopings in 2 of the last 3 seasons. I called them Black Swan events because they are usually very rare and totally unexpected. Not for the Swans, it seems, this playing group has been belted off the park twice on the biggest stage in the AFL calendar.

Are The Swans Demoralised By Repeat Grand Final Drubbings?

Have the bitter defeats in grand finals drained the spirit of the Sydney Swans AFL team? Picture the scene, the changerooms at the MCG, 23 young men have finally arrived at the penultimate step prior to the absolute AFL pinnacle – the Premiership. Win this and the next step is onto that stage where they hand over the Cup and medallions. Butterflies in the belfry? Give me a break, this must be a whole battalion of buzzing beasts in your guts – talk about nervous energy! Flash forward to the immediate aftermath of complete scoreboard annihilation and players staggering around in a daze of defeated shock. One side is crying with joy and the Swans are shedding tears of real pain and frustration at not being good enough again. Not by a long shot! Can The Swans Keep Demanding More From These Players? Can you keep going back to the well? Can you expect players to keep digging deep, season after season, because these young men are not robots. AI hasn’t taken over the game yet. The physical demands of AFL are profound. Just take a look at the retired players a decade later – many of them are prematurely old men in appearance. Hair has turned grey or fallen out. Knees have seized up, along with backs and other degenerative complaints. These are the walking wounded heroes of yesteryear. We only see a smattering of them made up with makeup for the TV cameras on footy shows. The majority are forgotten gladiators living in the shadows. The extreme physical demands upon these men and boys are mighty high and they have consequences, especially in the longer term. We are only, now finding out about the effects of concussions from head knocks over the journey. Deeply Wounded Or A Doppelganger? The Sydney Swans are emotionally traumatised, according to the pundits on AFL 360. The Sydney Swans have looked weak and not up to it – over recent weeks. Uncharacteristic thrashings by contending teams have seen them head to the bottom of the AFL ladder. Brody Grundy, a grey beard, literally and not metaphorically, labours like some character from ancient Greek myth during games for the Swans. He wrestles with both opponents and time, it seems, as the game has, perhaps, gone past him. Younger heroes, Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner battle manfully, each week, on behalf of the red and white mob. Even these, remarkable talents, are waning under the combined onslaught of better performing sides. Nick Blakey, the Lizard, rarely makes his scattergun runs of late; something is wrong in the city of Sydney. A new coach, the tallest head coach in the game, is finding it hard to resurrect the Blood’s spirit in season 2025. Is it a case of a deep wound in the minds and hearts of these Swans? Or are the real Sydney Swans capable of standing up in 2025?

Bring Your Mouth Guards To Training Boys Will all the yelling and harsh words in the world be able to resurrect their spirit and application? Will ever more physical demands in mano on mano contests at training spark a midseason revival? The Sydney Swans are emotionally traumatised, apparently.  AFL, the game itself, has changed heaps of late – it is all about ball movement on the outside and much less accountable. Players don’t really play on each other anymore. It is basketball on grass, being all about speed and precise passing. Look at the body types of the AFL players – they all look like long distance runners. It is a running game and a game of keepie off. “SYDNEY players were ordered to attend an early morning beach session just hours after their Saturday night smacking at the hands of Adelaide. It is understood the previously unplanned Clovelly venture was at the directive of the club's leaders in the aftermath of the SCG hammering and took place before sunrise on Sunday morning. Players braved the waters and were put through some old-school physical exertion as part of the session, with push-ups and sit-ups also forming part of the gruelling morning's activities.” - (https://www.afl.com.au/news/1335448/sydney-swans-players-put-through-paces-at-pre-dawn-beach-session-with-coach-dean-cox) Offence vs Defence Yes, you still have to win the ball out of the centre to get it forward but ball winning is not as important as it once was. The Champion Data stats tell us that in 2025. Ball movement is king this season. The trouble with this, is that players put all their eggs into the one basket – called offence. Too many are looking to receive on the outside and not two way running to get back to help with defence. The Swans have been so easy to score against, which is not the Sydney longtime MO. None of these players are willing to tackle hard and effectively enough. The suspensions to Joel Amartey, Justin McInerney repeatedly, and Mills have been for the bump to the head. Bumping is a sign of a lack of physical commitment. A tackle is a real contest. It aint easy because umpires rarely reward the tackler in AFL any more. Players drop it cold and get away with it these days. Tackler holds on too long and gets pinged. It’s crap really! The game is not in great shape, in my opinion. Can the Swans playing group mount another charge? Do they have it in them in 2025? The outer shell appears normal but underneath is where their real problems reside? Does the Sydney Swan's club have the expertise to handle this situation? Oh Dear, what can the matter be? Does Dean Cox have the repertoire to solve this dilemma? We will have to wait and see. “There are no easy answers to complex things.” - (https://www.housetherapy.com.au/no-easy-answers-to-complex-things/) Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump. ©HouseTherapy

