Footy great pinpoints Swans boss John Longmire’s biggest Grand Final mistakes

AFL great Jonathan Brown believes John Longmire can only blame himself for Sydney’s 81-point beating against Geelong in the Grand Final.

Brown said on Fox Footy’s On the Couch Tuesday that the Swans were completely “outcoached” at the MCG, pointing to the selection of Sam Reid and the lack of contribution from Isaac Heeney as the main issues.

The Swans never attended the races on Saturday, trailing 35 points in quarter-time – the biggest first-quarter margin in a grand final since 1989 – after the Cats exploded out of the blocks to score six goals to one in the first term. to kick.

Sydney and Geelong both arrive in the Grand Final with doubts about injuries hanging over Reid and Max Holmes respectively.

Cats boss Chris Scott dropped Holmes after failing to recover in time from a hamstring injury sustained against Brisbane in the preliminary final, while Longmire stayed with Reid after he believed he had overcome an adductor strain.

The trick backfired, with the veteran forward ruckman racking up just four disposals before being knocked out of the game in the second quarter.

Longmire has since admitted it was a mistake to choose Reid over Logan McDonald, a review Brown agreed with.

Geelong won its first premiership in 11 years with a dominant 81 point win on Saturday

The Swans chose Sam Reid as he believed he had recovered from an adductor strain, but the veteran forward had to be eliminated in the second term.

While the Cats dropped Max Holmes after he failed to recover from a hamstring injury

‘From the selection of [Sam] Reid, Geelong were decisive, they fell off [Max] Holmes, or he’s going out with an injury,” said the three-time premiership winner.

If Reid’s selection was a gamble that ultimately didn’t pay off, Heeney’s role was even more puzzling. The striker/midfielder played for the Swans all season, but took on a largely peripheral role on Saturday, with just three goals and one goal in the first half.

And Brown suggested it was up to Longmire to bring one of his superstars into the game, especially when it became clear that the match was slipping out of Sydney.

‘She [the Swans] be crushed around the footy,’ he said.

Jonathan Brown told On the Couch that Longmire got his most important calls wrong on Saturday

The Lions were criticized for not including Isaac Heeney in the game

The star striker was limited to just one goal and three disposals in the first half

‘He [Heeney] can’t get into the game, one of your best players.

“He had to go to a center bounce, just get him involved. I think this is the job of a senior coach – you have to get your best players early in big games.”

Brown was also stunned by the Swans’ decision to leave Luke Parker to cover for Patrick Dangerfield, rather than using him to gain possession of the ball to regain momentum.

He noted that Callum Mills did a good job of keeping Dangerfield quiet as the Swans defeated Geelong by 30 points at the SCG on Round 2.

Brown also questioned the decision to use Luke Parker to cover for Patrick Dangerfield (above), who caused riots at the MCG

‘Parker is their best ball winner, he’s their bull, so let him go! Go head-to-head,” he added.

“There were some things that didn’t change that day – they had to do something. Just nothing happened when the game seemed to spiral out of control.

‘Geelong chased the ball, chased the swans. To me, the Sydney centers looked like they were reactive, in part because their best ball winner Patrick Dangerfield was backpacking and being dragged to every game.”