The Swann era has started, and it sounds more Ian Collins than Adrian Anderson, Steve Hocking or Laura Kane. That is not to say it will be better, worse or otherwise. But it will be more entertaining.
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For each topic raised, he had an answer, and the answers were reasonable. Most would hold broad appeal on talkback radio. Why do we wait for ruckmen? And why do they have to nominate for the ruck like it’s an Auskick game? And what is it with quarters going 35 minutes and longer?
Possibly because he had not yet had time to be briefed by his new staff on the myriad reasons why things are the way they are, his answers were pleasingly frank and not hysterical.
The AFL wanted challenging views from someone who was a game insider but an outsider at league headquarters, so they hired Swann. They wanted a sop to clubs and to return to speaking openly in the football vernacular to fans. Swann was getting in early to deliver on their request.
The AFL wanted someone from “clubland” as though it is some amorphous beast where Swann speaks the groupthink. Being from clubland and knowing the interests and preferences of all clubs are two different things, but at the very least, Swann has the connections to temperature-check if his views accord with others.
Even CEO Andrew Dillon standing next to him at a press conference on Swann’s first day laughed at the club man idea, saying “give it six months”.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon and the league’s new general manager of football performance Greg Swann. the former Brisbane Lions CEO who started his role at league headquarters on Monday..Credit: Wayne Taylor
Amusingly, Swann chuckled up to the press conference and laid out some plans for change, then praised the good work of everyone whose work he had just been saying he wants to change.
Some of his preferred changes he reckons he could get in quickly. There is no real integrity problem in refusing to wait for ruckmen, but it could be his first introduction to unhappy coaches when the ball is thrown up before that club’s ruckman is there.
Simplifying rules like holding the ball and the stand rule, to make umpiring easier, might take more time. Ditto throwing the ball up instead of bouncing. That might need to wait until next year. Resistance might come in surprising places when he presses the issue.
He told critics to suck it up about a rare 50-metre penalty for dissent that was paid at the MCG on Sunday when Fremantle’s Karl Worner pointed to the scoreboard replay.
“I think everyone knows you’re not allowed to do that, so don’t do it,” he said, admitting others will complain of similar instances that were not penalised. Oh well, that’ll happen.
His style was ironically more Peter V’Landys than Andrew Dillon. The AFL ordinarily ignores the belligerent V’Landys, Swann was more unafraid to dare utter the three letters N. R. L.
Swann took the lead of Andrew Dillon to remind all that his suggestions were all minor tweaks and that the overall game was in rude health. Best game in the world. He then went where the AFL seldom does and name-checked the other codes.
“From my point of view (AFL) is a fantastic game. It’s the best game in the world,” he said.
“I mean, I’ve moved up to Queensland, obviously, and you get rugby league and everything else, the British Lions were there on the weekend. And our game leaves them in the shade.
“The things (changes) I’m talking about, hopefully are tweaks, there’s nothing radical needs to happen.”
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