Autopsy Sydney Legacy in Grand Finals continues 10 goal loss to the Lions

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I’m finding my feelings are fluctuating day by day, I’m very much still shock from from that loss, I seem to calm down then I get so disappointed and angry that we did it again in another GF, I know I probably don’t make much sense but to me I would love to see us do something in this trade period, as good as we were I was always dubious that our backline could stand up in big moments, would love a big strong backman that can take huge pack marks, I wouldn’t mind even putting up someone good as Roos said to receive something back.

I just feel for me to have some hope for next year, I just need to see some changes somehow, I believe if we have the same team, they aren’t capable of winning a GF, I kept saying this year, we were too young in 2022 but now we are in a perfect position, 2 years older, had a fabulous run with injuries, everything was in our favour, I just can’t believe they played so badly again, learnt nothing from 2022.

Even coaching changes might give me back my reason to believe in my team again.
You make perfect sense to me, I feel exactly the same.
 

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I dunno about anyone else but I'm getting more and more pissed off about this result with every passing day.

I saw a stat that we have the 14th worst record in grand finals in the comp. I would hazard a guess the disastrous last decade has played a big part in that.

I'm pissed off because there's been so much wastage. Wastage of great seasons, wastage of great players, wastage of fans' time and money trying to get travel & tickets.

I'm pissed off because it's gonna feel hard for literally anything to matter next year. We could go 23-0 in the home & away season with 15 players in the All Australian team and it will be hard to be excited about our chances of ultimate success.

I'm pissed off because you just never know when your time in the sun will be up and you will become the next North, or West Coast, looking at a decade of misery & mediocrity. That would be an incredibly hard pill to swallow knowing we had a decade of sustained success and had nothing to show for it.

I'm pissed off because it feels like so many teams/players/coaches get their fairytale and none of ours do. And in most cases it's been us who have given them (Bulldogs, Matt Spangher, Patrick Dangerfield, Joe Daniher, Chris Fagan)

I'm pissed off because now we are struggling to even keep our hold on the 'how great and successful a club are the Swans' vibe that at least we had for a long time. People are starting to realise there's actually not much point making finals every year if some basket case club can come along and win the same amount of flags as you have this century in just a few short years.

All of the above because of just four games of footy. Although, as I've said numerous times and been consistent with, this year felt like the first where we were kind of asking for it all along, despite notching up the wins.

Just pissed off. Sorry for the rant. Maybe it will be therapeutic reading for some.
 
I dunno about anyone else but I'm getting more and more pissed off about this result with every passing day.

I saw a stat that we have the 14th worst record in grand finals in the comp. I would hazard a guess the disastrous last decade has played a big part in that.

I'm pissed off because there's been so much wastage. Wastage of great seasons, wastage of great players, wastage of fans' time and money trying to get travel & tickets.

I'm pissed off because it's gonna feel hard for literally anything to matter next year. We could go 23-0 in the home & away season with 15 players in the All Australian team and it will be hard to be excited about our chances of ultimate success.

I'm pissed off because you just never know when your time in the sun will be up and you will become the next North, or West Coast, looking at a decade of misery & mediocrity. That would be an incredibly hard pill to swallow knowing we had a decade of sustained success and had nothing to show for it.

I'm pissed off because it feels like so many teams/players/coaches get their fairytale and none of ours do. And in most cases it's been us who have given them (Bulldogs, Matt Spangher, Patrick Dangerfield, Joe Daniher, Chris Fagan)

I'm pissed off because now we are struggling to even keep our hold on the 'how great and successful a club are the Swans' vibe that at least we had for a long time. People are starting to realise there's actually not much point making finals every year if some basket case club can come along and win the same amount of flags as you have this century in just a few short years.

All of the above because of just four games of footy. Although, as I've said numerous times and been consistent with, this year felt like the first where we were kind of asking for it all along, despite notching up the wins.

Just pissed off. Sorry for the rant. Maybe it will be therapeutic reading for some.
I kinda share your views.

But the thing that’s frustrating me (perhaps unreasonably so) - there is seemingly no repercussion for the coach who led us in those 4 games.

I have a bubbling Sack Hinkley vibe going on.
 
I dunno about anyone else but I'm getting more and more pissed off about this result with every passing day.

