Latest news with #WayneMilera
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'I've never seen that': James Hird takes blowtorch to Swans after shambolic scenes
Essendon great James Hird has taken a blowtorch to the Swans and says one shambolic play in Saturday night's huge loss to Adelaide sums up Sydney's struggles in the AFL this season. Crows star Wayne Milera probably echoed the thoughts of many fans when he described the Swans as a "rabble" after his side's thumping 90-point victory at the SCG. And Hird pointed to Sydney's lack of class up forward, their lacklustre ball movement and inadequate distribution of the footy as major issues for first-year head coach Dean Cox to try and fix. "I think their biggest issue is they haven't got a forward line," Hird said on Nine's Footy Furnace. "They haven't got a forward line that can take a contested mark and their ball movement has gone off which was their one-wood last year. Their congested side of things is not where it needs to be, they rely on too few around the middle of the ground." The Swans have been one of the most consistent sides in the AFL over the last decade and went down to Brisbane in last year's grand final after finishing the regular season on top of the ladder. But Sydney's lofty standards have slipped in 2025 as the injuries have racked up, with Cox admitting Saturday night's performance against Adelaide was "unacceptable and embarrassing". Hird agrees and says the Swans' effort areas and failure to execute the fundamentals is a major concern. "And I think the one thing I've loved about the Swans over the last 10 years is their standards. Everything was done - not perfectly - there were some mistakes but not too many," he added. The Essendon great singled out a second quarter goal for the Crows where two Sydney players just needed to scramble the ball through the posts and concede a behind. Instead, they were caught dawdling and allowed Adelaide forward Riley Thilthorpe to toe the ball through the sticks for a goal, in a moment Hird said was indicative of the Swans' struggles this year. "I've never seen a Swans backline let a goal like that go through and it might be unlucky... but I just can't believe that ball went through and I just think it's just symbolic of where the Swans are at," Hird added. "Yes, it's not a massive thing, it's not a game plan thing but I've never seen a Swans group of players in the last 10 years let that happen." Hird and three-time premiership winning Geelong great Jimmy Bartel were also shocked to hear that Milera and the Crows apologised for referring to the Swans as a "rabble". The AFL greats insisted that such criticism was fully warranted after the 90-point hiding. "So what's the cut-off point, 100? You got belted by 90 points," Bartel said. "You were a rabble. We've been a rabble before when we've been belted. Adelaide CEO Tim Silvers reportedly called Swans counterpart Tom Harley to apologise for Milera's comments and Crows teammates insist he meant no harm. RELATED: Pies' move set to force rivals into rethink as Ginnivan predicts change Calls for Kane Cornes to be sanctioned over Luke Beveridge incident AFL world gutted over heartbreaking news about West Coast hero But Hird agreed with Bartel that the criticism was warranted after Saturday night's game and took no issues with the situation. "It seems to me as if they were a rabble and you know when players are back-chatting each other and talking on the ground, you really love it when the opposition is doing it," Hird added. "But at the end of the day they were a mess, they really were a mess on Saturday night."
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Adelaide blasted for CEO's 'ridiculous' apology after Crows star makes brutally honest assessment about lacklustre Sydney Swans
Adelaide CEO Tim Silvers has reportedly issued a formal apology to Sydney boss Tom Harley after Crows defender Wayne Milera branded the Swans 'a bit of a rabble'. But his move to apologise to the Swans CEO has split opinion among some former stars, with one branding the apology 'ridiculous'. The Swans endured a night to forget at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, suffering a 90-point loss by Matthew Nicks' side, who are shaping up to be a firm finals contender this season. The Swans, meanwhile, have slumped to 14th in the ladder, 12 points clear of the top eight, with last year's Grand Finalists having lost eight of their opening matches this season. They will no doubt receive some harsh home truths from coach Dean Cox, following the defeat. Milera told ABC after the game that the Swans were a shade of themselves during the match. 'You could sort of feel it as a group... they were sort of a bit of a rabble, just hearing them on the ground,' the 27-year-old footy star said. While that appeared to be his own personal view on the matter, it appears the Crows were not impressed by his comments. Silvers subsequently issued a formal apology to the Swans. But the move has split opinion among some pundits. Campbell Brown told Sunday Footy Feast: 'God forbid you are too honest in an interview.' The former Hawthorn star then said that the apology made the Crows 'look like the rabble': 'That's such weak leadership as far as I'm concerned. 'Do you know who the rabble is now? Adelaide for having to come out and apologise.' Kate McCarthy, an AFLW All-Australian concurred: 'The fact they've basically undermined their own player there to come out — yes, they've obviously had a conversation — but that did not need to be apologised for,' she said. 'We want that from players. He didn't at any point make that personal. They were unorganised, they were a rabble — I think Sydney would have almost admitted that. 'That is absolutely ridiculous.' But not everyone was in support of Milera's candid claims. But Footy great Jack Riewoldt did not agree, arguing that the Crows defender had disrespected the opposition side. 'One hundred per cent that's disrespectful (from Milera). Yeah, calling an opposition team 'a bit of a rabble' in a media sense,' Riewoldt told Fox Footy. 'We've just come off the conversation with Matthew Nicks about they dropped Josh Rachele (last year) for 'values'. I'd love to know where a comment like that sits in the values of the Adelaide Football Club. 