Sydney are confident they have exorcised their demons after undergoing a “tough” review of their AFL grand final flop.
Some two months on from their 60-point hammering from Brisbane, new Swans coach Dean Cox officially began his tenure with a day-long review of their September nightmare.
Sydney, after dominating the 2024 season to win the minor premiership, were bullied into submission by a forceful Brisbane outfit that went on a seven-goal romp to build a 46-point lead at halftime.
While some clubs have shunned or struggled to rewatch a heartbreaking grand-final loss, Cox postponed the Swans’ first official pre-season training to dedicate a meticulous pulling apart of their performance.
“That was our last performance,” Cox said.
“To be able to … stare it in the face, to learn from it – that’s the only way you can go forward. That’s why we had to do it.
“We moved our training session to today, actually, on the field because we needed to address it.
“It was brave for them. It was tough to go back and watch, but they were open to it. They wanted to do it, so did myself and us as a football club.”
Swans skipper Callum Mills is keen on letting go of the heartache, having moved on from missing out on the grand final with a hamstring injury.
Mills only played seven games in an injury-marred 2024 campaign, ruled out of the first half of the season after tearing the rotator cuff in his left shoulder before a calf injury delayed his return further.
“It was a tough week (before the grand final) but I think that’s kind of what makes you as a person,” Mills said.
“Whether it’s a grand final (loss) or missing out most of the year that drives you, you’ve got to be careful holding on to that for too long.
“You’ve got to be able to separate yourself from it and move forward … because I don’t think that lasts.”
Defence will be the key “flavour” in the Swans’ new game plan, with Cox adamant Sydney will return to the big stage and put an end to their poor grand final record.
Sydney, who suffered an 81-point humiliation against Geelong in 2022, have now lost four grand finals since winning the 2012 premiership.
“We’ll change a fair bit (of the game plan). Being a new coach, you’ll always have a flavour on the way that you want to play,” Cox said.
“The best sides in the world defend really well first.
“The way that we defended in our contest (in the grand final) was really poor.
“We want to be a team that when the stakes get higher, that’s what we turn to. That’s what we go to and we deliver on that. And we weren’t able to do that.
“It’s behind us now, but you’ve got to take plenty of lessons from it.
“No doubt this football club will play in some big matches to come and when we get there, we’ll be ready for it.”
Securing Chad Warner’s signature remains high on Cox’s agenda, with the star midfielder coming out of contract at the end of 2025.
The West Australian-born midfielder is already being courted by Perth clubs.
Warner reportedly played golf with West Coast chief executive Don Pyke and offsider Kieren Jack in the off-season, but Eagles legend Cox refused to let his feathers be ruffled.
“We take it at face value,” Cox said.
“He’s certainly known Don and Kieren from his time here. ‘Pykey’ coached here for a long period of time.
“For us … it’s about trying to create a football club that Chad wants to be a part of, going forward.”
