Harley helps Swans ease heartbreak

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegraph website.

By Neil Cordy.

Harley also suffered at the hands of Hawthorn when he captained Geelong in their 2008 Grand Final loss but he and the Cats turned agony into success the following year when they beat St Kilda by 12 points in the 2009 season finale.

He has good news and bad news for the Swans players, the bad is the pain of losing on the game’s biggest stage never goes away.

“You can’t redeem it. It will sit in your guts forever,” Harley told the Daily Telegraph.

“You ask anyone who has played in a losing Grand Final, regardless of how many they won when you play in a losing one it is there forever.

If you could graph or chart it the euphoria and level of emotion you feel when you win doesn’t match the depth of despair and heartbreak if you lose.

Above: Tom Harley after the Cats’ 2008 Grand Final loss. Image: AFL Media

“You can’t talk about erasing that. If we play in a Grand Final this year and win that’s great but it won’t erase what happened 12 months earlier.”

If the tears that flowed in the Swans dressing rooms last year are any indication the pain is deep and real.

Harley believes how the Swans players and coaches deal with these feelings will determine how they respond in season 2015.

“It has to hurt like hell,” Harley said.

“It has to sit in your guts.

“Acknowledge and embrace it, it should hurt like hell and I’d be disappointed if people within our club don’t feel that.

“You don’t want to go there again, so when you are running a lap and it’s 38 degrees and it’s starting get hard that’s when you pull on those resources of losing a Grand Final. That’s when it becomes a real personal thing.

“When you talk about the support and coaching staff they should acknowledge that and not pass judgment on how players will react but know they should feel like that.

If it doesn’t you’re probably barking up the wrong tree.

“The key to successful clubs is how you harness that, how do you recognise it, embrace it and learn from it and make sure you never go back there again.”

Above: Tom Harley holds aloft the 2009 Premiership Cup. Image: AFL Media

It’s clear from Harley’s words the passion for success in club football still burns and the Swans have done well to snare a football person of such high calibre.

In the five years since his retirement Harley has worked as a commentator for Channel Seven and as the General Manager of the NSW/ACTAFL.

“The one thing that itches away is the team and club environment when wins and losses are so important,” Harley said.

“You love the wins and embrace the losses as well because it’s part of the roller coaster which is really alluring

“I missed that.”