Dane Swan says we lost focus.

[Skade]

From CFC website.

COLLINGWOOD midfielder Dane Swan believes the Magpies became slightly complacent in recent weeks after stringing together a winning streak and cementing their spot in the top eight.

Before Sunday's 30-point loss to Carlton, Collingwood had won four games in a row and were being tabbed as giant-killers after thrashing 2007 premier Geelong, destroying former powerhouse West Coast by 100 points, and defeating St Kilda.

Last weekend, the Pies were far from convincing in their 21-point win over Melbourne, and after being dumped in a fourth-quarter charge by the Blues on Sunday, Swan believes the side may have started to believe its own publicity.

"Maybe we got a little bit ahead of ourselves and didn't stick to our structures as much as we have in the past weeks," he told collingwoodfc.com.au after the loss.

"We became the hunted rather than staying the hunters, and hopefully we can resurrect that this week and come out against the Bulldogs and put on a good show."

But Swan, 24, believes it's not just above the shoulders where the cracks had shown in recent weeks, and is looking forward to a weekend off in a fortnight's time to rest his body.

"I think it's a bit of both, mental and physical, at the moment," he said.

"They ran over the top of us in the last 15 minutes, and it does get a bit mental because you can drop your head and realise, 'It's going to happen again'.

"But in saying that, we've got a good group of young guys and we're mentally strong and tough, and we've just got to show that again this week.

"It's always good to get a break in the middle of the year to refresh the body and have a weekend off. I'm looking forward to that, but we've got one more game before we worry about that."

The Magpies will now face the Western Bulldogs next Sunday in a twilight match at Telstra Dome, with the Dogs on a high following their 63-point win over the Brisbane Lions on Saturday afternoon.

Swan said the loss to Carlton has given the Magpies plenty to work on this week as they prepare to face the third-placed Bulldogs.

"The Bulldogs are one of the best sides in the league, and it's going to be a massive challenge for us to come up against a side that's on fire like that," he said.

 

[Dave The Man]

and He is spot on when we got 4 goals up we just lost focus and played like we won it.

All of our losses accept the Thrashing the Hawks gave us have had the same problem happen

 

[didaka]

Although I'm still furious after the loss yesterday, I think in the whole scheme of things it may give us a chance to re-focus and re-asses where we are at and move into the next 3 weeks which are huge for our footy club and show some character because the next 3 games will shape our season.

I just hope they're reminded all week long about the insipid performance they put in yesterday.

Quietly confident we can come out and have a real red hot dip next Sunday.

 

[Snag Breac]

What is this we-began-to-believe-our-own-publicity tripe? Surely team members aren't so stupid or so spiritless as to keep making the same basic mistake? They're getting well paid to do a job. They should be wild after the ball every week, no excuses.

 

[Nardz]

i think what he should be saying is "half of my team mate are a bunch of gutless front runners"

 

[sirlothie]

Yeah we should spit the same venom as we did at Geelong every week, not try to find motivation week by week won't work... the prize at the end should be the goal each week and each week just another step to that.

That's how Geelong finally did it.

Inexperience I guess... we forget how young most of these guys really are...

 

[thatday]

Excuses, excuses, excuses. I don't care about the excuses, I want them to go out on Sunday and get back the respect they lost yesterday.

Believeing their own publicity, ffs, come on.

 

[shawthing09]

When we lost to them in round 4 swanny said we weren't mentally ready, now we lost focus the fact is we weren't good enough and excuses don't change that. If we weren't good enough because we didn't want it enough or lost focus all the more reason to be livid

 

[Somebody]

Have to have the hunter mentality even if you're 4 games clear on top. I think Brisbane had it every game through the 3-peat period.

 

[Chase the Ace]

i think what he should be saying is "half of my team mate are a bunch of gutless front runners"

the bastards

 

[The Royal Sampler]

I'm kinda sick of the rhetoric. It's so easy to explain away losses these days. We would have said the exact same thing after the last loss to Carlton, and then MM came out with the predictable statements about how we'd learned from it prior to this more recent loss. It's all nonsense. The scoreboard is what matters.

 

[Kirby]

I'm kinda sick of the rhetoric. It's so easy to explain away losses these days. We would have said the exact same thing after the last loss to Carlton, and then MM came out with the predictable statements about how we'd learned from it prior to this more recent loss. It's all nonsense. The scoreboard is what matters.

The funny thing is that Swan did say almost exactly the same thing after the last loss to Carlton.

It's all just lame excuses.

