Sydney Swans: Cygnets, Young Bloods & the Resurrection
The most neglected successful team north of the border is suddenly on everybody’s lips. Formerly known as the AFL team that plays ugly football. The club and team that brought in flooding under coaches Rodney Eade and Paul Roos. They were a stain on this great game according to a host of commentators and footy pundits. The Sydney Swans: Cygnets, Young Bloods and the resurrection have galvanised media attention across the country. The dirty bloods, who previously burrowed into packs and lined their defensive line with around 70, 000 players to mar the better teams like Richmond, have morphed into beautiful swans.
John Longmire a Reborn Coach
Handsome young men playing attractive football and wowing the fans and garnering competition wide attention. Coach John Longmire has been reborn according to prominent media identities and/or Don Pike the ex-Adelaide coach has made all the difference. The Swans Academy has become a 3D printing shop for made to order champions and an unfair advantage over the Melbourne teams. Sydney Swans: Cygnets, Young Bloods and the resurrection is the hottest story in town. The Swans have been churning out Rising Stars like hot cross buns. These youngsters have donned the jersey and slipped into a system firing on all cylinders like never before.
Experience at the Highest Level Counting for Little in 2021
Seemingly, experience at the highest-level counts for little in the new game of AFL in 2021. Is it the rule changes involving the man on the mark? Where AFL players are told to stand and freeze on the spot like netballers? The defensive jaws have been lessened like a bullterrier on Valium. Quick young players with silky skills are flourishing like weeds fed on phosphate fertiliser in a paddock. Goals have been scored in rapid succession to total unheard-of levels for a Swans team. Premiers have been humbled at the MCG to the disbelief of Tigers’ fans in their tens of thousands. Three wins on the trot may not sound so special but the Swans only won five games last year.
Coach John Longmire is trying to keep a cap on the burgeoning expectations like a character trying to put a magical genie back in the bottle. Underfed and disappointed Swans fans are smiling for the first time in several years. Buddy Franklin has sat on the sidelines for the best part of two years. This champion forward has been frustrated by injuries and watched an underperforming team made up of youngsters for a couple of seasons. Now, however, he is biting at the bit and keen to strut his stuff in this new team of wunderkinds. Cygnets or baby Swans are tearing up the track and the maestro wants to be a part of this renaissance or resurrection.
One wonders where this shall all end? In premierships or burst bubbles? We shall all just have to wait and see. The Young Bloods have burst on the scene to great acclaim. Lions, Crows, and Tigers have been bounced out of town. Next up, the Dons at the SCG and Buddy will be back barring any last-minute misfortune. Cygnets are soaring into unchartered territory for this crop of young men. Stay tuned for updates on an already remarkable AFL season.
©Robert Hamilton
