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Hiding to nothing: Cox questioned following Swans embarrassment
Jaiden Sciberras • June 1st, 2025 1:28 pm
The Sydney Swans have fallen significantly from the heights of 2024, enduring more than just a Grand Final hangover.
Exemplified by Saturday night's 90-point mauling at the hands of the Crows, the Swans have been well off the pace throughout their first 12 games, winning just four games to find themselves in 14th place on the AFL ladder.
On a night dedicated to club legends in honour of their 2005 premiership triumph, their Round 12 matchup was a disaster. Sydney’s first home loss to the Crows since 2019 was a dismantling, crumbling under Adelaide pressure to allow easy transition throughout the contest.
The Swans turned the football over 80 times across the night, conceding 70 inside 50’s en route to the Crows’ 131 points, 88 of which spawned directly from turnover.
In rather controversial fashion, Crows defender Wayne Milera was honest in his on-field assessment of the mentality of the struggling Swans.
“You could sort of feel it as a group,” Milera told ABC Sport post-match.
“They were sort of a bit of a rabble, just hearing them on the ground.”
The ongoing struggles have led to questions of coach Dean Cox.
The former assistant coach took the reins at the club this season, opting to remain at the club and take over from the outgoing John Longmire rather than accepting the vacant West Coast Eagles job offered to Cox at the time.
Since accepting the role, the Swans have had very little luck on the injury front, with Errol Gulden, Tom Papley, Callum Mills and Logan McDonald combining for just four games under Cox.
With that being said, the performance of Saturday has led former Demon David Schwarz to the belief that Cox may have made the wrong decision to take over at the Swans, claiming his decision not to shift into the Eagles role was somewhat egotistical.
“That was just awful,” Ox told SEN’s Point of View.
“They’ve had a couple of bad weeks, 143 points in total for the last two games. It’s a real issue.
“Dean Cox has got his work cut out. He was on a hiding to nothing taking on the Sydney job.
“I know it’s comfortable, he’s been in there and he knows it, but the West Coast job was his. They were on the bottom of the ladder, and there’s only one place they could go and that was up.
“Maybe a bit of ego (taking the Sydney role)? You need ego as a coach, if you don’t have ego, you’re not going to have belief, but wow.
“He has got some work to do.”
With Richmond to come before their bye in Round 14, the Swans have everything to play for if they want to keep their season alive.
