COME ONE, COME ALL, THE A-LEAGUE IS NO CIRCUS

So there’s national league in our country that is apparently on the verge of signing one of the biggest names in the world. You’d think the response to this news would be an overwhelming tick of approval from all angles. But this isn’t the case.

David Beckham – that’s right -  the global icon and former captain of England and the star of it’s biggest club Manchester United, is reportedly interested in joining the A-League on a 10 week loan from his MLS (Major League Soccer in the US) club, LA Galaxy.

You would think this would be a huge boost for the game, on a local and international scale - not according to some pessimists. Many believe Becks joining the comp would turn the league into a circus.

Excuse me? The A-League has had a dream start to season eight. Turn the clock back to the start of this calendar year, and rich-boys (and club owners) Nathan Tinkler and Clive Palmer were threatening to pull their support, no one was turning up to the games and many were questioning the long term future of the competition.

Since then, three genuine stars (Alessandro Del Piero, Shinji Ono and Emile Heskey) have joined the league, the Western Sydney Wanderers have had an impressive start to their debut season and one of the land’s best sports administrators David Gallop has taken over the top job.

The A-League is the highest domestic football competition in Australia is still in its infant stages, and can’t rest on its laurels like other sports. It can’t be dictated to by tradition knowing that it’s dyed in the wool faithful will continue to support the game through thick and thin.  

All codes have to play to their strengths, and football’s undeniable asset in Australia is its links overseas. It’s the world game. Be proud of it. Embrace it. Pull in players from overseas who have a global reach, like Beckham and Del Piero, to inspire the next generation of Socceroos. The AFL and NRL can’t do this. If it’s not in their backyard, it’s not there.

There are so many options for the current day sports fan that a code has to do whatever it can to stand out from the crowd. Imagine if the bumbling NBL had the chance to secure Kobe Bryant or another aging basketball star for a short-term contract. It would be hailed as one of the great acquisitions.

This is why the Waratahs should be doing what ever it takes to secure a northern-hemisphere marquee signing like Brian O’Driscoll. Instead, those at NSW Rugby throw their arms up saying it’s all too hard, and that they’re satisfied with the playing group they have.

Despite what the anti-Beckham’s say about Mr Posh Spice just being a spectacle, and not adding any substance to the competition, the A-League still needs to grab headlines wherever and whenever it can. When Alessandro Del Piero landed in Australia in the middle of September (yep footy finals month), it featured on news bulletins right across the country. If it wasn’t for this story, the A-League would’ve had a handful of lines deep into the sports section of local newspapers about how [insert local club] is shaping up just weeks out from the season – not quite the blanket coverage that the Italian Superstar drew.

I’ve got sports mad mates who’d never heard of Alessandro Del Piero before he signed with Sydney FC, but since he has and they’ve seen the hype that goes with him, they’re tuning into the A-league and feel associated with a club for the first time since the competitions inception in 2005.

As Del Piero has shown in the months since he left Italy, big names signing bring headlines that lead to improved crowds, television ratings and mainstream interest. This will result in growth in the game. But it will take time.

The naysayers believe that rather than shell out big dollars to sign a 37-year-old,

the money should be invested it in growing and nurturing the game. But remember, the grass roots will only grow, when stars like Beckham shine bright above them.

What do you think? Leave a comment below or get me on twitter at @lmeyrick

Finals Football: The greatest time of year

Welcome to September. The greatest month of all. You can have your spring racing carnivals, or your summer holidays, but for football lovers, Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson said it perfectly following his side’s 91 point win over Gold Coast, “It’s time to turn the heat up, and time to play some finals footy.” 

Every year, I struggle to understand people who plan social events for this month. Yes, I understand that your birthday may fall in the ninth month of the year, but I strongly recommend that if you want people to attend whole-heartedly, either bring the celebration forward or postpone them.

