Sydney broke Dean Cox’s heart in a grand final 20 years ago. Now he has to fix the Swans

Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Dean Cox was inextricably linked with the Sydney Swans, long before he became the club’s head coach at the end of November. In 2005, Cox’s huge 204cm frame stood between the Swans and breaking a 72-year premiership drought as the West Coast Eagles star ruckman. With the Swans four points up and the siren about to sound at the MCG, Cox took a crucial mark giving the Eagles a final roll of the dice. Cox sent his kick deep into his forward pack and Leo Barry soared to take the mark, forever known thereafter as a star. Cox spent that summer nursing the disappointment that wasn’t solely his to shoulder and then returned to beat the Swans in the grand final the following year by a single point. But that was then, and this is now and the Swans he has taken over were destroyed by 60 points in a grand final by Brisbane last September. Can the rookie head coach revitalise a team in desperate need of confidence? “You’re always learning from and drawing upon past experience,” Cox told this masthead. “I think that’s one thing that you want to try and do, is go what did I learn from this situation? Would I implement it differently? Would I change tack? How do I get the best outcome from that? “This club has generally been a really resilient football club and bounced back from a lot of adversity and gone through some really tough times to get to where they have, so there’s just another one of those hurdles we have to get over.”

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Dean Cox after losing in the 2005 grand final against Sydney. Credit: Pat Scala Since taking over in late November after John Longmire stepped down as coach, Cox has faced a never-ending in-tray. For more than eight years, Cox was a well-liked assistant coach, now he alone must make the tough decisions on and off the field for the Swans. Longmire has let Cox know that his door is always open for advice, but also made it clear this is now his team to coach. “There has to be a point where they [players and staff] know you’re their boss ... and the thing I’ve noticed, the dramatic change between being an assistant is everyone wants to talk your opinion and to talk to you and for you to make the decision,” Cox said. “I think that’s probably one thing that you’re always happy to do is throw up ideas, but then the buck stops with you, and to be able to go, this is it, and this is the path we’re going, or this is the route we’re taking if it’s a player about an injury, this is what we’re doing, or how we handle club messaging, everything comes through the senior coach. Sydney Swans coach Dean Cox has taken over from John Longmire. Credit: Rhett Wyman “I think that’s one thing that I’ve learned really quickly is the football part is now a part of your bigger job description.” Cox must help to fine-tune not only performance on the field but shattered confidence in the playing group after falling so badly short last September. He led a forensic review of what went wrong physically and mentally for the entire squad, not just the players who took to the field at the MCG in September.

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“There’s 23 players, plus the emergencies, plus the rest of the squad, there’s so many different reasons [why the team lost],” Cox said. “It’s not like you’re Novak Djokovic, and this is the reason why I lost the grand slam, for us, it’s about trying to understand every piece of it and then move forward from that. “It’s been a really strong focus, part of it is our defence and contest stuff that wasn’t at the level that Brisbane was, and we need to get to that level.” Beyond getting the season off to a strong start, Cox will try to convince star midfielder Chad Warner to extend his stay in Sydney, with his contract running out at the end of this season and the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle circling. On Monday, the Swans locked Warner’s younger brother Corey into a two-year contract extension that will run through to the end of 2027. AFL.com.au has also reported that Warner has told his Swans teammates that he will also consider a two-year extension to stay in Sydney, alongside a variety of other contract options. Cox left his hometown of Dampier in the Pilbara as a teenager and travelled 1500 kilometres to Perth to play in the AFL, before travelling with his family across the country to start as a coach with Sydney. He is sensitive to the pull of home for Warner but also wants the player to understand how valued he is at the Swans. Chad Warner is off contract this year. Credit: Rhett Wyman “One thing I’ve realised is players play their best footy and contribute the best of their team when they’re feeling satisfied and fulfilled on and off the field. So Chad’s exactly the same in that sense, like with everything we’ve been open, we continue to be really close with Chad.

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