Coming off a 24-point win in against Hawthorn in front of 73,805 fans in Round 1, Essendon will be no pushover this Saturday night at the SCG.

Jake Stringer led the way for the Bombers with four goals in the win over the Hawks, while young midfielder Archie Perkins gathered 24 disposals along with 12 tackles.

The Bombers have enjoyed strong starts to the season in recent years, and the performance of their new recruits will please their fans.

Todd Goldstein had 41 hit outs while Jade Gresham booted a goal on debut for his new club.

The Bombers, however, will be without Mason Redman for the Swans clash who’s been suspended for one week for striking Jai Newcombe, while Zach Reid (hamstring) and Matt Guelfi (calf) will also miss.

This means Darcy Parish could make his return from a calf injury for his first match of the season, while Nick Hind is likely to come back into the senior side.

The last time the two teams met was in Round 20, 2023, when Sydney prevailed by just two points at Marvel Stadium.

In that match Zach Merrett was outstanding for the Bombers with 39 touches, while young Swans star Errol Gulden had 37 for Sydney.

After the Bombers win against Hawthorn, coach Brad Scott said the Swans will be a big test, especially for his developing midfield.

“I heard John Longmire talk about Isaac Heeney … he’s an All-Australian forward, but he’s clearly dominating through the midfield,” Scott said.

“I think Isaac’s now 27 … Perks (Archie Perkins) has got a fair way to go to sort of replicate what Isaac is doing, but he’s a similar type in terms of we really like him forward, but we like him in the midfield too.

“We know Stringer can (play in the middle), we know Caldwell and Perkins can do it … what we’re trying to do is build flexibility, so at different stages of the game we can pull different levers.”

First bounce on Saturday night is at 7.30pm at the SCG, with the Sydney Swans to March to the Match from Sydney Swans HQ at approximately 6.30pm.

Essendon brought its edge and threw the first punches but, in the end, it was Sydney that flexed its muscle with a 30-point victory in a fiery clash at the SCG.

The Swans were two goals and a man down within the opening few minutes, but slowly reeled in the Bombers then ran away late for a 19.17 (131) to 15.11 (101) triumph on Saturday night.

Peter Wright sparked the fireworks early when taking out Harry Cunningham in a collision that will come under the scrutiny of the MRO.

The Bombers’ spearhead made high contact with Cunningham after bracing to protect himself rather than raising his arms to compete for the ball in a marking contest on the wing.

The Swans’ defender was left motionless for several minutes and finally taken from the field on a stretcher before being subbed out of the match in the first term.

Spot fires continued to break out across the first half, with combative rucks Brodie Grundy and Sam Draper each giving away an unnecessary free kick that led to an opposition goal in the second term.

The Swans eventually settled, and with their turnover and transition game in full flow, were able to wear down the Bombers before piling on late goals to stretch the margin.

Forward-turned-midfielder Isaac Heeney continued his scintillating start to the season with 32 disposals, eight clearances and a goal.

Tom Papley rose to the occasion of the heated clash with four goals as well as 24 disposals, while Chad Warner (28 touches, two goals) and Errol Gulden (24, two) were sublime in the midfield.

Sydney had more options and variety inside 50, as key forwards Joel Amartey (two goals), Hayden McLean (two) and Logan McDonald (one) stretched Essendon’s undermanned defence.

Zach Merrett was crucial for the Bombers throughout with 32 disposals and helped them stay in the contest with two final-term goals, while Jake Stringer (three goals) also hit the scoreboard late and Jade Gresham (three) showed his class.

Wright, the villain of the night, brushed aside the boos from the SCG faithful to finish with two goals.

It was a Bombers blitz from the opening bounce as Merrett set up two goals in the opening three minutes with precision kicking inside 50.

The Essendon skipper received the first hit-out of the match from Draper and quickly found Jade Gresham, while Merrett’s next touch picked out Nik Cox closer to goal to seal the fast start.

Wright collected Cunningham a minute later but once play resumed the Bombers had soon kicked four of the first five goals.

The Swans got the game back on their own terms with blistering ball movement and booted the next three majors to snatch the lead at the first change.

It was a see-sawing contest from there with the lead changing six times until the Swans pulled away late to extend their red-hot start to the season with a third straight victory.

Amartey pulls out the party tricks

The Swans found most of their goals through turnovers and transitions, but Joel Amartey pulled out his own tricks with an outrageous backheel on the edge of the goal line. Following a marking contest close to goal, Sydney kept surging the ball forward until Justin McInerney attempted to soccer it through from just inside the goalsquare. The midfielder scuffed the kick to allow a pair of Bombers defenders to close in on the bouncing ball, but Amartey pounced to get there first and shaped his foot to somehow tap the ball through for a goal.

Traditional nailbiter turns spiteful

Sydney and Essendon have built a tense rivalry with some weird and wonderful moments as well as a long stretch of close encounters. While Sydney pulled away in the final term, the evenly-matched pair have still had seven of their past nine games decided by 10 points or less, while few have been as spiteful as their latest clash. Luke Parker lit a spark by taunting Dylan Shiel when the teams met two years ago, but with the two midfielders missing it was left to big men Peter Wright, Sam Draper and Brodie Grundy to be among those to fan the flames this time. The countdown should be on now for the return bout in round 23.

SYDNEY                       4.4       8.9       13.13    19.17 (131)
ESSENDON                 4.1       8.5       10.8      15.11 (101)

GOALS
Sydney: Papley 4, Hayward 3, Amartey 2, Gulden 2, McLean 2, Warner 2, Blakey, Heeney, Jordon, McDonald, 
Essendon: Gresham 3, Stringer 3, Langford 2, Merrett 2, Wright 2, Cox, Draper, Goldstein, 

BEST
Sydney: Papley, Heeney, Gulden, Warner, Florent, Grundy, Blakey
Essendon: Merrett, Setterfield, Martin, Gresham, Caldwell, Durham 

INJURIES
Sydney: Cunningham (head knock)
Essendon: Nil

LATE CHANGES
Sydney: Nil
Essendon: Jake Kelly (illness) replaced in selected side by Alwyn Davey jnr 

SUBSTITUTES
Sydney: Corey Warner (replaced Harry Cunningham in the first quarter)
Essendon: Alwyn Davey jnr (replaced Sam Draper in the fourth quarter)

Crowd: 34,954 at the SCG