We can still catch up for a bite to eat mid-week if it’s urgent, but please, weekends in September should be sacrosanct. A good mate of mine is a die-hard Crows fan, who on September 29 (Grand Final day) is booked in to attend a wedding in country Queensland. I doubt that when the ball is bounced at 2.30pm that afternoon that all eyes will be on the centre of the MCG. I just can’t fathom the thought of missing the crescendo of the annual festival of football. 

Ok, perhaps I’ve gone too far, but at least some people are paying attention. Slag off our politicians as much as you want, but at least they have learnt that if you want people to listen and pay attention, don’t do it in September. Not since 1946 has a Federal election been held in this month.

So here’s my calendar for the coming weekend, and I hope you’re lucky enough for it to be yours too:

Friday night: Hawthorn v Collingwood

This MCG clash is clearly the match of the round. Neutral fans will be hoping for a repeat of last season’s Preliminary Final that saw the Magpies claw their way back into the contest and advance to the Grand Final by just three points in front of 87,000 fans. The final quarter heroics of Buddy Franklin and Luke Ball led most experts to crown it the match of the season. In 2012, the Hawks have had the better of the Black and Whites, winning both their fixtures by 23 (round 1) and 47 points (round 17). Despite the loss of Brent Guerra, my pick is the Hawks to earn themselves a week off, winning by 26 points.

Saturday afternoon: Adelaide v Sydney

They only met once this year, in a high quality tussle at the SCG where the Crows got over the top of the home side by five points. Some say Adelaide’s favourable draw has seen them finish so high up the ladder, but a top two finish is no fluke. The Crows haven’t met the Swans in a final since 1998, the last year Adelaide won the flag. For the record it was the Crows by 27 points on that occasion, but considering Swans veterans Adam Goodes and Jude Bolton didn’t even debut until the following year, that result should have no impact on Saturday. The loss of Heath Grundy will be a huge loss, but one that can be covered. Lewis Roberts-Thomson is expected to be switched to cover the key defensive post, but don’t be surprised if someone like Matt Spangher comes in for his first match of the season. The Bloods to cause an upset here – Swans by 16 points.

Saturday night : Geelong v Fremantle

What a bizarre situation the Dockers found themselves in at the pointy end of the season – by the time they took to the field on Saturday night against Melbourne, they knew a loss or a win by 12 points or less would see them remain at home for the opening week of the finals taking on cross-town rivals West Coast. But instead Ross Lyon’s men chose not to flirt with their form, and go into Saturday night’s elimination final against the reigning Premier on the back of a 61 point round 23 win. As it turns out, the Dockers most recent final was against the Cats at the same venue. I happened to witness that game from the Ponsford stand and there was nothing memorable for the Fremantle players to take from that match. The men in purple have managed to avoid Geelong since their spiteful round one duel in Perth, that saw the Dockers prevail by four points. I hope you’re as excited as I am about seeing Hayden Ballantyne try and invoke another Matthew Scarlett brain fade this weekend. For mine, the Cats to be too strong, and win by 36 points.

Sunday afternoon: West Coast v North Melbourne

Mid season, it looked like West Coast would finish in the top two, and the Kangaroos would struggle to reach the top eight. Come the first week of the finals though, and home ground advantage is all that is in the Eagles favour. After back-to-back ninth placed finishes, it is a shame the shinboners couldn’t play a final in Melbourne. While the bookies are heavily favouring the home side, a look at their recent form shows West Coast hasn’t been as strong as you’d think. They performed admirably in the final three terms against Hawthorn, played very well against Collingwood to win by 49 points at home, they smashed Port like they should, just fell over the line against the under-manned Cats and got belted by Freo. North have only won two of their past 11 at Patersons Stadium, and despite the home-coming of WA born Chairman James Brayshaw and Captain Andrew Swallow, I expect West Coast to win by 20 points.

I hope you enjoy your footy, in the most glorious of months.

THE POOL DECK IS WHERE FANS ARE WON AND LOST

“I got no response really. I don’t know what to say,” James Magnussen on pool deck in a post-race interview with the Nine Network’s Giaan Rooney.

