Whilst keeping a close eye on the future is always a focus, it’s the present which remains the most pressing issue for the Sydney Swans and John Longmire as his side continues to rue its winless start to the season.
Speaking on Melbourne radio on Sunday, Longmire didn’t hold back when assessing the Swans’ disappointing 19-point loss to Carlton.
Right now, the “balance” between blooding youngsters and remaining competitive is Sydney’s biggest concern.
“You’ve got to be able to get that balance right,” Longmire told Triple M Footy.
“The focus has always been about the now and the future, no matter where we are on the ladder.
“It’s pretty difficult for us to say, well, we’ll just play young kids because, as I’ve said before, we’ve played 13 (debutants) since Round 1 last year and no question we’ll play one or two others before the end of this year.
“We’re giving these boys an opportunity anyway and trying to be competitive at the same time. Whether we’re on the top of the ladder or where we are now, that’s what we need to do.
“We’ll continue to do that, keep strengthening up our list and getting experience into the players that we need to be but also, at the same time, try and be competitive.
“Whilst we’re getting games into these young blokes we haven’t got the balance of being competitive right yet.”
For the Swans to get back to their competitive best, Longmire needs his midfield to improve its current output.
Renowned for its ability to win the hard ball (the number one side in the stat for the past two seasons), the Swans are ranked 10th for average contested disposals this season and 13th for average clearances.
Longmire said blatantly “it starts and begins in the midfield” and the output of the midfield has a significant flow-on effect.
“We’re not winning the ball around the midfield area anywhere near as consistent as we did last year,” he added.
“We need to get the ball forward more, no question about that, to take the pressure off our defence.
“We’ve been a bit down on numbers through there and our form has been reflected in those numbers, no question.
“So, we need to get that right.”
Longmire touched on ruckman Kurt Tippett’s absence in Saturday’s loss to Carlton at the MCG.
A late omission before the game, Longmire will wait and see how the week progresses as to whether Tippett will be right to take on Brisbane at the SCG this Sunday.
