Crouch Returns To Haunt Akermanis

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday August 2, 2008

Sebastian Hassett

AFTER nearly 11 months in the football wilderness, Jared Crouch will play his first match for Sydney this year after being named for tomorrow's crucial match against the Western Bulldogs in Canberra.

Once a mainstay of the Swans midfield, Crouch, 30, chalked up 194 consecutive matches from his debut in round 7, 1998, and it took a season-ending injury to prevent him from making it to the double century. However, since his run came to an end in round 13, 2006, Crouch has played just eight of a possible 45 matches, and his career with the Swans beyond this season hangs in the balance as youngsters such Kieren Jack, Craig Bird and Jarred Moore appear to have moved past him in the pecking order.

Then there are players such 21-year-old Ryan Brabazon, who is in line to make his debut against the Bulldogs after being drafted in 2005.

Sydney coach Paul Roos is pleased with the progress Crouch has made in recent times and sees him as an important part of his plan to bring down the second-placed Bulldogs.

"Crouchy will definitely play, so that's really positive. He's played four games in the seconds, he's been training for seven weeks, and I watched him train the other week and he went extremely well," Roos said. "He looked like the Crouchy of a couple of years ago.

"He hasn't played senior footy for a while, but he's played a fair bit of footy in the seconds. We're not exactly sure of how he's going to go, but he comes in really fit, which is important."

The Bulldogs' turbocharged midfield is the Swans' biggest concern, with Crouch sure to be reacquainted with his old foe, former Brisbane star Jason Akermanis - who once described Crouch as a "serial pest" during their duels early this decade.

Roos said he was hoping to structure his side in such a way that it could curb the influence of the opposition's highly regarded running brigade.

"I think that's why Crouchy coming in is so important. We may have Ryan Brabazon playing his first game as well. He's another midfielder who's a really good, elite runner," Roos said.

"We need to prepare for a team that runs very well and can rotate their players through the middle of the ground, so I think with Crouch and Brabazon coming in, that gives us two players that are very fit and can hopefully play on some of their real quality midfielders and small forwards."

"[Brabazon] is a kid that has played a fair bit of footy, and he's a little bit older than the normal draft pick, so he's a bit more mature, he's got a bigger body than the average rookie and has played a fair bit more footy so he won't be overawed."

The athletic factor is weighing on Roos's mind more than the various other issues confronting his side. While the Swans have troubles up forward, Roos believes it's more important that his team remembers how to run out the four quarters.

"I think it's the major question mark heading into this game," he said. "We really didn't run that well last weekend. I guess it's a mindset thing though, because the week before, we were able to run with Carlton in the second half even when we were two [men] down.

"Every single week you've got to come to play, it's an unforgiving competition. I think we'll know in the first five or 10 minutes whether or not our guys are switched on. If they're not, we'll get blown off the park because the Bulldogs run very, very well."

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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