Ten words is all it took for public opinion to turn on the man dubbed “The Missile”. For those that have been under a rock today, the Australian Men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team fell well short of their predicted gold medal, finishing in fourth place.

No one doubts that the boys gave it their all, and did a better job than anyone reading this, but The Missile isn’t under fire for swimming close to a second slower than his personal best time, it’s his lack of grace on the pool deck that has made him the talk of the nation.

After leading off with a time of 48.03 seconds, the Missile exited the pool and rather than stand on the blocks to cheer home his teammate James Roberts who was doing everything he could to scrape home for a bronze, he sat alone stewing over his poor performance.

Following the disappointing result, Magnussen trudged from the pool, and appeared to brush off the near obligatory post-race interview with two time Olympian and Nine Network presenter Giaan Rooney.

His three teammates swallowed their pride and stopped to speak with the woman that happens to own one of the Olympic Golds that had just slipped through their fingers. When he realised he was alone, the Missile turned back to join them.

The next words out of the 21-year-old’s mouth would be crucial to his public perception from here onwards. He looked uninterested and indulgent when asked what went wrong. The 10 words don’t bother me too much, it’s the way they were said.

 “I got no response really. I don’t know what to say.” He then walked to the back of the group, continuing to look everywhere except at Rooney, displaying the body language of someone who doesn’t know how to lose. The world champion seemed like a different person to the confident and well-spoken swimmer from just hours earlier when he anchored the heat swim as the fastest qualifiers.

Roberts, Eamon Sullivan and Matt Targett handled themselves better than anyone could hope for considering they had just missed out on something they’d be training four years for. They gave Rooney and their fans back home considered and thoughtful responses.

What Magnussen has to realise is that for a current days sports star, your behaviour away from competition is often more important than your performance on the sporting field (or in the pool in his case). Yes we want defeat to hurt, but putting on a brave face is right up there too.

Turn the clock back 24 hours to when reigning Olympic champion Stephanie Rice finished sixth in the 400m Individual Medley. The 24-year-old has had a bumpy road since bringing home three Golds in Beijing four years ago, but she allowed the public to see her raw emotions post-race when she nearly broke down admitting she put everything into the race but it just wasn’t enough.

The Australian public will not turn on you for not winning, but they won’t tolerate athletes that don’t put their hand up and admit they weren’t good enough on the day and congratulate the winners, in this case France.

Win gold in London and he sets himself up for life, with sponsors doing what ever they can to join Mitsubishi, Commonwealth Bank (yes that’s him in those annoying CAN’T ads) and Coles to associate themselves with him.

Rooney later tweeted that “(I) would like everyone to know that Magnussen didn't brush me, he was just walking around in a daze, don't think he even knew I was there.” We have to take the former World Record holders word, but it sure did look like a brush off, and there was no Foxtel interview to follow.

Sullivan, who swam the third leg and was the fastest of the quartet in the finals, also gave his thoughts on social media, tweeting: “Tough night at the office, but proud of the boys. Let's get behind Maggie (Magnussen) and James (Roberts) for their individual (100m freestyle) instead of throwing stones #support.”

Tuesday night (Australian time) he gets his chance to redeem himself, in the heats of the 100m freestyle. Every Australian will be hoping for a better performance from him, both in and out of the pool.

What a difference a couple of hours can make

 I never realised how long 120 minutes can be until last weekend.

A question for fellow sports geeks - what’s the best time zone to live in as a sports fan? There’s probably no perfect answer, but after spending last weekend in Perth for a family commitment, it got me thinking – living in Australia, is it better to live west coast or east coast?

Domestic codes

Living on the east coast as I have for the last three years, I’ve grown used to the major events getting underway at 7.30pm or thereabouts – Wallabies Tests, Friday night footy or the big finals.

After lobbing in Perth on Friday afternoon, that night’s Carlton and Geelong blockbuster quickly arrived and bouncedown took place at 5.50pm, as many footy fans were still on their way home from work or just finishing their first pint at the local.

For a Friday night, it’s a great way to start the weekend, but come shortly after 8pm, you find yourself looking for a nights entertainment. No live footy to keep you busy!

