Where did things go wrong for Sydney?
The Swans have fallen well short of expectations to start the 2023 season, having won just three of their first eight games, a far cry from last year’s Grand Final appearance.
While many expected the Swans to suffer some regression after exceeding all expectations last season, few anticipated that John Longmire’s men would sit well outside the eight at this point in the season.
While there are many factors contributing to the Swans’ struggles, Kane Cornes believes they can all be linked back to last off-season.
“The mistake that they made was not any significant changes to their list in the off-season,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“All of the teams that we’re speaking about at the top end of the tree in Geelong and Melbourne and Collingwood and Brisbane, they all made improvements to their list in the off-season, Sydney didn’t do that.
“Maybe they’re hamstrung by the salary cap and all of that, in hindsight (not making a move) was a mistake.
“They didn’t improve their list and the other top teams did and I think that has been a difference for them.”
With no significant additions to the list, injuries form struggles have stood out noticeably in the early goings of the season.
“There’s been some mitigating factors but a lot of clubs have been in similar positions and held up better,” Cornes said.
“By and large they’ve had their full complement of star mids, their star players have been there, they’ve had some personnel issues down back.
“Their small forwards like (Tom) Papley, great one week (and not the next), and then (Isaac) Heeney has kicked seven goals for the year off the back of an All-Australian season.
“I just think they’ve snuck up on us with how poor they’ve been.”
David King believes that injury has played a significant role in Sydney’s form, yet believes the inconsistency of the midfield has been an equally big issue.
“Lost their full back and their All-Australian back pocket leader, and for a period of time their centre half back… their ruckman they’ve lost,” he said.
“Their mids have been poor, their mids have been erratic.
“If you look at their season, not bad numbers, but you go in a bit deeper and they’ll have two poor games then a big game then an average game, they’re all over the place.”
With the Swans having already lost five games in what looks to be a highly competitive season, Cornes believes a loss to Fremantle on Saturday would spell the end for Sydney in 2023.
“Has Sydney’s demise caught us by surprise, because lose this week against Fremantle, that’s it,” he said.
“They’ve only beaten Gold Coast, Hawthorn and Richmond, so teams well and truly in the bottom six of the ladder.
“They’ve been smashed against Melbourne, smashed against Geelong which is very unfamiliar territory for John Longmire.
“They were in the game against Collingwood, they butchered the footy in the third quarter and had their opportunities, but lose to Freo, that’s it, they’re done.”
Sydney will enter the match against the Dockers as favourites in front of their home fans, getting underway at 1:45pm on Saturday at the SCG.