KryptoNick is ready
Ben Horne
Daily Telegraph, August 15

Sydney will launch an-all out KryptoNick attack on Superman small forward Eddie Betts at Adelaide Oval on Friday night in a bid to crack the AFL top four.

Nick Smith is one of the game’s most no-frills defenders, but his classic match-up against Crows champion Betts could be premiership-defining for the resurgent Swans.

Few can handle the scintillating pace and sublime skill of Betts, who has first-placed ­Adelaide on track for a memorable tilt at the title.

On his own patch at Adelaide Oval, Betts has been almost unstoppable this season, shredding opponents with almost effortless ease.

However, Mr No Nonsense Smith, 29, has proven time and again he has Betts’ measure.

In their four meetings since 2014 when Betts moved to the Crows, Smith has come out on top every time, limiting the goal-scoring dynamo for disposals and impact on the scoreboard.

Last year’s big final at the SCG was Smith’s most comprehensive defensive performance on Betts yet. Even though the magic man ended up with three goals, he was virtually silenced.

Swans star Isaac Heeney describes Betts as the “X-factor of the AFL” but believes Smith is the man to strip Superman of his cape.

“I believe he does,” Heeney said.

“I’m not sure what Horse (coach John Longmire) is thinking, but Nick Smith is someone that you tell him to do a job and he’ll get it done no matter what. It’ll be a good battle.

“(Betts) is one of those small forwards that anyone would love in their team. He’s the X-factor of the competition. He can pull out a goal from anywhere and he doesn’t need many touches, but he’s special with what he does with it.

“It’s going to be important to shut him down because he’s going to be key to their success this year.”

Beating Adelaide something to crow about: Longmire
James Buckley
SMH, August 15

The Swans' premiership charge undergoes its most significant litmus test on Friday night against the Crows in Adelaide, a heavyweight blockbuster pitting the ladder leaders against the best-performed AFL team since May.

Coach John Longmire has overseen 12 wins from 14 matches over the past three and a half months, the only blemishes a pair of losses to Hawthorn.

But the Adelaide Oval battle with the free-flowing Crows is by far the toughest challenge of the season, pitting Sydney's rigid defence against the competition's highest-octane team.

Longmire's week started well with the injury to Nic Newman's knee in Saturday's triple-figure thumping of Fremantle not as bad as first thought.

Newman hyper-extended the knee in the second half against the Dockers and was helped from the field, not to return. He will be given the chance to prove his fitness at training on Wednesday, failing which Longmire can reach into his well-stocked reserves where Harry Cunningham and Dan Robinson are patiently awaiting a recall to the seniors.

Captain Josh Kennedy trained on Monday and will be put through a full session on Wednesday to prove his fitness after missing wins over Geelong and Fremantle.

His inclusion would be a major boost for a Swans' midfield up against the best contested-ball team in the AFL.

"They'll get a huge test this week against the No.1 attacking team in the competition," Longmire said.

"It just won't be up to our back six, it'll be up to our full team defence to give them a hand and try and restrict Adelaide's scoring capacity.

"They're No.1 in most categories of the game. They're incredibly potent at scoring, scoring at turnovers, they're top four defence, they're No.1 contested team in the competition, you keep rattling them off.

"You can't spend too much time looking at the stats because you might get a little bit concerned. They're an A-grade team that deserves their position on the ladder."

Stats enough about how good Crows are, thanks: Longmire
Courtney Walsh
The Australian, August 15

John Longmire wants no more part of a statistical breakdown of the Adelaide Crows this week.

The Sydney coach already knows enough to be concerned, let alone waste time stressing more ahead of Friday night’s pivotal clash in Adelaide.

The Crows occupy top spot for a reason, he said.

Adelaide are the best scoring team, and by some margin. They average 15 points per game more than the second best scoring team, Geelong.

Taylor Walker, Eddie Betts, Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch and Mitch McGovern, to name a few, are a potent nightmare for any coach to contain.

And, as Longmire said, the Crows are deadly when forcing the opposition into a turnover, their defence is miserly and they win more of the ball at the contest than any other side.

“You can keep rattling them off,” he said. “You can’t spend too much time looking at the stats because you might get a little bit concerned, but they are an A-grade team and they deserve their position on the ladder.

“They have got all areas of the game as sound as can be. That is why they have got such a great percentage.’’

Pre-finals bye a curse for top-four teams, so change the AFL finals system
Chris Judd
SMH, The Age, August 15

The bye round between round 23 and the AFL finals series was born out of Fremantle and North Melbourne's decision to rest a total of 20 players for their last home-and-away game in 2015, as the result of those games couldn't change their positions on the ladder.

A few in the industry were unsure whether the additional bye would work, but after 2016 was hailed as one of the best finals series ever, it appears it's here to stay.

While football departments of clubs finishing in the bottom half of the eight will be delighted at the chance to give their troops a week off, there is some noise around that the top four teams aren't as excited about the prospect of having two weeks off out of three if they win their first final. Both top four teams that won their first final last year (Geelong and GWS) were bundled out of the finals in preliminary finals. Geelong's request (which wasn't granted by the AFL) to have their round 23 game against GWS on a Monday night shows that there is concern about having too much time between games leading into September.

When Ross Lyon aired his concern around the AFL's decision to introduce the bye after the home and away season last year, Gillon McLachlan was quick with his reply. Fremantle had rested half their team in the last game of 2015 when they were a top four side, so they obviously weren't concerned about having those players miss two matches in three weeks then. Why should it be an issue now?

It really depends on the age of your list and how many sore players you have. For players who have been playing sore for a large part of the season or for players nearing or over 30 years of age, missing two out of three games is a positive. But for young players, sometimes missing even one week isn't ideal. Players in their formative years usually pull up well in between games so the extended break doesn't benefit them as much, plus missing a week is sometimes enough for them to feel they've lost the rhythm and speed of the AFL game, let alone two out of three weeks. Older players don't have this issue, as their brain and body have experienced the speed of an game enough to quickly remember what's required, even after some time off. While half of Fremantle's team missed their last game of 2015, half of them still played, keeping their game load where their fitness staff wanted it to be, even if the game wasn't played for sheep stations. 

Crows relish test
Reece Homfray
Adelaide Advertiser, Herald Sun, August 15

A top-two finish is guaranteed, but Adelaide is not taking Friday night’s clash against Sydney lightly after waiting nearly 12 months for a crack at last year’s finals conqueror.

The Crows have not played the Swans since last year’s SCG semi-final thrashing, and assistant coach Scott Camporeale said it was an important test leading into the finals.

“It’s a pretty important game after what Sydney did to us in the final,” Camporeale said yesterday.

“I don’t think it will be a motivator, but we learnt some valuable lessons. We like to think we’ve improved since that final, but Sydney is a great test. They’re probably the form team of the competition, so it’s always a tough, hard game against them.

“It’s always great to potentially play against teams that you may face (in finals). And Sydney play a real finals brand of footy, so it will be something that we’ll look forward to.”

Camporeale said the Crows’ all-round game had improved this season.

“Our contest work has improved, and guys have gone to another level in that space,” he said.

“We’re still moving the ball as good as what we have been, and collectively our team defence has improved as well.”