John Longmire says the Swans’ midfielders are usually not as “mature and hardened” because the Melbourne group which reduce them aside on Sunday on the MCG.
Sydney suffered its second massive loss in two video games on the Melbourne venue, with a big deficit in contested ball in opposition to the Demons much like how final yr’s grand ultimate unfolded.
Christian Petracca (187cm, 94kg) and Clayton Oliver (189cm, 88kg) had been dominant in Melbourne’s 50-point win after the powerfully constructed Patrick Dangerfield did the harm final September, however Longmire stated big-bodied opponents won’t be a weak spot for the Swans if they’ll ship extra constant effort.
“It’s tough in this game to be consistent every week; you need to make sure your highs and lows are smoothed out a little bit,” he stated.
“The Melbourne midfield are three years on average more mature than us; we need to look at those guys and understand they’re a mature, hardened team.
“We think we’ve taken a step in that journey and our players are learning all the time, but you’ve just got to keep at that level … sometimes when you drop off a little bit, the best teams can expose that.”
The Swans will face Port Adelaide on the SCG on Saturday evening, an opponent they’ve been unable to beat of their final six encounters.
Longmire stated the Power, who’re coming off a bruising Showdown loss, would current an “exciting challenge” with a equally mature midfield group to the Demons.
“They’ve got some hardened, mature bodies and we need to make sure that we play that sort of level of intensity for four quarters that’s been lacking the last couple of years against them,” he stated.
“We look at other things we can hopefully get better at, which is the contested ball and our pressure around the footy that dropped away.”
Longmire weighed in on the AFL’s defence of umpire interpretations of the dissent rule, saying gamers merely “had to get on with it” after a choice they didn’t like as a result of a 50m penalty was too pricey.
Will Hayward was penalised for dissent in opposition to the Demons, however Longmire stated the Swans ahead’s phrases had been directed at his opponent and that the umpire had misinterpret the scenario.
“We understand it’s a big penalty, so if a decision’s right, understand it … if it’s borderline, it’s a big penalty,” he stated.
“You can’t say anything that leaves it up to interpretation for that particular umpire, so we’ll work on what we can control, but as I said to Will, don’t say it to the player.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
