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PHOTO: Jeff White joins David Schwarz, right, after the Demons victory over the Bombers at the MCG.
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5/9/99
Forward thinking drives the Ox
By EMMA QUAYLE
EVERY football player will insist on convincing you that milestones don't matter - it's just another game, it's the team effort that matters, it won't stop them getting to sleep in the week leading up to the game.
David Schwarz, aka the Ox, is either a little more honest, or a bit cockier, than most football players.
He has, after all, spent so much time on the sidelines recovering from various knee operations, before finally settling back into the side last season, that any sort of attention will be enjoyed. And given that yesterday's game against Essendon was one of his most productive, bustling efforts in a long time - a game that let him slide through two goals and disrupt the Bombers' backmen - Schwarz can step into his 100th match for Melbourne next week with as much focus, form and confidence as he needs.
``It is exciting, I don't think I can hide from that," Schwarz said last night after the Demons led coach Neale Daniher to his first win over former mentor, Kevin Sheedy.
``It's been nine years coming now, and I was battling along for such a long time, sitting on 64 for about two and a half years, and thinking that I would probably never get there.
``But I think Neale is starting to understand the way I play now, and I'm starting to understand how he wants me to play. In the beginning it was hard because I didn't know exactly what he wanted and I wasn't fit enough to do what he wanted me to do, anyway."
With players such as David Neitz, Jeff Farmer and rookies Troy Longmuir and Ben Beams providing significant support, Schwarz understands that doing everything isn't always, even sometimes, necessary.
Before the match had time to develop yesterday, it was apparent that the Demons' forwards had made a commitment to work together and avoid giving one single player the spotlight; a move that kept Essendon's defenders confused.
``Neale really wanted us to be pretty close and tight and exuberant today, and when a group of guys kick a goal and go up and hug each other with a Wallis or someone in the middle of it, I think it just puts them off a bit,''Schwarz said.
``Before the game we sort of emphasised that we wanted to kick the first goal, and keep that bit in front, and we really wanted to make a point of getting over to congratulate each other and creating a bit of energy and a bit of spirit out there," added David Neitz, who kicked four goals and grabbed eight marks.
``I think that when you get guys like myself, and Schwarz and Farmer who have played together for a while now, two or three years, you learn how to understand each other a lot better, and make it easier to get some of the younger kids in without disrupting the team too much."
But if there was one person to congratulate yesterday, it was Farmer. Farmer was such a "hot and cold player," according to Schwarz that waiting to watch whether he would perform would inspire as much frustration as anticipation for his teammates and supporters.
Against Essendon, Farmer's hint of greatness came early, and despite a few usual errors late in the game, he added six goals to the Dees' scoreline. All of these goals arrived against tough opponents: Damien Hardwick, Michael Symons, Michael Prior and, for the first half, Dean Solomon.
Neitz said Farmer, who contributed 15 kicks and one handball, was probably the one player who needed a good individual game to keep up his confidence.
``In the last couple of weeks I think he has been sort of playing okay, making all of the efforts and setting up a lot of goals but not really finding any himself. His workrate is always good, though, and I suppose it was only a matter of time before he did get some rewards.
Schwarz said he admired ``The Wizard" in a more fantastical fashion: ``I just love playing with him, because I know that he's going to turn it on. When I watch him play it's like I'm sitting up in the crowd, peering out at the sky or something. He's amazing."
But yesterday, of course, was not about individual achievement. Next week might be, however, if David Schwarz has his way.
PHOTO: Jeff White joins David Schwarz, right, after the Demons victory over the Bombers at the MCG.
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