Sydney's chances balance on Tigers game
Jenny McAsey
The Australian
July 22, 2006
SYDNEY is on a see-saw. Lose to Richmond tonight and its hopes of winning back-to-back flags will crash to the ground. If the Swans win, backman Tadhg Kennelly believes the chances of winning another premiership will be on the up.
It has been a tough week for the Sydney players, who had to lift their heads quickly after a two-point loss to West Coast, and deal with the ongoing drama surrounding the future of Nick Davis.
But Kennelly, ever the Irish optimist, said yesterday the players had a rock solid belief they could achieve the ultimate prize.
"We definitely think we can still win the premiership, although it is not something you think about too much at this stage of the year," Kennelly said.
"It puts us under a lot of pressure if we lose to Richmond. We haven't got a whole lot of games left and we have come to the realisation that it is a really important game for us and we have to win to stay in contention.
"But the most invaluable thing I learned last year and we learned as a team is that you can never really count yourself out of winning a premiership. The Geelong game proved that last year."
There has been a sense of deja vu at the Swans this week. Last year they had a similarly wretched loss to West Coast in Perth but, after a pep talk from coach Paul Roos who told them not to hang their heads, they bounced back to beat the Cats in the semi-final at the SCG.
Roos delivered a similar message last Saturday.
"As soon as the game was over we started to re-group down in the rooms," Kennelly said. "Roosy said 'I don't want anyone to have their heads down, this will be a real test for the group, we have seven games left to play and let's get on with it'. From then the players forgot about it and tried to get their bodies right for Richmond this week."
Sydney annihilated Richmond by 118 points when they last met in round seven, but Kennelly expects a different Tigers team will turn up tomorrow night.
"They are very confident and have some good wins under their belt," he said.
Tigers ruckman Troy Simmonds will be the danger man and a big job for Swans ruckman Darren Jolly, who suffered concussion against West Coast.
"Simmonds is in great form, in All-Australian form for a ruckman," Kennelly said. "With Darren injured last week, it will be a big test for him. But, if we can match them in the hard ball, we should be right."
It has been raining constantly in Sydney this week, and the Swans will have to learn from their loss to St Kilda in wet conditions at the SCG six weeks ago.
"Against St Kilda we panicked," Kennelly said. "Because it was wet we started bombing the ball in. Even though it is wet you can still be composed with the football and back your skills, that is the major thing we learnt from it."
For the Tigers, the match is a chance to create some history and show how far they have come since they last played Sydney, according to coach Terry Wallace.
"I don't think there's ever been a side in the history of the game that's come back from over 100 points and won on the opposition's home ground the next time around," Wallace said. "I think it's been done 18 or 19 times in the history of the game, that sides have won the next time around, but never away from home, all those games have been won at their home venues.
"For us to win on the weekend, we'd be making history so, obviously, it's a huge turnaround but something of an opportunity I suppose."
Both teams have eight wins and are separated only by percentage, with Sydney in seventh place and Richmond ninth on the ladder.
After Sydney, the Tigers play St Kilda and the Bulldogs, both teams vying with them for spots in the finals.
"The next three weeks will be really key to us but we're really pleased with where we're at, we really look forward to the challenge," Wallace said.
"I look at it this way: that 18 months ago we were the laughing stock of the competition, we'd lost 14 games in a row and here we are playing in a game which will decide which side gets in the eight."
Wallace said the pressure was on the reigning premiers.
"So I think the pressure is on (Sydney) and we can enjoy ourselves," Wallace said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19867787-36035,00.html