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Sydney Swans Playing List Evaluation in 2025

Those blowhards in the AFL media, them overpaid talking heads with exaggerated reputations, will be coming for the Sydney Swans, now that they have plummeted down the ladder. Back to back 10 to 15 goal thrashings will do that. It will be ‘so-called’ incisive judgements about the lack of talent on the Sydney list and how they will have to go into rebuild mode. These ‘geniuses’ all jump on the judgemental ‘must rebuild’ media led bandwagons, which saw clubs like Melbourne and North Melbourne stuck down the bottom of the ladder for decades. Here is a Sydney Swans playing list evaluation in 2025.

Top Tier Sydney Swans Players Currently

The Top Talent On The List: Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Errol Gulden (out injured in 2025). Tom Papley (injured most of 2025) Average At Best: Brody Grundy, James Rowbottom, Will Hayward, Lewis Melican, James Jordan, Justin McInerney, Tom McCartin, Callum Mills, Average With Potential: Matt Roberts, Joel Amartey, Sam Wicks, Braeden Campbell, Young Potentials: Caiden Cleary, Corey Warner, Tom Hanily, Angus Sheldrick, Caleb Mitchell, Indhi Kirk Past It: Jake Lloyd, Joel Hamling, Dane Rampe, Taylor Adams Journeymen: Peter Ladhams, Aaron Francis, Ben Paton Out Of Form: Oliver Florent, Riley Bice, Hayden McLean, Injured: Logan McDonald, Harry Cunningham, Robbie Fox https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/afl

Assessment Of Playing Issues In Season 2025 Brody Grundy is the first serious investment in ruck stocks in decades at the Swans. Yes, he was a bargain basement deal with Collingwood paying a chunk of his salary.  Grundy wrestles his way through games of AFL football for whatever that is worth. He leads an appalling lack of aerial marking presence in matches for the Swans. Only Tom McCartin provides a real marking presence during games. Ladhams and McLean are pretty woeful in this regard. Amartey is too busy missing games due to suspension or injury to mark the ball. It is, often, left to Isaac Heeney to take contested marks and teams are clamping down on him. Dean Cox is the tallest head coach in AFL and his team cannot mark the bloody ball. You cannot win matches if you have no aerial presence. At centre bounces the Swan’s midfield are either on or stone cold. This makes them all duck or no dinner. Opposition teams waltz out the front of the stoppage and score really easily against the Swans under Dean Cox. Lately, they have looked so negative with players in the middle trying to lock down on an opponent that there is no one left to win the ball and take it forward. We all know that a team needs to get the offence and defence balance right to win games. Well, this aint happening with the Swans in season 2025. Yes, the team is sorely missing Errol Gulden. Tag Heeney, Chad and the Lizard and the Swans are dead in the water. The Swan’s players are lousy at tackling in 2025. I think that their body mass is too light weight with them all looking like distance runners. There is an observable reduction in upper body mass in the 2025 playing group. Yes, tackling is a lot about technique and Sydney could focus on brushing up on their tackling technique. I reckon the physical conditioning maestros have got it wrong. Because the team are getting monstered out of contests by sides like Melbourne and Adelaide. It is not all just a lack of mental application to the job at hand – it is physical mass too. The Swans look lighter and slighter than opposition sides in 2025.