Once again, on Saturdays and Sundays your sporting feast starts early. Just as you finish those delicious poached eggs and over priced (mining boom is taking it’s toll) skinny flat white, the footy jumps back on your TV. No time to read the analysis from the night before, do the house work or pick up those bits and pieces from the shop that would usually fill the early hours of a weekend.

At the other end of the day, once again your local sports entertainment wraps up shortly after the little hand passes the eight. This means watching sport is a lot less of a social occasion for those in the west – rarely do you start your night at a pub to watch the footy and go on from there, because it’s still afternoon!

American sport

With subscription television and social media so much a part of every day life now, supporting your team is rarely contained to a couple of hours on a Saturday. Most of my fellow sports geeks consider themselves passionate fans of teams in most major competitions around the world.

Not only for viewing pleasure, but the great punting opportunities on all these leagues as well. From the NFL played on a chilly Sunday night in Green Bay, or a sunny afternoon at the ball park at Arizona, to a packed Old Trafford for a Premier League fixture, you can easily be an expert from your lounge room in Australia. It’s easier than ever to keep up to date with your favourite athletes, franchises and sports personalities.

The eastern states time zone makes following US sports easier. Primetime US sport beams straight into east coast Australia late morning and across lunchtime, which has been great for anyone wanting to keep across the current NBA Playoffs. Even the US Open golf being played out in San Francisco this week is on air until 11.30am EST. For West Aussies, this part of the day is taken up by the commute to work and churning through the emails that have filled your inbox overnight.

Boxing is another prime example. Going to the pub with mates at Sunday lunch time (as done in the east) to watch the big fights live from Las Vegas loses its charm when its 10am and the cleaners are still cleaning up the damage made the night before by the rowdy fly in fly out miners in Perth.

European sport

But let me flip the coin and talk about sport coming in from Europe… some of Australia’s favourite sporting events come from the Motherland with the Ashes and Wimbledon still up there with the most important sporting events on the calendar.

These two, and other major events coming out of Europe such as the Tour de France, French Open (tennis) and the British Open (golf) are a lot easier to watch in the west.

Last weekend I had Maria Sharapova grunting her way to victory from 9pm. The first ball of the Ashes is bowled at 6pm, meaning stumps are drawn at just 1am and the biggest gears are churned in the peloton well before midnight.  

Through the majority of the EPL season, game of the week can often be seen on Sunday night at 8.30pm in Perth with some of the biggest clubs in world football doing battle in the early English sun.

The Olympics

The London Olympics that begin in just a matter of weeks will hardly be in the favour of either side of the country, with the major gold medal events taking place at night time in London, meaning the wee hours in Australia – for both sides of the country. But any major events that take place during daylight hours should favour the west.

Australian daylight saving that takes place from October to April adds another dimension to this argument but lets leave it at that.

Some US sports writers, the iconic Bill Simmons for one, have been know to re-locate to the west coast of America as the time zone is more favourable for their work covering the major sports. Smart move. I wonder if the same will ever take place Down Under.

TRASH TO TREASURE – IS KENNEDY KING?

Since Rodney Eade took over as coach for the 1996 season, Sydney has only missed the finals on three occasions – 2000, 2002 and 2009. No other club can boast such an impressive record over the same period (West Coast is second best having only missed the top eight on five occasions).

The Swans hierarchy knows that bottoming-out and rebuilding isn’t an option that their fans, sponsors and the media in this fickle market will take kindly too, so they’ve constantly looked outside the box to see who could thrive on the field to keep the club off the field afloat.

Rather than relying on teenagers chosen in the draft, picking up players from other clubs and taking them to another level has become the Swans trademark, and has been the winning formula of keeping them in the finals.

While the likes of Adam Goodes, Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton, Michael O’Loughlin and Paul Kelly have all worn red and white their whole careers, Lockett, Hall, Jolly, Williams and Kennedy have all come from other clubs and shone.

So how do they compare? On the Swans trash to treasure list, who ranks as number one?

