The Sydney Swans VFL team have prevailed with a valiant victory over the Brisbane Lions (9.6.60 to 7.7.43) in their first pre-season match of the 2023 season.

Boasting nine AFL-listed players through the likes of Nick Blakey, Hayden McLean and Will Gould, their experience came to the fore as a youthful playing outfit produced a starring performance from start to finish.

New recruit Tom Howard impressed with some fearless tackle pressure up forward and two goals, while Indhi Kirk and Harry Morrison had strong performances respectively. Draftees Cameron Owen, Caleb Mitchell, and Cooper Vickery also enjoyed their games in the red and white.

Assistant Coach Oliver Condon, who took the reigns as head coach alongside Damian Truslove for Friday's fixture, was widely impressed with the performance of a playing group who were rather inexperienced.

"I was really happy with the way we went about our business, particularly our midfield group who were pretty inexperienced in comparison to Brisbane," Condon said.

"It's always nice to have a strong first hit-out and have some players play together for the first time after a few months of training, but to put in a performance like we did is very pleasing."

The match simulation (3 x 25 minutes) will set a great foundation for the VFL playing squad moving forward into the new campaign, with their first match scheduled for Sunday, March 26 at Lakeside Oval - a curtain-raiser for our first home game of the 2023 AFL season at the SCG.

Get all the latest from our other pre-season match which saw the Lions record a win in our AFL fixture

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