Photo by Harrison Reilly on Pexels.com Out Of Form, Suspended & Injured Swans in 2025 Sydney Swans playing list evaluation in 2025. Yes, serious injuries have meant no Errol Gulden in season 2025. No Logan McDonald, and no Robbie Fox or Harry Cunningham. Virtually no Tom Papley or Callum Mills. Suspensions due to poor discipline have cost 12 weeks suspension to Justin McInerney, Joel Amartey, and Lewis Melican. Out of form players are the bane of coaches and supporters. Oliver Florent was once a stirring line breaker coming off the half back or wing. Now, he cannot win a contest and his ball use has been dire. Will Hayward has played a couple of good games but has been largely underwhelming. The forward line has been missing Papley, McDonald, and Amartey at various times, which means more falls upon Hayward to do. Hayden McLean had a late start to the season and has been woeful. His body mass for a centre half forward is too thin and he gets moved off the ball with ease by opposing players. What is going on with the physical conditioning of McLean? He is not going to move faster by shrinking his size. He is a lumbering type player and requires body mass to be some sort of power forward for the Swans. Justin McInerney and Braeden Campbell have both been disappointing this season. I thought that they would step up to fill Errol’s shoes. Callum Mills, the Captain has been missing in action for the best part of 2 years – thanks to misadventure and injuries. Not sure if he is still the player he was? Juries out on that. Jake Lloyd has been a wonderful servant of the club over many years. He is a senior player and has value on this basis. However, watching him this year, his ball use going forward is largely ineffective, Lloyd is not a great user of the ball. He has got the best out of his small stature on the AFL arena but he can't tackle either. The Swans are missing the surgical distribution of the ball by Gulden in 2025. Nick Blakey has been stuck down back defending too often and making far fewer effective runs up field. Dane Rampe is getting pretty long in the tooth. Despite this, he has shown some positive signs of late but it must be his last season, you would think. Matt Roberts continues to be a ball user of prowess beyond his young years. Riley Bice has dropped off alarmingly after an exciting start to his Swans AFL journey this year. Sam Wicks was moved down back and was good in quite a few matches there. Wicks plays with aggression and speed – all good qualities the Swans require. Sydney Swans playing list evaluation in 2025. The Swans team needs a powerful midfielder, like a Bailey Humphrey type, the side lacks grunt and grit. A player that can break open games via his forceful skills. Losing Luke Parker was not ideal, as can be ascertained via the mess the team is currently in. James Rowbottom is a heart and soul player but the red and white team needs more of them to compete. Heeney and Chad Warner cannot rise above the tags every week, it seems on the evidence. Angus Sheldrick shows real potential but he is just getting started. Something is wrong with the Swans! The team is bleeding and getting thrashed each week.