10. Ted Richards:  He joined the club for the 2006 season from Essendon and took a few years to find his feet but stepped up when Craig Bolton retired on the eve of the 2011 season. Like Bolton, Richards has the ability to play on a variety of opponents, and has been in career best form this season, consistently opting to take saving marks in his own defensive 50 rather than spoiling. He beat Nick Riewoldt comprehensively twice last year and in round five this year kept Buddy Franklin to just three behinds for the match. Interestingly, both Sam Lonergan and Courtnay Dempsey who Essendon picked up in the swap are shining for the resurgent Bombers.

9. Marty Mattner: He’s the quietly spoken but ever reliable performer in the Swans back six. Mattner joined the Swans at the end of 2007 after 98 games for Adelaide and has only missed one game in those five seasons in Sydney.  At this rate he’ll play his 200 thAFL game in round nine against St Kilda, and may for one of the rare occasions speak to the media.

8. Rhyce Shaw – the son of former Collingwood captain Ray never felt comfortable with the eyes of the football world glaring at him at the Magpies. Now in his fourth season at the Swans, Shaw has taken his game to another level with his run and rebound out of the back 50 and has been rewarded with finishing runner-up twice in the Club Champion award in his time in Red and White. Shaw has been challenged again this season playing as a defensive half forward as well as having some tough tagging roles on Brent Harvey and Cyril Rioli.

7. Shane Mumford – The Boy from Bunyip would clearly be the number one ruckman at his former club Geelong (where he played 21 games) this season with Brad Ottens retired, but instead he may get his opportunity to lead a young Swans line-up to Grand Final glory. A string of back injuries have meant a frustrating 2012 for Mumford, but when he returns, he’s sure to bounce back as one of the games  best ruckmen with a strong presence at ground level. Mumford is not even 25 years old yet, meaning his best rucking years are probably still ahead of him. Geelong have also done well out of this deal with Mitch Duncan (pick 28 in 2009 draft) now a regular in the Cats line up.

6. Darren Jolly – Now leading the Collingwood ruck division, but was also the spearhead of the Swans midfield for five years, and played a starring role in the 2005 Grand Final win. The Swans picked up Jolly from the Demons in exchange for draft pick 15 (Lynden Dunn), and he only missed two games in his five years at the club. Sydney had to part ways with him when he requested a trade back to his native Victoria for he and his young family ahead of the 2010 season. The trade saw the Swans get pick 14 in the draft, opening the way for excitement machine Lewis Jetta to join the club. Jolly has gone on to win another flag at Collingwood. 

5. Craig Bolton – By his own admission, Craig Bolton was at the cross roads when he joined the Swans for the 2003 season. He’d been on the list of competition heavy weights Brisbane for three years but failed to fill a regular spot and only managed 29 games for the Lions. His ability to play on both tall and small forwards led to two All Australian jerseys and in 2005, Bolton was part of the premiership side he so thoroughly deserved. Unfortunately, an ankle injury brought a premature end to his career, leaving the popular ACT product stranded on 199 AFL games.

4. Paul Williams – I bet you forgot about him. After a staggering 189 games for Collingwood, Williams headed north at the end of 2000 and slotted straight into the Swans midfield. He went on to play a further117 games at the Swans and is another member of the 2005 premiership side. When he and his team mates lifted the Cup in September 2005, Williams set the record for the most VFL/AFL matches played before winning a Grand Final. Hawk Shane Crawford broke that record three years later. The man affectionately known as Wilo won back-to-back Club Championships at the Swans with his hard running, pace and booming right boot being a huge asset to the Swans. Williams is still in the AFL system, currently as an assistant coach at Carlton after stints at Melbourne and Western Bulldogs.