 

[Big Bucks]

I'm kinda sick of the rhetoric. It's so easy to explain away losses these days. We would have said the exact same thing after the last loss to Carlton, and then MM came out with the predictable statements about how we'd learned from it prior to this more recent loss. It's all nonsense. The scoreboard is what matters.

I have said it before and i will say it again,Malthouse is the great deflector,always makes other people (specialist coaches, players, rules of the game committee) take the heat for which he should take.
Get a grip Mick and take some resposibilities for once.
You are a survivor without doubt! at whose expense?
You won your only 2 flags when you had a state team, and when the competition expanded you absolutely left the West Coke Eagles list in tatters.
Take the heat for once you hard headed deflector.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

"Maybe we got a little bit ahead of ourselves and didn't stick to our structures as much as we have in the past weeks

I cringed when Fev said that Collingwood thought they were 'it and a bit' in his post match interview on the field as it tends to fire people up, but maybe Swan is saying pretty much the same thing here.

Wasn't it Jack Dyer who said something about 90% of playing football being between the ears?

 

[sirlothie]

Wasn't it Jack Dyer who said something about 90% of playing football being between the ears?

He wasn't lying. There is no other reason teams should jump from such highs to such lows so quickly. Carlton played well though.

I would love to see a Carlton-Collingwood Elimination Final this year and I'd probably back it in right now...

Although top 4 would obviously be the preference...

 

[alfiiee]

Jack was right..

90% of football is above the shoulders..

We need to stop with the excuses, last yr every week all we heard was how good the altitude training was.. we did the same training this year yet we've lost 3 important games when we have been in positions where we should have won (leading late in the game brisbane, North, recent Carlton). its all nonsense, just depends on how prepared you are on the day and how much you really want it..

i hear a lot of people say relax guys its just one game..
well its not really its now 3 games that we should of had that could of set us a place in the top 4, its going to be extremely difficult to bring home the flag without a top four finish.

Everything was working to plan aswell with the losses to Adelaide and Brisbane

 

[kevind]

I'm kinda sick of the rhetoric. It's so easy to explain away losses these days. We would have said the exact same thing after the last loss to Carlton, and then MM came out with the predictable statements about how we'd learned from it prior to this more recent loss. It's all nonsense. The scoreboard is what matters.

Absolutely, if there was a premiership for making excuses, we would win it every year. "getting ahead of ourselves, opposition were hyped up , umpiring, big game fatigue.... boy does it ever end. It's a losing mindset.

 

[toorakbum]

If what Swan says is true then that makes me even angrier. How the ____ can we be complacent against Carlton, of all teams?

Pull your heads in, lads.

Personally I think it's more that we are Fevola's bitches, and don't have a single defender who can handle him. Midfielders can get alot of confidence if they know they can get the ball inside 50 and hit up the big man every time, which is what seemed to happen. Plus we weren't belted out of the middle, no, we were obliterated.

I usually buy into the mental aspects of elite football, but I find it very hard to believe that our boys went into a match against our most hated opposition complacent. We were just beaten on the day, simple as that.

 

[mattys123]

I can believe every word that Swan says there, he is the last player who would make an excuse, he is just telling it like it is.

What he has said is a criticism of the preparation, will and determination we showed on Sunday.

Unfortunately it has happened 3 times this year, when we have been in winning positions against "lower" teams, and we have lost.

Brisbane; 3 goals up at 3/4 quarter time.

Nth; 3 Goals up 1/2 way through the last.

Carlton; 4 goals up 1/2 way through the 3rd, scores level with 10 to go.

This has to question the mental toughness of our team as a whole, when on a consistent basis only a few players run out the game (i refuse to believe that we are unfit compared to 3 other sides).

Unfortunately, we may be developing as Swan said that "Here we go again" feeling, made famous by the Fremantle Footy Club.

 

[spartan-magpie]

If what Swan says is true then that makes me even angrier. How the ____ can we be complacent against Carlton, of all teams?

Pull your heads in, lads.

Personally I think it's more that we are Fevola's bitches, and don't have a single defender who can handle him. Midfielders can get alot of confidence if they know they can get the ball inside 50 and hit up the big man every time, which is what seemed to happen. Plus we weren't belted out of the middle, no, we were obliterated.

I usually buy into the mental aspects of elite football, but I find it very hard to believe that our boys went into a match against our most hated opposition complacent. We were just beaten on the day, simple as that.

a fit presti would cancel out a fit fevola... i dont care what anyone says but for us to win the flag this year we need presti back being the human blanket that he is so good at...

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Presti is still in his 30's. We need to draft another tall KP defender this year, as a priority along with a couple of mids. Mid - KP Def - Hannebery - Cousins - Reed suits me just fine.