A raft of hot topics surround the Sydney Swans’ clash with the GWS Giants at the SCG on Saturday night.

The Swans are eyeing off a return to the winners’ circle and the Giants a third win on the trot as the two sides brace for what’s expected to be a hotly contested Sydney Derby XIV.

Sydney Derby rivalry
The Swans and Giants will clash for Sydney Derby XIV at the SCG on Sunday and it promises to be an absorbing encounter. Sydney leads the head-to-head 13 to nine and overcame GWS by just 13 points when the sides last met in Round 17 last season. Swans captain Josh Kennedy said earlier in the week the Giants always make for a tough test because of their ferocity at the contest. 

Battle of the coaches
Steve Johnson will be decked out in the red and white on Saturday and Shane Mumford in Giants colours, but their respective allegiances once lied on the other side of the fence. Johnson racked up 40 games for GWS but is now forwards coach at Sydney, while Mumford made 79 appearances for the Swans and won a flag with the club in 2012 but is now the Giants’ ruck coach. 

Goal-kicking shootout
Swans forward Lance Franklin (12 goals) and the Giants’ Jeremy Cameron (nine) lead the Coleman Medal race ahead of Round 3 and will come to a head in the goal-kicking stakes on Saturday. Franklin banged home eight majors in Sydney’s opening-round win over West Coast and four goals against Port Adelaide in Round 2, while Cameron collected six goals against the Western Bulldogs in Round 1 and three in his side’s match with Collingwood last week. Expect the two key forwards to again offer huge targets for their respective sides on Saturday.

Battle of the midfield
Some of the competition’s most elite on-ballers will butt heads in Sydney Derby XIV. Kennedy and vice-captains Luke Parker and Dan Hannebery are set to square off with Giants skipper Callan Ward and fellow midfielders Dylan Shiel and Lachie Whitfield. It was a total of just eight touches that split the sides in contested possessions when they last met. 

Milestone men
Jarrad McVeigh, Heath Grundy and Franklin will all tick off major achievements on Saturday. McVeigh is Sydney’s sole 300-gamer and is set to match 521-goal champion Michael O’Loughlin for most Swans games. It will put McVeigh in equal-third with O’Loughlin and trailing just Adam Goodes (372 games) and Jude Bolton (325). Meanwhile, Grundy will play his 240^th AFL match and go level with 2014 Brownlow Medallist Matt Priddis for most games for a player who started on an AFL rookie list. Franklin is eligible for AFL Life Membership as he will make his 300^th official appearance on Saturday. The four-time Coleman Medallist has played 273 games for Sydney and Hawthorn, 24 pre-season games, one International Rules Test and a State of Origin match.