Demolition Derby X: Building rivalries a family tradition
Ben Horne
Daily Telegraph, June 8
KIEREN Jack couldn’t have timed his arrival into the world any better.
On June 28, 1987, smack bang between State of Origin II and the epic decider at Lang Park, a son was born.
Jack might not have followed father Garry into rugby league, but the same rich sense of sporting rivalry has flowed through his veins since day one.
Infant years spent on his mother’s lap at the Sydney Football Stadium as dad’s Balmain Tigers battled western Sydney rivals Canterbury in the 1988 grand final, and then the unforgettable 1989 decider against Canberra, are etched into his subconscious.
Now Jack has a chance to emulate his father.
Just like champion NSW fullback Garry helped build the legend that is State of Origin in the 1980s, now Kieren is a flagship player for the AFL’s Sydney derby, the Swans v Giants.
Jack admits he never thought he would see the day.
He believes the AFL will now go to the next level because of a new and exciting Sydney rivalry that is set for its most exciting chapter on Sunday at an almost sold-out Spotless Stadium.
“It’s huge. It’s what excites people,” Jack said. “If you see genuine rivalry, it’s exciting.
“You’ve got a real sense of ownership towards a team and it’s genuinely competitive.
“That’s what sport is built on. That’s what it’s made of.”
Swans’ lofty perch no cause to get carried away
Adrian Warren
Daily Telegraph, June 8
THE fickle nature of form has Sydney coach John Longmire downplaying his side’s impressive position.
Second-placed Sydney lurk just one win behind leaders North Melbourne, whose only loss has been to the Swans.
Sydney start the second half of their campaign on Sunday with a derby against the GWS Giants at Spotless Stadium.
Successive wins over competition heavyweights Hawthorn and North Melbourne and stragglers Gold Coast have Sydney well placed to push for a fifth grand final in 12 seasons.
Longmire wasn’t about to talk up Sydney’s finals prospects when asked to assess the first half of their season.
“Our form has been reasonably consistent,” he said yesterday. “But we know how fickle that can be if you’re not working at it all the time, at training and during games.
“That’s the challenge of AFL footy, to try and keep going with your form and keep raising the bar and lifting your standard, and that’s what we’re going to try and do. We have to because of the quality of the opposition.”
Name of the game is growth
Jarrad McVeigh
Daily Telegraph, June 8
AFL in NSW has come a long way. I remember heading along to the SCG with my family to watch the Swans play and we could pick out any seat in the stadium we liked.
Growing up on the Central Coast, it was always nice to watch footy on TV but the chance to go to the SCG and see a proper game was really special and something a lot of kids my age didn’t do.
AFL wasn’t talked about in the playground at all really, not many people knew much about it or the Swans. There was only one other person from my school who played the game. My brother Mark and I used to travel to Pennant Hills, the first stop off the freeway, to get more exposure.
We’re extremely thankful to my parents for making the commute multiple times a week as it definitely paid off for the both of us.
Being drafted by the Swans, the team I grew up supporting, was obviously one of the highlights of my life. To see how far the game has come in my 14 years at the club is incredible. The AFL brand is definitely out there and thriving.
The reception you get from schools these days and to see how eager kids are to speak about the game is fantastic. When we go to clinics there are many more kids who know how to kick and handball and that’s only improving thanks to the QBE Sydney Swans Academy. A lot of work has been put into growing the game in NSW and now with the Giants coming into the competition, it’s only getting bigger.
A clash now packed with impressive figures
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, June 8
IF there were any question marks over the credibility of the Sydney derby, the tale of the tape dismisses them outright.
The 10th edition of this meeting is at last a genuine heavyweight clash between two premiership contenders.
Only once in the past 20 years have the premiers not met the twin criteria of scoring more than 100 points per game and restricting the opposition to 80 points or less.
The Giants are the second-highest scoring team, averaging 107.7 points per game and conceding 80.8.
The Swans are a little down on scoring at 101.7 points per game but have the second-best defence behind the Western Bulldogs, restricting their opponents to 69.5 per game. The 2005 Swans are the only exception to the rule, scoring at an average of just 86.5 points per game.
GWS travelling just fine after road trips
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, June
LEON Cameron has dismissed suggestions his team will be feeling the ill-effects of a gruelling travel schedule that has taken them to Adelaide and Geelong in the past two weeks
The Giants will be relishing the opportunity to get in their cars and drive to Sunday’s derby against the Swans at Spotless Stadium after nine trips to the airport this year.
The past two weeks have been brutal finals-like contests away against the Crows and the Cats — arguably the toughest road trips in the AFL.
The Giants lost both games but Cameron says fatigue won’t be a factor.
“No, it isn’t an influence at all,” Cameron said.
“We’ve just had some players who probably aren’t contributing at the level they have been at the earlier part of the year but I’m confident they can find their way back to that sort of form. It’s hard to be up for 22 weeks. The competition is tough. We’ve played two really good sides.
“We’ve won four out of those eight quarters but some of those quarters have been five-goal quarters against and in one case Adelaide kicked eight goals to one, which is disappointing. We just need a bit more consistency with 100 minutes.”
Cheer cheer the red and the Giants
David Sygall
SMH, June 8
Swans co-captain Kieren Jack is in awe of how quickly the GWS-Sydney rivalry has taken hold ahead of Sunday’s derby. Once the poster-boy for the AFL’s potential to capture a mainstream slice of Sydney’s crowded sporting market, Kieren Jack marvels at the speed at which a genuine rivalry has evolved between his Swans and cross-city challengers the Giants.
Jack, who was born into rugby league royalty as the son of Balmain, NSW and Kangaroos fullback Garry, started his Australian rules career when he was spotted by talent scouts in 2005.
It was the year the Swans won the premiership for the first time as a Sydney-based club and about when the AFL started getting designs on planting a second team in the city’s greater west.
It took another seven years for the Giants to play their first AFL game, a 63-point loss to Sydney at ANZ Stadium, and since then they’ve been felled by their big brothers on all but one occasion.
But there is a different feeling about this Sunday’s derby, the 10th meeting between the sides and the Giants’ 100th match since joining the competition.
‘‘It’s probably something I didn’t think would happen growing up, that there would be two teams in Sydney, such was the strength of other codes,’’ Jack said. ‘‘But as you’ve seen ... how quickly [the Giants] have become competitive – it’s now really exciting for young kids to come along, whether it be to the SCG or at Spotless, and watch games of football and have a genuine rivalry now. It’s happened very quickly and it’s exciting for the game in Sydney and in NSW.”
Allies back to war footing for Sydney derby
Peter Lalor
The Australian, June 8
It’s an uneasy but occasionally symbiotic relationship between Sydney’s foundation club the Swans and expansion outfit the Giants.
When the whine from Melbourne teams starts up about the cost of living allowance and academies, the pair find themselves defending common ground. When there is competition for fans, sponsor dollars and attention, the relationship gets a little uneasy. When it is time for the biannual Sydney derby there is no love lost at all.
Things went up a notch when the Giants knocked off their big brothers in the opening round of 2014 but that has been the only occasion they have come away with the points.
Come 2016, both sides are in the eight. The Swans (9-2) are tracking far better than the Giants (7-4) and notched up a win when the sides met in round 3 at the SCG.