'So, there's clearly some big questions on that going forward, too.' Sydney are now set to receive some harsh home truths led by Dean Cox after an 'embarrassing' 90-point loss to Adelaide left the coach questioning whether he's been doing enough at the helm. And even he issued a scathing assessment of his side's performance, branding it 'unacceptable and embarrassing'. The Swans had been looking to bounce back from a dismal 53-point loss to Melbourne. A victory would have seen them celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 2005 premiership victory in style. Instead, they endured a horror show. Kept to one goal in the opening half, Sydney conceded a staggering 12-straight majors on the way to a 21.5 (131) to 5.11 (41) loss. The Swans' finals are now looking very slim chances are slim, and the frustration on Cox's face during his post-match press conference was evident. A reminder of the team-first ethos that netted the club's first premiership in 72 years, given at half-time with a lap of honour by the 2005 side, only compounded their woes. 'I didn't expect that on such a massive night for the footy club when you have a 20-year reunion for a team that played desperate, uncompromising, ruthless football,' Cox said. 'That was far from it.' West Coast great Cox is no stranger to Sydney's Bloods ethos, with the six-time All-Australian ruck's last-gasp kick famously marked by Leo Barry in the final seconds of the low-scoring 2005 grand final. But the first-year coach conceded he was left questioning if he had done enough. 'Yeah, maybe not,' Cox said. 'That's where you've got to reflect on everything within the program, and it starts with me. 'We are going to fight our way through this. 'And there's going to be no easy way through it. I said to them (the players), expect some tough sessions. That'll happen.' The statistics sheet will suggest an even contest between the two sides, with Sydney winning clearances (+13), stoppage clearances (+13) and contested possessions (+11). But Sydney crumbled under Adelaide's pressure, making uncharacteristic errors and giving away costly penalties with moments of ill-discipline. 'The impact that they (Adelaide) had with their contested ball was far superior than ours,' Cox said. 'We'd fumble, get it to the next one, we might take it, then we'd handball or cough it up, then we'd go again. 'Whereas they were just a one-two punch, 'See you later, we're out of here'. 'Part of it comes to confidence when you are inconsistent, but the number one thing that brings consistency is, you spend time on your game. 'You know exactly when you finish the week and you start, I'm confident in my ability because I've done the work - that's the only way you build confidence. 'That's something that I've certainly got to drive harder and I'm going to.' Sydney will face 16th-placed Richmond before they head into their mid-season bye, while third-placed Adelaide play Brisbane.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
‘Ridiculous': Adelaide Crows' apology to Sydney torn to shreds
The Adelaide Crows have been torn to shreds by footy fans after apologising to the Sydney Swans on Sunday afternoon. The apology came after Wayne Milera offered up his thoughts on the Swans in the wake of the Crows 15-goal win on Saturday night. The 27-year-old hardly dropped the hammer on the now 4-8 Swans, instead he spoke about what he was seeing out on the field. 'You could sort of feel it as a group … they were sort of a bit of a rabble, just hearing them on the ground,' Milera said to ABC Sport. That's it. Despite the rather tame comments, Nine's Will Crouch reported that Milera had apologised to the Swans for his comment. The only thing Milera should be sorry for is not going harder on how paltry the 2024 grand finalists were in front of their home crowd. Just to add a bit more context to it all, the 90-point defeat was Sydney's heaviest loss at the SCG since 2000. Even Sydney coach Dean Cox went harder during his post-game press conference as he called his side's out 'unacceptable and embarrassing'. Swans midfielder James Rowbottom, also speaking to ABC Sport, was just as blunt with his assessment of how the club performed: 'Embarrassment is the first word that comes to mind.' Milera's comments were hardly him thrusting the knife in and twisting it, he wasn't meaning any disrespect with his remarks. And if anything calling the Swans a 'rabble' was pretty soft on a night when they showed no fighting spirit in front of the 2005 premiership squad. Fox Sports' David Zita even added on Sunday that the Swans 'weren't offended by the comments'. Footy fans united on Sunday in their agreeance that offering up an apology was not necessary and could stop players in future from speaking to the media at all. 'God forbid you are too honest in an interview,' Campbell Brown said on Seven's Sunday Footy Feast. 'That's such weak leadership as far as I'm concerned. Do you know who the rabble is now? Adelaide for having to come out and apologise.' Kate McCarthy added: 'The fact they've basically undermined their own player there to come out — yes, they've obviously had a conversation — but that did not need to be apologised for. 'We want that from players. He didn't at any point make that personal. They were unorganised, they were a rabble — I think Sydney would have almost admitted that. 'That is absolutely ridiculous.' ABC sports journo Marnie Vinall wrote on X: 'Well that feels completely unnecessary. Such a mild comment. We're really going to just accept 'we knew they'd be a hard team and we just had to focus on the contest' as the only thing footballers are allowed to say? 'And we wonder why so many players hate doing media, hmm.' Fox Sports' David Zita wrote: 'Not sure why this was necessary, by the way. Maybe Crows just trying to get ahead of it. But all good, back to robotic answers.' Sports broadcaster Daniel Garb wrote: 'Let's harden up a touch, please. There wouldn't be a Swans person who disagrees with Milera calling them a rabble.' Don't be surprised next week when every player who has a microphone thrust in their face busts out the stock standard responses to not ruffle some feathers. Or in this case, ruffle some feathers of an opponent who was not even remotely offended by the remarks.