I saw a stat that we have the 14th worst record in grand finals in the comp. I would hazard a guess the disastrous last decade has played a big part in that.

I'm pissed off because there's been so much wastage. Wastage of great seasons, wastage of great players, wastage of fans' time and money trying to get travel & tickets.

I'm pissed off because it's gonna feel hard for literally anything to matter next year. We could go 23-0 in the home & away season with 15 players in the All Australian team and it will be hard to be excited about our chances of ultimate success.

I'm pissed off because you just never know when your time in the sun will be up and you will become the next North, or West Coast, looking at a decade of misery & mediocrity. That would be an incredibly hard pill to swallow knowing we had a decade of sustained success and had nothing to show for it.

I'm pissed off because it feels like so many teams/players/coaches get their fairytale and none of ours do. And in most cases it's been us who have given them (Bulldogs, Matt Spangher, Patrick Dangerfield, Joe Daniher, Chris Fagan)

I'm pissed off because now we are struggling to even keep our hold on the 'how great and successful a club are the Swans' vibe that at least we had for a long time. People are starting to realise there's actually not much point making finals every year if some basket case club can come along and win the same amount of flags as you have this century in just a few short years.

All of the above because of just four games of footy. Although, as I've said numerous times and been consistent with, this year felt like the first where we were kind of asking for it all along, despite notching up the wins.

Just pissed off. Sorry for the rant. Maybe it will be therapeutic reading for some.
I kind of already felt this way this year. It was a good home and away season, elim and prelim overall, minus the slump, so plenty of temporary reward along the way.

But after our first half of the year, it became clear that only a flag was going to be a pass mark for us. And I still wasn't that confident we could get past the final obstacle.

This will help next year to some degree, seeing as I did enjoy most matches even while knowing we could bottle it at the end.

If we actually show that we have made some changes, on and off field, it will help. Even if it's false hope, you can still think that it might change the outcome, whereas if we look like we're just carrying on as usual, we don't have anything to hold onto.
 
I kinda share your views.

But the thing that’s frustrating me (perhaps unreasonably so) - there is seemingly no repercussion for the coach who led us in those 4 games.

I have a bubbling Sack Hinkley vibe going on.
Whether it would be right or wrong, if Horse didn't coach a NSW team there would've been a fork stuck in him a while ago. He escapes a lot of pressure and scrutiny being out of the media's spotlight and I'm sure even he'd agree.
 
I dunno about anyone else but I'm getting more and more pissed off about this result with every passing day.

I saw a stat that we have the 14th worst record in grand finals in the comp. I would hazard a guess the disastrous last decade has played a big part in that.

I'm pissed off because there's been so much wastage. Wastage of great seasons, wastage of great players, wastage of fans' time and money trying to get travel & tickets.

I'm pissed off because it's gonna feel hard for literally anything to matter next year. We could go 23-0 in the home & away season with 15 players in the All Australian team and it will be hard to be excited about our chances of ultimate success.

I'm pissed off because you just never know when your time in the sun will be up and you will become the next North, or West Coast, looking at a decade of misery & mediocrity. That would be an incredibly hard pill to swallow knowing we had a decade of sustained success and had nothing to show for it.

I'm pissed off because it feels like so many teams/players/coaches get their fairytale and none of ours do. And in most cases it's been us who have given them (Bulldogs, Matt Spangher, Patrick Dangerfield, Joe Daniher, Chris Fagan)

I'm pissed off because now we are struggling to even keep our hold on the 'how great and successful a club are the Swans' vibe that at least we had for a long time. People are starting to realise there's actually not much point making finals every year if some basket case club can come along and win the same amount of flags as you have this century in just a few short years.

All of the above because of just four games of footy. Although, as I've said numerous times and been consistent with, this year felt like the first where we were kind of asking for it all along, despite notching up the wins.

Just pissed off. Sorry for the rant. Maybe it will be therapeutic reading for some.
I hear ya C88!

I feel the same.
As time has passed since the debacle, the word "wasted" is the best description for our last 12 years.
We had Buddy for the best part of it & still couldn't capitalise in Grand Finals.

A prelim at home is our limit.

