IN OCTOBER last year, as they reviewed a season in which the toll from five successful years was extracted from exhausted bodies, the Swans coaches and leadership group made some tough decisions and one pledge.
During the impending trade period, loyalty and reputations would not be put ahead of the club's need to reinvigorate its list. And, as coach Paul Roos says: "Regardless of whether we could or couldn't change our playing list, there would be new players in round one."
The Swans stuck with that pledge last night when 19-year-old debutant Craig Bird, as well as Jarred Moore (22, 9 games), Kieren Jack (20, 2 games) and Heath Grundy (21, 14 games), were included in the team for tomorrow night's season opener against St Kilda at Telstra Dome.
While injuries to regulars such as Nick Malceski, Nic Fosdike, Peter Everitt, Ted Richards and veteran Jared Crouch have opened the door, this infusion of youth into a team famed for its selection-table conservatism represents, if not a new beginning, then certainly a transition from the days of premiership glory to whatever lies ahead.
"We sensed as a coaching group that they were trying as hard as they possibly could, they were a bit like the Little Engine That Could near the end of the year," says Roos of his team's eventual loss in the first week of the finals. "So we sat the players down and asked where we should go from here."
The feedback confirmed the impression Roos and his assistants had that it was time to revitalise a team that, because of its success, low attrition rate and lack of top-flight rookies, had been unusually stable. Says co-captain Brett Kirk: "We really looked to revitalise, re-energise, change a few players over."
While giving youngsters already on the list more opportunities was the easy part of that strategy, the more painful process was trading members of the tight-knit premiership team. Inevitably, that meant Adam Schneider and Sean Dempster left, to St Kilda, while Adelaide's Martin Mattner, another fresh face in tomorrow's team, arrived from the Crows along with Geelong's Henry Playfair, who is injured.
"We won't have wholesale changes in the way we play our football," Kirk says. "But we just felt we had stagnated a bit and we needed to make a few changes. At one time [after the season] we knew any one of the players in the room might not be there the following year. As hard as it is, we needed to make those decisions to make a better footy team."
Individually, the new Swans will be given a good chance to cement their places. Bird, a midfielder from Nelson Bay, has been particularly impressive in pre-season, wearing the famous No.14 of Bob Skilton and Paul Kelly. The diminutive Moore has shown promising signs as a nuggety ball-winner. Jack, the son of rugby league legend Garry Jack, has worked hard on his disposal. Grundy has demonstrated good goal-sense at the top level.
Collectively, the new faces have a tough test first-up against St Kilda, who won the pre-season competition - with Schneider starring. It will be the first time the Swans have faced one of their premiership-winning teammates, although Kirk is not sentimental. "I think as soon as you step out there you've got that competitive nature, and it doesn't matter who it is," he says. "I'll shake his hand and wish him the best of luck."
What seems certain is that, with three extra weeks' rest than in the previous two seasons, and with some new Bloods beside them, the Swans will be more energetic than in the draining final months of 2007. "I feel a lot stronger at this time of year," says Kirk. "My body is a lot harder. But, when you come down to it, you don't really know until you start playing real games of footy."
