The Sydney Swans face the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium on Friday April 15 in their Round 5 fixture.

For the first time, the club will be involved in Good Friday football in the side’s first of two trips west in 2022.

The Swans will be looking for it’s fourth win of the season, coming off a nail biting 11-point victory over North Melbourne last week and senior coach John Longmire has made two changes to his side with Logan McDonald and Ben Ronke both named to play.

The two forwards replace an injured Lance Franklin and Josh Kennedy (managed).

The Swans were faced with adversity last week, trailing at 14-points halfway through the final term before Isaac Heeney, Justin McInerney and a host of other young stars secured the win at home.

Longmire revealed consistency across four quarters has been the key focus this week.

“North Melbourne were very good, their tackling pressure was first class and it took us to the last quarter to get over the top. It was a strong last quarter, but we need a bit more consistencies over the four quarters which is what we’re after against a team that’s done well this season as far as how competitive they’ve been.”

The West Coast will enter this clash with confidence after securing their first win of the season last week with a victory over Collingwood.

After the opening rounds saw the home side depth tested, the side has several changes for the clash. Ruckman Nic Naitanui is sidelined with a knee injury while key defender Jeremy McGovern will miss the clash under AFL health and safety protocols. However the Eagles welcome back midfielders Luke Shuey and Tim Killy as well as Elliott Yeo. Forward Jamie Cripps, defender Harry Edwards and ruckman-forward Bailey Williams have also been named.

Midfielder James Rowbottom will play his 50th AFL game while West Coast’s Jamie Cripps will be playing his 200th game.

HMAS SYDNEY II

When the Sydney Swans take on West Coast on Friday the teams will pause to honour the memory of those who died when HMAS Sydney II was lost in World War II.

November 19, 2021 marked 80 years since 645 young men died when their ship was sunk off the coast of Western Australia in 1941, in what remains Australia’s greatest naval tragedy.

The Round 5 clash will see the Swans and the Eagles play for the HMAS Sydney II Commemorative Trophy, while the player judged best on ground will receive the perpetual Gun Shell Gallantry Trophy.

Players from both teams will wear black armbands in memory of those who lost their lives in what remains Australia’s greatest naval tragedy.

Read more.

Match Details

Round 5: West Coast Eagles v Sydney Swans
7:40pm AEST. Friday, April 15, 2022
Optus Stadium, WA

Our match will be broadcast live nationally on the Seven Network and Fox Footy, and streamed live on Kayo. You can also follow along in the Sydney Swans app.

Keep an eye on sydneyswans.com.au for all the latest information and follow us social media @sydneyswans on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

View all the important information in our Match Day Hub

History

Sydney has won four of the last five meetings, including a dominant 118-26 victory last season.

R16, 2021: Swans 118-26 Eagles
R5, 2020: Eagles 77-43 Swans
R12, 2019: Swans 116-71 Eagles
R13, 2018: Swans 72-57 Eagles
R1, 2018: Eagles 86-115 Swans

Sydney has blown away West Coast by 63 points after a remarkable first-half blitz despite the absence of superstar forward Lance Franklin at Optus Stadium on Friday night.

The Swans kicked the first eight goals before West Coast had even scored, led by Callum Mills (28 disposals and six clearances) and Luke Parker (26 disposals and two goals) along with their young brigade as they won 18.13 (121) to 9.4 (58).

Sydney dominated all the key statistics as it opened up a 58-point half-time lead, including 20-2 scoring shots and 39-10 inside 50s. The latter was the largest half-time inside 50 differential (+29) in the AFL since 2018. The Swans finished with a lopsided 65-29 inside-50 count as well as 384 to 313 disposals.

It was a major letdown for West Coast who welcomed back a host of stars including skipper Luke Shuey (18 disposals and seven clearances), two-time club champion Elliot Yeo (15 disposals) and Tim Kelly (16 disposals) after shocking Collingwood by 13 points last round.

The Eagles have had a rough season with injuries and players entering health and safety protocols, with Nic Naitanui and Jeremy McGovern the latest to miss, but appeared shell-shocked in a dire first-half display.

WA product Logan McDonald, called into the Sydney side to replace the injured Franklin, kicked two first-quarter goals to set the tone, including a wonderful 55m running goal. Hayden McLean also kicked two early as the Swans led by 34 points at the first change.

West Coast's returning stars struggled for impact, with Shuey only having one disposal in the first term, while Yeo didn’t touch the ball at all, although he spent a lengthy period in the changerooms after a heavy bump from Peter Ladhams.

Sydney didn’t relent in the second term, opening up a 63-point lead after a spectacular set shot from the boundary from Justin McInerney who had 24 disposals.

There would be no second-half resurrection for the Eagles, despite outscoring the Swans in the third quarter while Shuey's frustration was clear to see, involved in an off-the-ball scrap with McInerney and Mills.

Sydney pulled away again with seven fourth-quarter goals, with Isaac Heeney finishing with three for the game to cap a comprehensive win. Liam Ryan finished with three goals for West Coast.

West Coast's first-half horror show

West Coast has battled manfully throughout a raft of challenges in 2022, but it always felt like they had a performance like this in them. The first half was a horror show, going scoreless in the first quarter. Sydney kicked 8.8 before the Eagles finally got their first major 17 minutes into the second term. Across one of the most dominant first halves in recent memory, Sydney won scoring shots 20-2, inside 50s 39-10, disposals 206-157, hit-outs 26-11 and contested possessions 81-55.

Ladhams takes his chance

Off-season recruit Peter Ladhams capitalised on Naitanui's absence with an impressive performance in the ruck in his second game in red and white. Ladhams has had to wait for an opportunity but came into the side in round four following Tom Hickey's knee injury. Coincidentally, on the same day Ladhams' former club Port Adelaide confirmed a three-month injury to first-choice ruckman Scott Lycett, the new Swan had 24 hit-outs along with 24 disposals, five clearances and even kicked an athletic second-quarter goal.

WEST COAST            0.0       2.0       4.3       9.4 (58)

SYDNEY                   5.4      10.10       11.12     18.13 (121)

GOALS 
West Coast: Ryan 3, Kennedy 2, Redden, B.Williams, Darling, Cripps
Sydney: Heeney 3, McLean 2, McDonald 2, Hayward 2, Parker 2, Warner 2, Ronke, Bell, Ladhams, McInerney, Blakey

BEST 
West Coast: Duggan, Redden, Naish, Ryan, Witherden
Sydney: Mills, Ladhams, Parker, Heeney, Lloyd, McInerney

INJURIES 
West Coast: Nil
Sydney: Nil

LATE CHANGES
West Coast: Nil
Sydney: Nil

SUBSTITUTES 
West Coast: Jake Waterman (unused)
Sydney: Josh Kennedy (unused)

Crowd: 42,888 at Optus Stadium