I've given in to thinking it may be 30 -60 years before we play in another GF.
That's how much for granted these last 4 have been taken by the players.
I'm curious to see how many of the current group that played in both the 22 & 24 GF losses & even the 14 loss will ever experience another GF either with us or elsewhere in their careers.
I say they are damaged goods on that day going forward.
It sounds extreme but since 2014, they've had 3 more chances to prove me wrong & gotten worse.
 
I dunno about anyone else but I'm getting more and more pissed off about this result with every passing day.

I saw a stat that we have the 14th worst record in grand finals in the comp. I would hazard a guess the disastrous last decade has played a big part in that.

I'm pissed off because there's been so much wastage. Wastage of great seasons, wastage of great players, wastage of fans' time and money trying to get travel & tickets.

I'm pissed off because it's gonna feel hard for literally anything to matter next year. We could go 23-0 in the home & away season with 15 players in the All Australian team and it will be hard to be excited about our chances of ultimate success.

I'm pissed off because you just never know when your time in the sun will be up and you will become the next North, or West Coast, looking at a decade of misery & mediocrity. That would be an incredibly hard pill to swallow knowing we had a decade of sustained success and had nothing to show for it.

I'm pissed off because it feels like so many teams/players/coaches get their fairytale and none of ours do. And in most cases it's been us who have given them (Bulldogs, Matt Spangher, Patrick Dangerfield, Joe Daniher, Chris Fagan)

I'm pissed off because now we are struggling to even keep our hold on the 'how great and successful a club are the Swans' vibe that at least we had for a long time. People are starting to realise there's actually not much point making finals every year if some basket case club can come along and win the same amount of flags as you have this century in just a few short years.

All of the above because of just four games of footy. Although, as I've said numerous times and been consistent with, this year felt like the first where we were kind of asking for it all along, despite notching up the wins.

Just pissed off. Sorry for the rant. Maybe it will be therapeutic reading for some.

Even the Gold Coast Suns have never lost a grand final!
 
Not a bad little article. Pretty sure most of us are well aware of this stuff and where we are. I see a lot of anger (understandable!) and am trying to get myself past depression and into testing.
I imagine the players and coaches are dealing with the same issues.
FWIW
 
2012-2024 will be seen in retrospect as a wasted period for sydney.

what we really wasted was the fact that for about 5 seasons the competition was suffering from the formation of gold coast and the creation of GWS and so the talented teams that were in the league stayed talented. we stuffed that up by putting all the eggs into the buddy basket - which wasnt a terrible idea except it was terrible because we had just got tippett. and we effed up the COLA at the same time.

It was well worth the shot at the stumps but once it went our ability to attract other players from other clubs started to fall over. the hawks were able to use players like spanger and lake to negate players like him because we could no longer afford that sort of supplement.

then we wasted the next advantage when we even got heeney and mills for a tippence when this was still possible.

we have rebuilt twice in that time - the 2012 team became the 2016 team which has become the 2022-2024 team.

for the next decade possibly until afl takes over nrl (if this is even possible) in sydney we are going to lose players to the lure of their home states. i am with luke parker no 1 on this - we need to buy low and sell high as often as possible. if we could get a top tier pick this season for chad we should because i dont think horse or this team can get back up there - there are too many holes in the list which have been covered over. i just cant see us covering over them again for a full season.

as ive said elsewhere in this thread - being in attendance at the port game reinforced to me that the team wasnt going all that well. it was winning games through amazing bursts but it had long ceased to be the 13 and 1 side of round 14. It was, rather, a side that could score well but was regularly turning it over, and could be scored against reasonably easily.

This team i was the least confident of in any finals series. I thought we were more chance in 2021 - i reckon if wed beaten the giants we could have beaten anyone and i felt in 2023 we could have beaten carlton and melbourne with confidence. i felt that this season we were at the stage where anyone could have beaten us and on the day i reckon about 14 teams would have beaten the team that turned up a week or so ago. It doesnt make me happy to say that.