3. Josh Kennedy – after playing just 13 games for the club his Father and Grandfather are legends of, Hawthorn showed Kennedy the door. He was considered surplus to requirements in a midfield boasting Brad Sewell, Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell. The Swans swooped with pick 39 in the 2009 draft and since then, Kennedy has forged himself a reputation as one of the competitions best inside midfielders; he’s had the seventh most possessions in the AFL this year, and leads the way in contested possessions (103) and hard ball gets (45). Many believe Kennedy would be currently leading the Brownlow medal count, and most betting agencies have brought him in from 500/1 to the third line of betting at around $8. The 23-year-old, who is under club orders to lay off the weights, is also one of the best midfield marks in the competition with an ability above his head similar to Jimmy Bartel. A premiership with the Swans could take Kennedy to the top of this list. I wonder if Hawthorn is regretting its decision yet?

2. Tony Lockett - Like the song says, “There’s only one Tony Lockett.” The song doesn’t say much else, but it still makes its point. Lockett pulled the Swans out of the doldrums and into the 1996 Grand Final and topped the list of greatest goal kickers of all time while at the club. Plugger was traded north after 183 games and 898 goals at St Kilda, for Robert Neill and the number five draft pick used to grab Joel Smith. Yep, it’s pretty clear who did the better out of that deal. Lockett had grown tired of the media spotlight of being a star footballer in Melbourne, and a more low profile life in Sydney was ideal. Another 98 goals, two more Coleman Medals as the leading goal kicker for the season (he also won two at the Saints) and the final three of his five All Australian jerseys all occurred in his time in the Harbour City.

1. Barry Hall

 - Before you jump up and down and start comparing Hall to Lockett and abuse me for putting Big Bad Bustling Barry above Plugger, think about the premise of this list – trash to treasure, the best trades ever done by the Swans. My reason for the order is that on that final Saturday in September, 2005, when the Swans broke their Premiership drought, it was Barry Hall that held the Cup aloft – a feat Plugger never managed. After six years at the Saints, Hall was also struggling under the harsh media spotlight of Melbourne, and found solace in the relative anonymity of Sydney. His former club did well out of the trade too, using the number 13 pick to grab 200 gamer Nick Dal Santo. Hall went on to be named an All Australian player, Swans co-captain, leading goal kicker seven years in a row and Club Champion (2004). A number of violent on field episodes, injuries and a fall out with coach Paul Roos led to Hall joining the Bulldogs at the end of 2009, but if premierships are what we play this great game for, then in my eyes Barry has to be number one on the list.

Cats and Pies in trouble, but don't write them off yet

A lot of talk this week has been focused on the on and off-field issues surrounding last year’s Grand Finalist’s Geelong and Collingwood and their lackluster start to the season. On the flip side, the hype surrounding both Carlton and North Melbourne’s impressive performances has been overwhelming.

While justified, let’s just keep it in perspective. Yes the Blues are undefeated, one of four sides yet to loose after three rounds, but their rise to flag favourites has been at breakneck speed. This is a team that came into the season on the nose having not won a match in their pre-season campaign. They even went into the season opener against Richmond with many doubting their ability to defend a score.

The Kangaroos have deservedly had a week in the sun. The shin-boners have struggled to defeat top four teams in recent years, and Sunday’s clash with the Cats meant a lot more to the boys from Arden Street than to a Geelong side still recovering from a brusing come from behind win against Hawthorn six days earlier.

So is the reign of the Pies and Cats over? Don’t be silly. Geelong are struggling to fill the roles played by Cameron Ling and Brad Ottens, but don’t forget the defensive fire power that is set to return in the coming weeks will help return the reigning Premier to the top of its game.

Matthew Scarlett, Josh Hunt and David Wojcinski have eight premierships between them and will give Chris Scott the chance to experiment with some of his young developing players in roles that Ling would have filled through the middle rather than crucial back half posts.

Collingwood’s injuries has ruled out six of their top line stars with Dale Thomas and Heath Shaw the latest to join the list. The positive of this situation is that the Pie’s new weekly TV show The Club is a ratings success as the Collingwood Army turn to Pay TV just to get a glimpse of their heroes, albeit in the medical room.

Even with injuries crippling his team in the first half of the season, Nathan Buckley has plenty of winnable games before the mid-year break including Port, Bulldogs, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Melbourne, allowing them to slip into the top eight before the June bye.

