Pickering’s Plan for Swans Triple Treat in 2022Thursday, April 7, 2022 - 2:35 PM - by Rachael Osborne

Swan Districts coach Adam Pickering spent the summer stewing over his teams exit from the finals last year. 

The black and whites suffered a heartbreaking 4-point defeat to the Falcons in the Elimination Final. 

“We felt like we played a pretty good game against West Perth in the finals last year, not that I’m holding onto it. 

I think I’ve replayed the last three minutes in my head 50 times during summer”, Pickering said. 

Swans have been active during the off season, landing quality recruits Tobe Watson, Jarvis Pina, Will Collins and Jarrod Cameron to boost their Premiership credentials. 

On the downside, leading midfielder Frank Anderson is almost certain to be sidelined until 2023 season because of a knee injury. 

The black and whites coach is taking a pragmatic approach to the prospect of losing players through the new Covid contingency list set up between the AFL and the WAFL.  

“We want our players involved at the highest level they can, so if one or two or three or four guys in my team get a chance, we’re going to wish them all the best and hopefully they can make a career out of it,” Pickering said. 

Irrespective of how that plays out, Swans remain ambitious about what can be achieved in the short and long term. 

“We’ve been building for the last four or five years and we’re not shy in saying we want to be top three in all three grades consistently. 

We want to be challenging the likes of Subiaco, South Fremantle, Claremont, and West Perth on a regular basis,” Pickering said. 

Pickering is buoyed by the depth created by youth at the club. 

“We’ve got a Premiership Colts team, who in my time here, which is probably four or five years, have probably been the best Colts team that’s come up in terms of how they go about their training and their thirst for knowledge. 

They’ve really enhanced the group rather than just slotting in.” 

Like most clubs, playing for Premiership points can’t come quickly enough. 

“Feel like we’ve had a good off season in terms of playing list and looking forward to starting the real games and see how we go,” 

Swan Districts begin their season against East Perth on Good Friday at Leederville Oval.