How high should the expectations be for Sydney heading into the 2023 season?
The Swans are coming off a fantastic year, tremendously accelerating their timeline as their young pieces flourished simultaneously, leading to a Grand Final appearance well ahead of schedule.
However, after said Grand Final appearance ended in an embarrassing 81-point drubbing, all indications of what to expect from this group in 2023 have been thrown out the window, mainly due to the less than stellar track record clubs have in the seasons following a brutal Grand Final loss.
Despite this, David King still has plenty of belief in the group, anticipating them to reach their peak within the next two seasons.
“These young men have physically become different commodities, they are the real deal,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“They’re ranked 14th for age and eighth for experience on the list, so there’s still a lot of scope for this group, and I just don’t know whether it’s this year.
“I didn’t think it would be last year, last year they were ahead of time.
“There is no right time or wrong time to win a flag clearly, but are they still another year away, I’m not sure.”
“Physically they look different, I’m worried about them mentally, 81 points in a Grand Final, that’s the biggest individual loss for seven years.”
While King has plenty of belief in the Swans, there is a glaring flaw in their game that he believes the club has to make adjustments to mend.
“Clearances and particularly centre bounce clearances are a real concern, I just wonder whether they need to have a look at the mix totally,” he said.
“I know they’ve got a lot of young kids coming through, Isaac Heeney spoke the other day, talked up Matt Roberts who’s a South Australian kid, a ball winner that could get an opportunity in there… in a VFL game last year against Box Hill, he had 37 (disposals) and nine clearances, we’ve got to see these guys.
“(Angus) Sheldrick’s another one, the West Australian kid, he played a couple of games last year, we need to see more of this next wave… give them an opportunity.
“I know the magnets of those other guys look terrific, but the reality doesn’t match.”
Heading into the season, King will be focused on Sydney’s group of star players to gain an indication of where the team is headed.
“(Chad) Warner was terrific last year, he was one of the most damaging players in 2022, so where he could get to will give us a snapshot of where this team is going,” he said.
“It’s now Mills, Heeney and (Tom) Papley’s team, they’re all 26 years of age, it’s time for those guys to be the reason, they had great years last year, all three of those guys have been All Australian over the last two years, so they’ve exposed what they can be.
“I think it’ll be this year, but if it’s not this year it’s definitely next.”
Sydney will look to start their season on the right foot with a win over Gold Coast in their season opener, set to take place on March 18.
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