SYDNEY coach John Longmire hopes a look into the club's recent past will help bring his team back to the future and capable of mixing with the game's elite this season.
And Swans defender Nick Malceski said confronting Collingwood tomorrow night in a NAB Cup quarter-final was the perfect opportunity to test their game plan against the best in the competition and continue working on their ''full ground defence''.
''We've had it [full ground defence] implemented in our game plan last year and throughout all the years 'Roosy' [former coach Paul Roos] was here, but I think it's more emphasised this year about our defence,'' Malceski said yesterday. ''We want to make sure we've got the best defensive team in the league, and it's one thing we have been working on thoroughly this pre-season.
''We're just trying to work on it and make sure we get that right, and hopefully it does hold up against them [Collingwood] because they did the same sort of thing [last season], so we've got to make sure we bring it just as good as they do it.
''They are the best [at defensive pressure] in the league, just their forward pressure and tackling last year was unbelievable, and they started again last week. You look at the best teams in the league, and you try and implement some of the things they are doing, and I think we've done that this year, and hopefully we can implement those things against Collingwood this week.''
While it is ''full ground defence'', much hinges on the defence of the forwards. Tackling and pressure inside the attacking 50-metre arc can result in turnovers that can yield quick, easy goals.
''If you look at when we've played our best footy in the past, in '05 and '06, our pressure was outstanding,'' Longmire said. ''Even last year when we played our best football, our pressure was very good, and we've got to be a bit more consistent in regards to that, and there's no doubt coming up against Collingwood, that will be really tested because they are the best team in the competition from last year.
''In '05-'06, we were in the top two tackling teams in the competition inside our forward 50m, for each year, and that needs to go up again, and we need to make sure we keep concentrating on that, whether that's personnel or strategy.
''The defensive aspect of the game has always been a focus, and that's not just AFL football, that's most sports in the world. If your defensive aspects of your game are right, you tend to look after your offensive side of the game.''
Statistics support Longmire. In 2005 when they won the premiership, the Swans averaged seven tackles inside their forward 50m per game, a figure third in the AFL behind Geelong (7.8) and Brisbane (7.2). The following year when they reached the grand final, the Swans led the league in that category with 10.3 tackles per game, almost two more a game than their nearest rivals.
Each year since, the leading team's figure has grown. Last year, the Swans averaged 10.7 tackles per game, but that figure was only good enough to put them in 10th place in the category, well behind the league-leading Collingwood, who averaged 14.8 tackles a match.
Sydney also had the most miserly defence in 2006, giving up just 1630 points, and were second-best in 2005 with 1696. Last season they conceded 1863 points, the sixth-best in the AFL.
Sydney have included Ryan O'Keefe and Heath Grundy for this week's game, while the Magpies have brought in captain Nick Maxwell, Travis Cloke and Dane Swan.
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