The other secret weapon behind the Swans’ stunning start to the year

The Sydney Swans made some big moves during the off-season that have set them up for an unlikely raid on the AFL finals: most notably, the signing of ruck revelation Tom Hickey and the addition of assistant coach Don Pyke and his tactical expertise.

But there’s another key recruit whose contribution, at least outside the club, has gone almost entirely unacknowledged. And, as the Swans return to Perth’s Optus Stadium – where Lance Franklin’s injury troubles first started a couple of years ago – it is worth taking a moment to zero in.

Dane Rampe says Sydney’s new high-performance team has been a key part of the club’s surprisingly strong start to the new season.Credit:Getty

The Swans brought in an almost entirely new high-performance team this season, triggered by the departure of physical performance manager Rob Spurrs after 20 years of service.

Spurrs was a hugely popular figure at the club and is now a life member, who has been enjoying their surprise 6-3 start to the season from the SCG grandstands. The baton was handed to Rob Inness, who was lured to Sydney from Richmond, where he worked from late 2016 – the start of the Tigers’ golden era of three flags in four years.

High-performance chief Rob Inness joined Sydney after a trophy-laden stint at Richmond.

It’s not a slight on the old regime to say the new one is working out brilliantly for Sydney. For one, Franklin is up and running for the first time since mid-2019, deemed fit enough to take the long flight back to his home town for Saturday night’s clash with Fremantle when, on paper, it looked an opportune moment to rest the champion forward.

Injuries have hit the Swans hard at times this season, but the vast majority of them have been collision-based, not soft tissue problems. And when players have been sidelined, they’ve come back in a rapid fashion, such as Hickey’s one-week lay-off from what was meant to be a two-month knee injury, Franklin’s early return from bone bruising in his knee and Isaac Heeney’s lightning-quick recovery from a broken hand.

“They’ve been massive,” co-captain Dane Rampe said. “Their impact has been significant from the moment they walked in the door.

“We did have a really good medical staff up until then, but the fresh ideas and fresh faces, they’ve obviously come with a wealth of experience, particularly Rob, from Richmond, who have obviously been the benchmark … their injury list has been next to nothing for the best part of four or five years.

“I can’t speak highly enough of them. They’ve come in and just immediately bought in and displayed a professionalism we’ve been really impressed by.”

The benefits stretch back to before Christmas, when the Swans had almost the entirety of their list on deck for pre-season training – the first time Rampe can remember that happening in his near decade at the club. It doesn’t sound like much, but it has helped foster the sort of on-field synergy that was clearly evident during the early rounds and caught rival teams off guard.

More specifically, the methodology of Inness and head physio Damien Raper – who also moved to Sydney during summer after previous stints at Geelong and Essendon – has been warmly welcomed by the playing group.

“It’s more of an empowerment to the players, which I think can’t be underestimated,” Rampe said.

“What I mean by that is having open and honest discussions on how the players are feeling and backing them to be professionals. They’re almost giving them an opportunity to express what they’re feeling, how they’re feeling, where their body and mind is at, and having a really holistic approach to that is probably the biggest difference I’ve noticed, and a working, ongoing relationship, rather than just a list of things to do and ‘here, go get it done’.

“It’s really quite fluid. It takes a lot of work and organisation, but I think it’s definitely made a difference. It’s been unbelievable. If you’d have said we’d have Bud back, after two years off, ready for round two and Sam Naismith [nearly] back … sometimes you can really be buoyed by those sort of changes; it’s a great feel.”

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