The Consequences Of Buddy Are the holes in the playing list becoming gaping wounds, which are the consequence of paying overs for Lance Franklin for a decade? Buddy was a giant but has he left a giant sized hole? Did John Longmire hold this team together via force of coaching personality and nous? Has the perfect storm of injuries, change of coach and time itself exposed serious inadequacies in the list? Is the quality too little and now too late? Did Dean Cox inherit a poisoned chalice? A Russian doll with ever smaller players and talents inside? Watching the Crows brush aside and monster the rabble in red and white was shocking to many longtime supporters. “Perhaps more of these structural and list deficiencies might have been glaringly apparent last year, and Sydney forced into a far more pro-active off-season on the player management front, had Heeney, Warner and Gulden not been so outstanding.” - (https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/45382485/afl-sydney-swans-dean-cox-losses-did-overachieve-last-year) Old timers tell us that the Sydney Swans have always had a charismatic power forward to hang their marketability upon in the most competitive city based sporting market in the world. Warwick Capper, Tony Lockett, Big Bad Barry Hall, and Buddy. That is quite a list of AFL superstar forwards. The Swans went after Joe Daniher prior to Brisbane landing him. Who will be next? Will it be a King brother? It would have to be a bonafide star! The fans would be licking their chops. The club needs a forward with real presence. “They’re going to get Ugle-Hagen for next to nothing, take him away from his bad influences in Melbourne, turn him into the best forward in the competition and make another (losing) grand final, aren’t they? “ - (https://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/comments/1l18wv3/sydney_swans_told_to_get_star_forward_after/) Can Cox Coach? Lengthy apprenticeships don’t guarantee successful stints in the big chair. Dean Cox seems a ripping bloke. However, plenty of nice guys never make the grade. Head coaching in the AFL is no easy task. You have to have the playing group playing for you, first and foremost. On this basis, you must be a devilishly good communicator with your key talent. Your game plan must be solid and easily understood by 23 blokes each week. The Cox caper, on the available evidence after 12 weeks, fails to fulfill these requirements. I have never seen so many easy goals kicked against the Swans. There is a distinct lack of fight by players in the defensive half of the ground. Good teams scrap and fight to prevent each and every score, but not this version of the Swans. It is a tragedy and it’s getting worse each week. It looks like players are thinking about where they should be and what they should be doing instead of playing instinctive football. You cannot compete against the well drilled AFL teams if you are floundering. If the coaches message is not getting across and the results are not coming to fruition, it becomes a vicious circle of failure and defeats. “Former St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt says the AFL world needs to 'harden up' regarding its reaction to Wayne Milera's Sydney Swans 'rabble' comment. In a refreshing moment of honesty, Adelaide flanker Milera described the Swans as a 'rabble' with the Crows kicking 21 goals to five in the SCG demolition.” - (https://www.sportingnews.com/au/afl/news/afl-world-needs-harden-sydney-swans-rabble-saga/269b7696d0d858718db7f776) “Gerard Healy calls for the tag and it has become a running joke. Tag every player, maybe? Could it be because nobody plays on anyone anymore in AFL? The demand for tagging is really a deeper cry for greater accountability? A bit more mano on mano? Funnily enough, ball use efficiency decreases when the tag is applied. AFL mutterings in the manosphere. No kidding, it’s not rocket science but the coaching stratagems are so far up you know where with zoning pinched from basketball that the penny aint dropped. Footy has become the unaccountable game. When I played the game we all played on someone.” - (https://www.midasword.com.au/afl-mutterings-in-the-manosphere/) Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump. ©MidasWord

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[sublimeobservationarcade]

Sydney Swans So Disappointing This Year

Are the Sydney Swans so disappointing this year because their former coach, John Longmire, jumped from a sinking ship? Did Longmire desert the players in their greatest moment of need? Has Dean Cox, the long serving apprentice, been handed a poisoned chalice? Whatever is at the root of the blight the team are playing like a bunch of hapless losers. Cox has resorted to blaming the players in public, after 10 weeks of sucking up the pain himself, he is dishing some out himself. Questioning the list, as not being up to current AFL standards and questioning their heart. This last damning reality was never something to entertain under Longmire or Paul Roos.

Last Year’s Swans So Much Better

Last year, the Sydney Swans cut through sides like a hot knife in butter. They did this in 2022 and 2023 at times also. Acknowledgement was given to the former Adelaide AFL coach, Don Pyke, who was the team’s assistant coach at the time, for some of the impetus around this ball movement driven winning strategy. WTF is that now in 2025? Yes, Errol Gulden is missing but he was not the only exponent of this skill. Where is the dare under Dean Cox?  WTF is the Lizard anchored at full back, when we desperately need his run and incisive ball use? Nick Blakey is being poorly applied at the Swans as a winning resource in 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWC5_lEHHKg Sydney AFL Team Lack Spirit & Skill Sydney Swans so disappointing this year. You know, as a longtime Swans fan, I look at the playing group and I see boys and not enough men. Light weight body types as far as the eye can see. Luke Parker is gone and WTF happened there? Longtime Captain and champion out the door. George Hewett bigger bodied AFL midfielder gone to Carlton. Don’t get me started on Jordan Dawson. How could we not hang onto the quality? We are left with lightly framed and none too tall cattle. Yes, we have champions like Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner; but it takes 18 players to field a team and 23 to fill the bench. We have the tallest head coach in the AFL and our talls struggle to take a mark during games. Teach and train these buggers to perform their duties better! What are all these bloody coaches paid to do? “There is a worrying complacency, combined with rank mediocrity, permeating the Swans in 2025. Happy little children dressed up to play footy rather than men with a game to win is what emanates from the red and white these days. The Swans coaching cohort appear bland and beige despite being dressed in scarlet.” - (https://wordsforweb.com.au/another-sydney-swans-side-unprepared/) Peter Pans Playing Football I get the sense when I watch the players that I am watching a bunch of Peter Pans – boys inhabiting athletic bodies who haven’t been able to grow up into men. Held in stasis somehow as privileged kids in ‘no man’s land.’ They train hard and have wonderful physiques but where is the grit required to compete and win week in week out? It is a brutally hard business; but that is why they get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to perform at the elite level. Now, this reality is in the million dollar category for a few of them.

