The generation headed by Sydney young guns Nick Blakey and Chad Warner has taken the baton from the club elders, as Swans coach John Longmire dismissed the supposed curse on grand final busts.
Veterans Lance Franklin, Luke Parker and Dane Rampe remain important players for the Swans but their hopes for a flag now rest in the hands of the young Bloods.
With 11 of their grand final side aged 24 or under, the Swans in theory are yet to reach the ceiling with their list. No team has invested more games into their 18-22-year-olds.
Swans midfielder Chad Warner is one of the club’s key players for the future.Credit:Getty Images
Warner, 21, is already on the cusp of All-Australian honours. Blakey, 22, has blossomed into a dashing and dependable half-back. Errol Gulden, 20, has the potential to become one of the game’s best small forwards.
In his first two seasons, Franklin’s heir apparent Logan McDonald, 20, has already banked 24 games in a high-flying team as a key forward.
There’s also the highly rated Braeden Campbell, 21, whom Longmire remains bullish about despite his first two years being hit hard by injury.
Having experimented heavily in 2019-20, the Swans are now after stability. Longmire has not ruled out positional switches this season, but any magnet shuffling will be driven more by necessity.
“There’s a balance between throwing blokes around and finding out stuff to making sure your team is settled,” Longmire said.
“Generally, the more successful teams are the more settled teams. They have a good run with injuries and they introduce players who have played together a lot. We’re fortunate a lot of our younger players have played a lot of footy together.
“There’ll be different players we add over the years and hopefully more this year, and develop a really good core so that the reliance on the older guys isn’t there.
“The reality is the heavy lifting will be done by the 25 and under [players]. We still got some really good players in the older age group who contribute and lead really well. There’s a bulk of our team in that 24 and under group who take a lot of the responsibility.”
A no-nonsense, fact-based operator, Longmire scoffs at talk of hoodoos, but he moved swiftly to address the pain from the heavy loss to Geelong, calling his players for a meeting in the days after to check their wellbeing before they dispersed for holidays.
John Longmire says the Swans’ next generation have taken responsibility for the club’s future.Credit:Getty
Of the eight sides that have lost a grand final by 48 points or more since the turn of the millennium, none have won a final the following year.
Adelaide have not made the eight since being trounced by Richmond in 2017, while Greater Western Sydney tumbled to 10th after also being crushed by the Tigers.
Given the age demographics of the Crows and the Giants, their slides may well have happened regardless of the margins, but the psychological toll of grand final defeats is real. Geelong champion Patrick Dangerfield likened the aftermath of the Cats’ 2020 defeat as being in a “dark cave”.
While history is a form guide for some, Longmire gives zero weight to the theory heavy grand final losers are doomed the season after.
“I’m not sure I subscribe to many of those theories that you have absolutely no control over it,” Longmire said. “The word [hoodoo] in itself describes you have no control over anything, it just doesn’t make sense.”
Of more relevance to Longmire was the Cats’ ability to climb the mountain a year after they were humiliated by 83 points in a preliminary final by Melbourne.
“That’s one of the most experienced teams that’s played,” Longmire said. “It happens, no one wants it to happen, we need to learn from it, but it’s happened before, and teams learn and get moving again.”
The Swans’ grand final debrief did not delve into the mechanics of their loss – that was saved for pre-season – but was held to give them closure into the off-season.
“The week after was a get-together, it wasn’t a technical review, it was more a check-in with players and staff how everyone was going before you lose contact with them for 10 weeks,” Longmire said.
“We just talked to see how everyone was going. We then let everyone go. When we got back we got into it a little bit more, not the technical part because not much went right clearly.”
