McVeigh vows nothing will hold back Swans
NEW Sydney Swans co-captain Jarrad McVeigh has delivered a passionate address to his team-mates at Wednesday night’s Guernsey Presentation dinner, urging them to stick together to achieve success.
McVeigh told the 550-strong audience at Sydney’s Hilton Hotel that while it was an honour to receive the red and white jumper, what was harder was to actually honour the jumper.
“When you hold the jumper, hold it with pride, hold it with passion and remember who has come before and want to be part of our culture, want to be a part of something special,’’ he said at the Guernsey Presentation Dinner, presented by Volkswagen.
“It’s easy to put your body in the jumper, what’s hard is to put your heart in it.
“It’s easy to talk about commitment, what’s hard is to actually commit. We still have the hunger and passion to drive this team to be the best.’’
McVeigh recalled how he had grown up in NSW as a “footy nut’’ indoctrinated into the game of Aussie Rules by his father, who hailed from Victoria.
He watched games on tv and made the trip from the NSW Central Coast to the SCG many times to watch the Swans.
Even though the Swans were not successful when McVeigh was a boy in the 1990s, he said he “felt connected to the team in some way..we knew that these players would never lie down, the likes of Paul Kelly, Dennis Carroll, Stevie Wright and Mark Bayes to name a few”.
McVeigh was at the SCG for many pivotal moments in the Swans recent history, including the day Richard Osborne beat Melbourne off his own boot, the day there were 44,000 to watch the Swans against Geelong in 1996, when Cressa kicked the winning goal to down the Hawks and when Plugger kicked the winning point to send the Swans into the grand final.
“In some ways I have always felt I’ve been a part of this club, a part of a family, a part of tradition, a part of a culture that relies on hard work and playing for your mates beside you.’’
McVeigh told the new players to the Club, who received their first jumpers last night, they were now Bloods and their journey had begun.
“Think about the opportunity you’ve been given. Do not waste your time here, otherwise we’ll find someone else who is willing to do what it takes. It’s easy to play football but it’s even harder to win premierships.
“We are here to be successful so we need every player on board. This group does not make excuses, we honour our word and deliver on what we say. We don’t accept players going outside our behaviours.
“Too many people over the years have put in so much hard work to make the Swans what it is today.’’
During the past two years there has been a thorough overhaul of the Swans list and champion players such as Brett Kirk, Leo Barry and Michael O’Loughlin have retired.
Twenty one new players have come to the Club since the end of 2009, and McVeigh urged his team-mates to see the positives.
“People are always saying who we have lost but have a look at who we have gained – players who want to be a part of something, players who strive in our culture, players who have had to work harder than anyone because it didn’t come easy,” he said.
“They are the players I want beside me in battle.’’
McVeigh said several things will set the Swans apart. “It will be a team-first attitude. We will be united as a group, whether we win, lose or draw. Nothing and no-one will get in the way of this. We will be disciplined in everything we do.’’
And he said they would leave no stone unturned in their quest for a premiership.
“That’s what we are here for …. This club has won four premierships in 102 years. This isn’t good enough. Our supporters had to wait 72 years in between,’’ he said.
“Let’s make sure that now is our time. We are not waiting for anyone, so if you want to be a part of it, get on board. Otherwise we will leave you behind.
“There have been 1366 players play for the Bloods. Who wants to be next?’’ McVeigh said to thunderous applause.