We’ll learn a lot about the Magpies in the next week as they host the Power and then line up against traditional foes Essendon just four days later, but with Pendlebury, Swan, Maxwell, Jolly and Cloke still on the field, there are enough wise heads to steer them towards victory.

Some pundits have already told the Pies to book holidays for September, declaring the team unable to make the top eight. Don’t be silly. With the players the first to admit it, the AFL season is a long one with every player needing a rest at some stage.

As one of the games greats Chris Judd put it earlier in the week, three weeks off during the season is ideal, mentally just as much as physically. While the Blues look the goods at this stage of the season, there are no trophies given out at the midway point for being on top. It’s all about timing your run for September.

Last year’s Premier Geelong was not flag favourite at any stage of the 2011 season, until the very week of the Grand Final. Both the Cats and Pies have had less than ideal starts to the year, and they’d be the first to admit it, but it’s an exciting time to see who can rise to the challenge at the right time.

How far can the Swans fly in 2012?

Ahead of last season I said the Swans would make the top four. I said a lot of stupid things in 2011.

I said a comeback to playing footy without a pre-season behind me and five years out of game was realistic. A dislocated shoulder and four hamstring tears later, I admit I was wrong.

So this year, I’m going to be more measured in my predictions… maybe.

The Swans are undefeated after two games, and despite most pundits saying it’s about the round six mark we get a good look at how the ladder is shaping. Coach John Longmire and his staff would be more than happy if Sydney’s current position of fourth on the ladder was locked in until September.

The Swans have a dream draw until the mid-season bye, facing only one of the Big Five (last year’s preliminary finalists plus Carlton), but things get tricky on the run home. Six of the final 11 games are against Big Five clubs so banking every game in the first half of the season is vital.

In the Swans inner-sanctum, the brains trust would secretly be aiming to turn for home with nine, if not 10 wins behind them. They have six games in Sydney, and winnable road trips against opposition that shouldn’t trouble them. It’s doable.

But is the list strong enough? With an absolute champion like Adam Goodes leading the troops, who shows no signs of slowing down despite being beyond 300 games, and another nine 100 gamers behind him, experience is well covered.

It’s toughness your looking for? How do names like Ben McGlynn, Josh Kennedy, Jude Bolton and Jarrad McVeigh sit with you? Pretty well I think.

Shane Mumford has less than 50 games experience, but the boy from Bunyip is quickly working his way into being one of the top three ruckmen in the league.

And flair? Let me introduce you to Lewis Jetta and Gary Rohan. Don’t blink, you might miss them.

From the end of last season, Tadhg Kennelly is the only real loss to the club. The lovable Irishman was having a tough run with his body, and rebounding defenders are not in short supply at the Red and White.

Yes injuries got the better of Daniel Bradshaw and Craig Bolton throughout 2011, but this has seen other players develop quicker than expected to cover the losses.

Recent addition to the 150 games club Lewis Roberts-Thomson, and the ever reliable Teddy Richards have grown in stature to cover Bolton in the key defensive post, and the loss of Bradshaw has given coach John Longmire more room to experiment with the best way to utilise one of the most exciting forward prospects in the game, Sam “Buckets” Reid.

Reid was unstoppable in the first half against Fremantle last Saturday, and lit up the SCG crowd to such an extent that some folk thought One Direction were entering the playing arena.

I have no doubt the Swans can reach the half-way mark of the year sitting in the top two. The challenge comes beyond that when faced with teams that finished above them last year, and show no signs of slowing down in their quest for glory this year.

The Bloods managed an early season win over West Coast, and an inspiring victory against Geelong late in the year at the Cattery in 2011, but more wins against the Big Five will ensure the Swans improve on last year’s sixth position. 

What better way to keep the attention on the club that’s been in Sydney for 30 years than finishing top four, which gives you a double chance, plus a home final. That would be the perfect launching pad to reach that last Saturday in September for the first time in six years.