The rise of the black swan

At the start of 2005 the Swans had not won a premiership for 72 years Now in the Paul Roos John Longmire era they have become an understated efficient footballing machine with two flags This is the story of how the Swans changed the direction of their club establishing their own blueprint for winning spirited team performance a never say die attitude and a refusal to deviate from the plan This is the culture people speak about But success is not easily won at this level Smart drafting and trading turning so called strays into role playing premiership players and incredible injury management have been critical to the story Names such as Richard Colless Andrew Ireland Paul Roos and John Longmire sit alongside Adam Goodes Brett Kirk Jarrad McVeigh Jude Bolton Ryan O Keefe Barry Hall Leo Barry Nick Malceski and Dan Hannebery The legend of the Bloods has been passed on No longer merely a bunch of blue collar workers who pinched a premiership in 2005 the Sydney Swans who hoisted the cup again in 2012 are a fine tribute to their South Melbourne forebears Hard Disciplined Relentless It s not just about the premiership It s the way we re respected in the football world We never ever had that before Bob Skilton The Rise of the Swans A Decade of Success 2003 2012Martin Blake has written on sport for than 25 years most of it with The Age in Melbourne He has covered every AFL season since 1986 and several Olympic Games Commonwealth Games US Masters golf tournaments the British Open Championship and various Australian cricket tours He has won numerous awards for writing on Australian football cricket and golf and is a member of the MCG Media Hall of Fame He also broadcasts on sport for the ABC Martin plays far too much golf and lives in Melbourne. The rise of the swansguard Okay ended up changing this from four and a half to five stars after all it is about the Sydney Swans This book is a must for any Sydney Swans supporter or any footy fan who wants an insight into this great club over recent years I read every word and loved the colour pictures of special times English They were once the ugly duckling of the AFL At the beginning of 2005 the Swans hadn t won a premiership for 72 years They d started off in South Melbourne but after a move to the Harbour City in 1982 became the Sydney Swans Throughout the late 80s and early 90s they were a laughingstock Recruits like Tony Plugger Lockett helped elevate them to finals and even a grand final in 1996 But in the early 200o s the team lost valuable experienced players and halfway through the season in 2002 the coach walked. Rise of the black swan book Paul Roos was appointed as caretaker coach with 10 rounds to go of the 2002 season and everyone knew that it would either be a success or a disaster it is the way of caretaker coaches He secured the job permanently by presenting to the board a three year plan culminating in a flag in 2005 The board sold Paul Roos began to implement his changes in playing style and importantly culture. Rise waynesboro facebook The rest is history A flag in 2005 A heartbreaking one point grand final loss in 2006 to the team they d beat by 4 points the year before Top 8 and finals every year but 2009 thereafter Roos departed at the end of 2010 paving the way for his successor John Longmire And two years after he began they had another flag in 2012 beating Hawthorn in a back and forth game by 10 points. Book the rise of the swans pdf They d gone from a team that people laughed at to one that people admired and deeply respected From having their game mocked as ugly by the head of the AFL to having it as one that teams often try and imitate to shut other teams down Despite this the Swans still have a knack of flying under the radar and many were still stunned in 2012 when they defeated the hot favourites The Rise Of The Swans seeks to get to the bottom of how the team turned itself around how the players and coaches implemented a tightly knit brotherhood a culture that is the envy of others The Bloods Hard Disciplined Relentless. The rise of the swansabers trailer Anyone who follows me on twitter knows that I m a passionate Sydney Swans fan I came late to the game I was 24 when I began to follow them in 2006 I d moved to Victoria and told that I simply had to pick a team It was the way it went I was from NSW I was born in Sydney For me they were the only choice And it s been that way ever since I had missed them win a grand final in 2005 but experienced the anticlimactic one point loss in 2006 In 2012 I found myself bawling again but this time because they d done it I knew there could be long gaps between drinks in this game after all South Melbourne Sydney had gone 72 years It was possible that I would never again experience that moment. What time do the swans play today And so I am the perfect audience for this book a devoted fan but a relatively new one who doesn t know a lot about the changes I would ve offered my firstborn for a review copy a budding Swans fan himself who likes to pretend to kick it to Goodesy It goes through each year from the time Roos was handed the reins and examines the creation of the culture its implementation and how it saw results on the field There are player profiles of the 2005 and 2012 premiership winning players and in depth looks at them and their coaches Paul Roos and his methods are explored as is the way in which he went about bringing the group together making it something that became like breathing When Roos left the job went to his assistant coach John Longmire someone who knew and understood the way that Sydney worked He s not Roos and no one could deny his successes as a coach in his own right but he came from the inside It examines the leadership group and the trend of older players mentoring the younger recruits helping them adjust and settle in to their new and often demanding life They help them embrace the culture and let them know without any reservations when they re not playing or acting up to scratch Sydney is a team and there s no room for any egos or anyone who puts the individual above the greater need of the collective. Book the rise of the swans review I cannot say how many times I have watched the 2012 grand final my husband would estimate it to be around fifteen but he s at work a lot and I find myself putting it on at night sometimes when he s not home So that s a conservative guess really I d say it s like 20 with the final quarter probably about 25 I have relived Nick Malceski s final snap a million times in my head probably the way that people after 2005 relived Leo Barry s amazing mark There are so many amazing highlights from that game Daniel Hannebery s sensational body crunching mark Mitch Morton s incredible two goals Lewis Jetta streaking away from Cyril Rioli like it was nothing Goodesy s goal and of course Malceski s that sealed the deal I can watch that game and never get bored even when we re losing I know that had we not lost the toss which meant we kicked with the howling wind in the 2nd and final quarter it could ve gone very differently But it wouldn t have changed how I feel about my team They gave their everything that day through crippling injuries and all Watching them this year I am beginning to appreciate their effort to make consecutive grand finals in 2005 and 2006 and also other teams like Brisbane who not only made three grand finals in a row in 2001 2002 and 2003 but won them all. Book the rise of the swans summary This book lets me relive than that moment I only have the semi final against Collingwood and the grand final recorded on my hard drive but with this book I can jump into various points in the last 10 years and learn or remember It isn t just about the game and the results it s about the people too No Swans fan would ever forget beating Geelong at their home ground in 2011 mere days after co captain Jarrad McVeigh and his wife Clementine said goodbye to their one month old baby girl Geelong had won 29 consecutive games at Kardinia Park going there was a guaranteed loss until that day when the Swans drew together and gave the best gift they could Few people would forget seeing McVeigh and his wife embracing after the grand final their new daughter Lolita in their arms It s just as much about family as it is about anything else and they are all a family It s about courage strength and determination Bad stories from football get plenty of press but the good stories are there as well if you look for them and there are plenty contained within this book, The rise of the swans book characters If you re a Swans fan or you know one buy this book It s a must have for anyone who barracks for the Bloods English