Blood’s Culture Missing In 2025 Ultimately, it comes down to culture because this is a team sport. The AFL media, like all media, focus on individuals to tell their stories. However, AFL is a team sport and it is team and club culture that wins premierships. I suspect that there is too much bullshit, extraneous bullshit going on at the club, and not enough simple messaging about what is expected of the players and the team. It is not a celebrity circus, it is a footy club, plain and simple. Why haven’t players improved in 2025? Why haven’t the gaps left by injuries to key players like Errol been filled by players rising to the opportunities provided? The players have to drive the culture and if that is missing – the leaders need to take steps to address it! “Former Demons captain Garry Lyon and respected commentator Gerard Whateley have shone a light on Sydney’s “poor” discipline in recent weeks following the Swans’ 53-point loss to Melbourne on Sunday.” - (https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2025-dean-cox-problems-at-sydney-swans-callum-mills-suspension-joel-amartey-justin-mcinerney-afl-360-comments-latest-news/news-story/a839941bddef6396f5b8) Swan’s Coaches Not Performing? I could mention that there have been very few ruckmen who have gone on to become premiership winning AFL coaches. Too tall? Too far away from the shorter playing group? The ruckman’s experience of the game itself is very different. Sydney Swans so disappointing this year. Are the Swan’s coaching staff too soft and pandering to mediocrity? I look at Hawthorn and watched their young players in comparison to the Swans. They play with far more passion and grit. It is like the Swan’s players are not all there on the night or on the afternoon. Something integral is missing. Whatever is going on the antidote is only coming in fits and starts. One week on, next week off. One good quarter and one or two bad terms. The MCG hoodoo strikes again! Are players messed up by grand final nightmares? Get the psychologists on the phone and down at the club. Call the exorcists! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWC5_lEHHKg Midfield Needs A Second Effort & Plan B We get killed out of the middle all too often. It is like the blokes in the midfield only have one gear or one effort to give. They need to have plan Bs and plan Cs when required. Who is the midfield coach? The thinking and stratagems around the centre bounces are less than stellar. Do something about that! The pundits have written off the team in season 2025, in Dean Cox’s first crack at head coaching. The players lack resourcefulness when being beaten. Whatever the game plan is, it is shallow and unrewarding in too many instances, especially when put under pressure. Keep It Simple Coach! The best coaches have always said that AFL players are not the smartest human beings. Keeping the messaging simple for every player is the key. I remember past Swannie’s saying, ‘the coach gave me a role and I went out and played it.’ Strip it back and give them a role to perform. Obviously, the better and more experienced champions can handle more instruction and freedom. AFL has been taken over by running coaches, just look at the body types of the current players, lean running machines who can’t stick a tackle. Players run up and down the field like a bunch of wingers, fast but unaccountable. The Swans get too easily pushed aside and get gun shy in response. Sydney are no longer a great AFL team without the ball. If Sydney are not attacking they are lost and if that attack is blunted likewise the game is lost. Basic Defensive Skills Poor Sydney Swans so disappointing this year. How many easy goals scored by the opposition from crumbing contests have I seen this year – these would have never been tolerated under Paul Roos. The defending has been dire. Dean Cox needs to go back to basics re-defence. There is so much emphasis on attacking from the backline that no one bloody defends. Rebuilding lost confidence can be a delicate task. Hayden McLean needs some TLC. Get in the head doctors pronto! Ollie Florent has never recovered from missing those goal shots after the siren. Something needs to be done to fix things at the Sydney Swans. I have been barracking for this club since Gary Buckenara coached Sydney; and he coached me once when I was a schoolboy footballer at Subiaco. Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump. ©WordsForWeb

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