I'm flat because i have doubts like everyone else now that this team has the capacity to rise again. We need mills both in the backline and the midfield because rampe has been the mr fixit for 5 + years in the backline and the midfield stinks. we need someone like hayward or papley in the forward line and we need a stubborn coach to realise that the teams he keeps putting out are too tall forward of the ball and he needs to adjust
 
This team i was the least confident of in any finals series. I thought we were more chance in 2021 - i reckon if wed beaten the giants we could have beaten anyone and i felt in 2023 we could have beaten carlton and melbourne with confidence. i felt that this season we were at the stage where anyone could have beaten us and on the day i reckon about 14 teams would have beaten the team that turned up a week or so ago. It doesnt make me happy to say that.
Great post, with which I agree with almost everything, but I singled this paragraph out particularly, because it's exactly how I feel.

On the surface it seemed like kiiiiiind of a dominant year. 13-1 at one stage, three games and percentage clear at one stage, finished minor premiers, won both finals to get to the GF, won the prelim comfortably. Dominated the All Australian, dominated the Brownlow voting (for what those are worth - nothing, IMO.) Highest-scoring team all year.

Etc.

And yet I had more doubts and reservations about this team than I did any of the teams in 2014, 2016 or 2022. After about the mid-way point of the season I just did not feel I was watching a team good enough to win a premiership.
 

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If* we have identified small forwards as an area we're lacking, that makes me think maybe the coaches weren't sure of Caiden Cleary's inexperience in finals. Because if we wanted to add a small into the mix, he was RIGHT THERE, and was stiff to be dropped in the first place.

*I say 'if' we've identified small forwards as an area we're lacking, because I'm not actually sure that the club has identified that. But our supposed interest in Riley Garcia would suggest possibly.
 
If* we have identified small forwards as an area we're lacking, that makes me think maybe the coaches weren't sure of Caiden Cleary's inexperience in finals. Because if we wanted to add a small into the mix, he was RIGHT THERE, and was stiff to be dropped in the first place.

*I say 'if' we've identified small forwards as an area we're lacking, because I'm not actually sure that the club has identified that. But our supposed interest in Riley Garcia would suggest possibly.
Let’s be honest though . Cleary isn’t a small foward. He’s an inside mid. It’s a genuine small forward we need. Not a make shift apprentice . No offence to Cleary buts that not his game.
 
Let’s be honest though . Cleary isn’t a small foward. He’s an inside mid. It’s a genuine small forward we need. Not a make shift apprentice . No offence to Cleary buts that not his game.
True, but he was better than literally any of the options at our disposal from a pressure stand point. So either we didn't rate pressure enough or we didn't rate Cleary to be able to bring it in finals. Not sure which. Maybe both.
 
True, but he was better than literally any of the options at our disposal from a pressure stand point. So either we didn't rate pressure enough or we didn't rate Cleary to be able to bring it in finals. Not sure which. Maybe both.
Forward pressure isn’t a priority of horse by going with 3 talls, two of which are absolute statues
 
Forward pressure isn’t a priority of horse by going with 3 talls, two of which are absolute statues
Three talls is pretty standard though. Heck even Freo finally had three talls going for most of this year. But it only works if countered with an elite pressure and ground ball game, which we definitely didn't have.

The three talls have their issues for sure, but that Papley/Hayward/Parker/Jordon group was just as much of an issue IMO, despite obviously being better players.

No marking presence in the air + no quality posing a threat on the ground = dysfunctional forward line.
 
Three talls is pretty standard though. Heck even Freo finally had three talls going for most of this year. But it only works if countered with an elite pressure and ground ball game, which we definitely didn't have.

The three talls have their issues for sure, but that Papley/Hayward/Parker/Jordon group was just as much of an issue IMO, despite obviously being better players.

No marking presence in the air + no quality posing a threat on the ground = dysfunctional forward line.
Freo counteract it with Freddy and switkowski up forward.

We have paps but he’s not exactly a defensive pressure player . Like wise hayward.
 
True, but he was better than literally any of the options at our disposal from a pressure stand point. So either we didn't rate pressure enough or we didn't rate Cleary to be able to bring it in finals. Not sure which. Maybe both.
We rated Parker above Cleary. It was a choice about pressure v experience. Some would say (not me mlord) Parker did his job v port and it was not his fault, I can see the argument but I’m unconvinced. In any case it was the midfield and the coaches selections. But I’m too annoyed to really engage
 

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Autopsy Sydney Legacy in Grand Finals continues 10 goal loss to the Lions

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