End of an era for the Swans

Sydney's glorious era of AFL prominence has ended, with coach Paul Roos conceding
the finals are now out of reach following their 35-point loss to Essendon at the SCG
on Saturday.
The Swans haven't missed the post-season since 2002, spending the past six years
among the league's elite clubs, culminating in the 2005 flag.
But Saturday's 15.17 (107) to 10.12 (72) defeat left them well down the ladder with
a 6-9 record and Roos acknowledged the rebuilding phase would now kick into top
gear.
"If you're talking about finals, it would be unlikely we're going to play in them
this year," he said.
"You expect this point to come at some stage, you're just not sure when it's going
to come.
"In some ways it's an opportunity the club has to take over the next six or seven
weeks.
"It could be a good opportunity to fast-track some young guys and get them into the
team."
Roos has been gradually turning over his list over the past couple of seasons, with
the likes of Kieren Jack, Craig Bird, Patrick Veszpremi, Nick Smith, Jesse White and
Ryan Brabazon gradually being given their chance in the senior side.
The widely-held view in AFL circles is that Sydney's young group of talent will
struggle to take the next step and become A-grade players, but Roos has confidence
in his youngsters.
"We've had six or seven young guys in each week," he said.
"There's obviously a big gap now between St Kilda, Geelong and a couple of teams at
the top, but if we can give some of our young guys a lot of game time in the next
six or seven weeks, I think the future looks good."
While Sydney are beginning the rebuilding phase, the Bombers have been going through
it for some time and appear to be ready to make it back into the finals this season.
Saturday's win takes them to 8-7 for the season and leaves them comfortably in the
top eight.
Andrew Welsh, Brent Stanton, Tayte Pears and Andrew Lovett all stood out at the SCG,
while Matthew Lloyd, Jason Winderlich and Scott Lucas all kicked three goals.
Ryan O'Keefe was again outstanding for Sydney and Michael O'Loughlin kicked three
goals, but the Swans were well beaten after a tight opening term.
But Essendon coach Matthew Knights wasn't getting too far ahead of himself.
"We've played twice interstate this season for two resounding defeats to Port Power
and the Brisbane Lions, so it was good to come to Sydney and win," he said.
"It gives your group a lot of confidence.
"We're hanging around the middle, where we've been for most of the year, and we just
have to keep playing strong football and see what happens."