‘Not sure that helps’: Voss’ big Curnow question as Swans’ $4m problem exposed

The evidence was quietly telling us, but Brisbane’s Thursday night belting of Sydney laid bare the Swans’ “alarm bells” as the business end of the year fast approaches.

Dean Cox’s side was completely constricted when it tried to use the corridor, also seeing its handball game diminished, while the defence was again leaky; in line with recent form.

Across the first eight weeks of the season, the Swans were first in the AFL for points against and points against from turnovers. But between Rounds 8 and 15, they sat 14th and 14th respectively.

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And on Thursday, Sydney conceded 7.4 from stoppage and 5.1 from defensive half on a night where it looked vulnerable in defensive transition and impotent going forward.

“I thought Brisbane was cleaner, tougher, hungrier - plain and simple,” Cox said in his post-match press conference.

“You can’t just rely on one phase of your game to get going to try and rectify the other couple ... 20 shots (conceded) from turnover, that’s too many.

“We didn’t get our back-half ball movement going until the last quarter, but we can’t only rely on that.”

Cox also called on his forwards to support Charlie Curnow after the Swans forward line was shut down at the Gabba.

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Curnow was one of the best on ground for Sydney with three majors but struggled for support from his fellow key forwards as Logan McDonald and Joel Amartey were held to just one goal and 10 disposals between them.

“I thought the great thing that Charlie did was compete,” Cox said.

“He didn’t hit some kicks that he normally would have but the competitive part is the part I like most and against a backline that Brisbane have, you have to do that to earn everything you get.

“I said to the players after ‘we just didn’t have enough in our team that wanted to go to the line long enough’.”

While Curnow was Sydney’s best forward on Thursday night, there’s a spotlight on his role. Curnow is the focal point of the Swans attack having joined the club on a $4 million deal.

Curnow’s former coach, Michael Voss, noted pre-game the dual Coleman medallist seemed to be “playing more role and system” for Sydney.

“Having watched him this year and (I) clearly had a lot to do with him in the previous years, there is definitely an emphasis for him to play system,” Voss said on Fox Footy pre-game.

“He’s more system. Whether that helps them in the long run, I’m not sure.

“But it’s not impacting their scoring power, it might even be helping it a bit.

“It’d be interesting, their take on it. It’s just something I’ve noticed for him, he’s probably playing more role and system.”

Three-time Coleman medallist Jason Dunstall added pre-game: “I just wonder come finals time, if playing a role is going to be enough to get them where they want to need to get to.

“That’s when you want your big money buys to stand up and have a massive impact and show their star value.

“I just don’t know if he’s playing at that sort of level, whether he has the ability to dominate contested marking situations and that sort of thing.

“The numbers look good, but to the naked eye, he’s not having a huge impact.”

Speaking post match, Dunstall explained how the Lions didn’t allow the Swans “any time to breathe”.

“Every handpass was under pressure,” he said.

“The player receiving was under pressure - they kept pressing up into the faces of the Sydney players trying to transition the ball.

“And in the end, they got desperate. Players like Gulden tried to force the issue; they turned a few over trying to find something that actually wasn’t there.”

Sydney managed a defensive-50-to-inside-50 rate of just 14 per cent, while generating a measly six points from its defensive 50.

That isn’t going to get it done in the modern game, pitted against a Brisbane side that’s had its defensive transition challenges.

“You can see the (Lions’) defensive coverage that was there through the corridor,” former Carlton coach Michael Voss said on Fox Footy.

“There was not a man that wasn’t occupied, so you’re forced to actually do something you don’t want to do.

“And Gulden we know is an amazing kick, but he has to kick to a one-on-one that’s in a really dangerous position on the field.

“Obviously, Brisbane were able to read it really well and create the intercept. And they just did it play after play, and became energised by it.”

Dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna, who said in the immediate post-match that “there are some alarm bells”, added that it’s becoming “predictable” for opposition teams to sniff out what the Swans are trying to do.

“I think everyone knows what you need to do (to beat the Swans). Now, whether you’re good enough as a defensive unit to be able to stop it is the challenge,” he said.

“But I think we’re seeing that the good teams, now, are able to do it … they’ve got Fremantle and Adelaide coming up (in their next three weeks), who are two of the best defensive teams in the competition.”

The Swans have now lost to three flag contenders in Hawthorn, Geelong and Brisbane, raising concerns over their game style’s ability to stand up against the best.

“They just couldn’t generate any run off half-back,” Voss said.

“We talked about the runners that they need off half-back, the importance of their midfielders being able to link them through midfield.

“And they just got nothing from their tall forwards. Charlie Curnow was able to take a few good contested marks down the line, but we just didn’t see enough of Amartey and McDonald.

“As a result, Brisbane’s defenders were set up in an assertive position, and they were able to counter-attack going back the other way.”

Overall, Montagna said the Swans were “a watch” as their brand comes under the microscope.

“Ladder position, they’re going to be fine … (but) they’ve got some tough games coming up, and I’m just interested to see from a bigger-picture looking forward to September, how their game style is going to stack up against the best teams.

“That’s my concern.”

Voss, meanwhile, said it wasn’t yet ‘alarm bells’ for Sydney, but rather Thursday night will cause the Swans to sharpen up for the run home.

“The interesting part, when you dive into a bit of psychology, when you win a few of the games that maybe you should have lost - and are the ears as open as they need to be?” he offered.

“You’re winning games of football, you’re in a great position on the ladder, you just get over the line in a couple of those games, and you’re sitting in the review as a player saying: ‘Yeah, I know what you’re talking about, coach, but we’re OK, we’re still winning these games’.

“Not too many alarm bells just yet, I think, if anything … this is ears-open, have a listen - ‘on Monday, let’s have a look through this, because we brought nothing that we stand for as a football team’.”

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