An impressive round two win against reigning premier Hawthorn has been sandwiched by two flat performances against the Saints and Lions, leaving the Swans with a 1-2 record after three rounds.
While Roos attributed his team’s inconsistency to an influx of younger players in the side, he said the club’s leaders needed to bear the brunt of any criticism.
“Whether it’s Freo, where all the stuff’s going to go on to [Matthew] Pavlich and [Chris] Tarrant and [Luke] McPharlin, or whether you’re Richmond [where] it’s going to be Richo [Matthew Richardson] and Nathan Brown and guys like that, we’re going to be similar,” he said on Monday.
“If our form’s really good like it was last week, then the senior guys will get the accolades. If we don’t play as well, then it’s those guys who it’s going to fall on.”
With several clubs injecting youth into their senior teams this season, the Swans coach predicted that fans would see more inconsistent form this year – and not just from his team.
“We’re trying to get the balance right with kids coming in and the inconsistency that they potentially bring is the same for a lot of teams,” Roos said.
“Geelong are the most seasoned, hardened team across the 22. We’ve still got a lot of senior players, but we’ve got six younger players playing on the weekend, which most teams have.
“You’re going to see a lot of inconsistent form throughout the whole season by the majority of clubs, so it’s the ones who can get their kids up and about and consistently playing well over four quarters [that] could get on a roll.”
However, Roos said the club’s young players would not be exempt as the Swans attempt to increase their intensity across the board after the Lions beat them at the stoppages last weekend.
“They need to take responsibility as well, the younger fellas. That’s a coaching thing that we’ve got to get across to them, that there’s some non-negotiables,” he said.
“You can play poorly but you’ve got to have really good effort and tackle well and be physical. We probably just didn’t get that and Brisbane’s younger guys did a lot better in that area.”
Co-captain Adam Goodes has already volunteered to go head-to-head with Carlton skipper Chris Judd on Saturday afternoon in a potentially mouth-watering clash but Roos said he was yet to decide whether Goodes would get his wish.
“There’s a chance. He’s played on him a number of times before, but [Brett] Kirk played on Juddy last year,” he said.
“They’ve got a quality midfield with [Marc] Murphy, [Bryce] Gibbs, Judd; [Kade] Simpson’s been playing really well and [Nick] Stevens is back in, so they’ve got a lot of very good players. We’ll put a lot of time and effort in to who matches up on who.”
