The Wheel said:
IMO 2013 is about rebuilding the similar way the Swans have done over the last few years - rebuild while still being competitive. It will be an interesting year, we may drop back a peg or two but if some of these young guys step up to the mark similar to what DCE and Foran in 2011 we should be there when the whips are cracking in late September.
Harsh imo. When you break our squad down, position by position, I would consider each, including depth, one of, if not THE best in the league today.
Fullback
Brett Stewart, Ben Farrar, Jacob Gagan, Peta Hiku, Clinton Gutherson
Wing
David Williams, Ben Farrar, George Taufua, Peta Hiku
Centre
Steve Matai, Jamie Lyon, Ben Farrar, Peta Hiku, Dylan Strickland, Dean Mcglinchy, Justin Horo, Jamie Buhrer
Halves
Daly Cherry-Evans, Liam Foran, Kieran Foran, Dane Chisholm, Dominic Nasso
Hooker
Matt Ballin, Liam Higgins, Jamie Buhrer, Dominic Nasso
Prop
Steve Tavita, Jason King, Brent Kite, George Rose, Richie Fa'aso, Brenton Lawrence, Vic Mauro, Justin Lemalu, Ligi Sao, Joe Galuvao, Magnus Stromquist, James Cunningham (I think), David Gower
Backrow / Lock
Jesse Sene-Lefao, Michael Chee Kam, Anthony Watmough, Glenn Stewart, Justin Horo, Jamie Buhrer, Joe Galuvao, Ben Musolino, Dean Mcglinchy, Nick Skinner, Jake Trbojevic, James Hasson, Joe Galuvao
and I'm SURE I have left out a few.
There is no way that is a rebuilding squad, and I'd almost call it pretty harsh on the playing squad to do so. Do not under estimate, nor have low expectation with these guys - they deserve much, much more.
In my opinion, we should be battling for a top 2-3 finish (my hope is a minor premiership).
There is a reason people are lowering their expectation, and in my opinion, it is to provide "the excuse" in the unlikely event that we fail. Not me though. Toovey again has an all star squad in my books (maybe even better than last year counting depth) than last season. He'd struggle NOT to do well with our powerhouse squad.
I have very lofty expectations. I also believe it will be the coach that will drive our success or downfall, so personally, I'm judging 2013's success "predominantly" on Toovey's shoulders as head coach.