Luke Parker is a little bit like King Charles this week. He’s already the ‘king’ of the Sydney Derby, but on Saturday at the SCG he will enjoy his official ‘coronation’.
Parker will play his 23rd derby in derby #25 to move one ahead of retired ex-Sydney captain Josh Kennedy and suspended ex-GWS co-captain Callum Ward and sit clear at the top of the list for most matches between the two Sydney AFL clubs.
It will be a fitting recognition for 30-year-old co-captain, who has won the Brett Kirk Medal as best afield in the last three derbies, four of the last five, and five times overall.
Already Parker shares with Kennedy the record of 16 Brownlow Medal votes in matches between the two clubs, and, with a 13-9 derby win/loss record, he is one win behind Kennedy’s record for most derby wins.
He leads derby statistics for tackles and goal assists, is third behind Kennedy and Ward for clearances and contested possessions, and, with six 30-possession games in derbies, he has a quarter of Sydney’s entire 30-possession count and three times as many as any Giants player.
With one possession on Saturday Parker will equal Ward’s derby possession count of 517, which is second all-time, and with 32 possessions he will equal Kennedy’s all-time record of 548.
It is a domination like few others in a head-to-head rivalry in Australian sport but will count for nothing unless the Swans can turn around a heavy loss to Geelong last week and extend a two-game winning streak against the Giants.
Head-to-Head
The Swans enjoy a 15-9 head-to-head record against the Giants, having won the first four meetings, eight of the first nine, and three of the last four. On a win/loss basis from derby #1 the Swans have gone WWWWL-WWWWL-LLWWW-LLLWL-WLWW.
Results by Venue
Overall, the Swans have a 6-4 edge over the Giants at the SCG, are 4-1 at Stadium Australia and have a 3-3 split at the Sydney Showgrounds. They won in Perth and on the Gold Coast but lost the qualifying final in Launceston in 2021.
Covid Curiosities
In 100 years, people will look at the derby records from 2019-2022 and think ‘what was going on?’ Why did two clubs based in the same city play at six different venues across four states over a seven-game stretch?
It’s been Sydney Showgrounds, Perth Stadium, SCG, Carrara, York Park in Launceston, Stadium Australia and SCG before this Saturday’s game at the SCG. Why? The extended Covid factor of 2020-21 sent the teams to WA, Queensland and Tasmania.
Derby Flashback
Saturday night, 24 March 2012 … it was a huge night for AFL football in Sydney when the first Swans-Giants derby was played at the Olympic Stadium in a stand-alone game a week ahead of the rest of Round 1.
A crowd of 38,203 saw the Swans win 14.16 (100) to 5.7 (37) as Josh Kennedy, Kieren Jack and Shane Mumford, then playing for Sydney, took the Brownlow Medal votes. Jack, with an even 30 possessions, was the only player in either side to top 30, while Kennedy, Craig Bird and Lewis Jetta, each with two goals, were the only multiple goal-kickers.
Only eight players from that night are still playing and wearing the same colours – Sydney’s Luke Parker, Sam Reid and Harry Cunningham and GWS’ Toby Greene, Callan Ward, Stephen Coniglio, Phil Davis and Adam Kennedy.
Six others are now at other clubs – Sydney’s Gary Rohan is at Geelong, while now playing against GWS are Jeremy Cameron (Geelong), Will Hoskin-Elliott (Collingwood), Dylan Shiel (Essendon), Adam Tomlinson (Melbourne) and Nathan Wilson (Fremantle).
The teams for derby #1 (in notional positions) were:
SYDNEY
B: Nick Smith, Heath Grundy, Alex Johnson
HB: Marty Mattner, Ted Richards, Nick Malceski
C: Lewis Jetta, Jude Bolton, Jarrad McVeigh
HF: Dan Hannebery, Adam Goodes, Gary Rohan
F: Craig Bird, Sam Reid, Lewis Roberts-Thomson
R: Shane Mumford, Josh Kennedy, Kieren Jack.
INT: Andrejs Everitt, Ben McGlynn, Luke Parker, Harry Cunningham (sub).
GWS
B: Nathan Wilson, Tim Mohr, Israel Folau
HB: Will Hoskin-Elliot, Phil Davis, Adam Tomlinson
C: Adam Kennedy, James McDonald, Rhys Palmer
HF: Stephen Coniglio, Chad Cornes, Toby Greene
F: Devin Smith, Jeremy Cameron, Tomas Bugg
R: Jonathan Giles, Callan Ward, Dylan Shiel
INT: Jack Hombsch, Curtley Hampton, Jacob Townsend, Dom Tyson (sub).
Kirk Medal
Remembering that the Brett Kirk Medal is not awarded in finals, and that in derby #13 in 2017 it was shared between Lance Franklin and Callan Ward, the Swans lead the medal count 16-6. Sydney winners have been Luke Parker (5), Kieren Jack (3), Lance Franklin (3), Josh Kennedy (2), Callum Mills, Nick Malceski and Dan Hannebery, while Callan Ward (2), Shane Mumford, Heath Shaw, Jacob Hopper and Tim Taranto are GWS winners.
Brownlow Votes
The Swans have dominated derby Brownlow votes 91-35, with Luke Parker (16), Josh Kennedy (16) and Lance Franklin (15) clear leaders having polled more than a third of the votes between them. Shane Mumford, who played four derbies for Sydney and 12 for GWS, is next best with a total of eight votes – six in red and white and two in orange. Other Swans vote-getters have been Kieren Jack (7), Dan Hannebery (5), Isaac Heeney (4), Jarrad McVeigh (4), Callum Mills (3), Jake Lloyd (3), Jude Bolton (2), Kurt Tippett (2), Tom Mitchell (2), Errol Gulden (2), Dane Rampe (1), Nick Malceski (1), Ryan O’Keefe (1) and Sam Reid (1). Giants vote-getters have been Callan Ward (6), Nick Haynes (5), Stephen Coniglio (4), Toby Greene (3), Jacob Hopper (3), Zac Williams (3), Josh Kelly (2), Tom Green (2), Tim Taranto (2), Adam Treloar (1), Dylan Shiel (1) and Jeremy Cameron (1).
Derby Game Records
Sydney’s Jarrad McVeigh and GWS’ Lachie Whitfield share the derby possession record with 37, while Luke Parker (6), Josh Kennedy (4), McVeigh (3), Kieren Jack (3), Jake Lloyd (2) and Dan Hannebery (2) head the 30-possession games with GWS’ Callan Ward (2), Josh Kelly (2), Toby Greene (2), Dylan Shiel (2) and Tim Taranto (2).
Lance Franklin, with four games of five goals and three games of four goals, has been far and away the biggest goal-kicker in derby football. Kurt Tippett and Luke Parker are the only other players to kick five goals in a derby.
Highs and Lows
The Swans have an aggregate percentage against the Giants of 126.4 and a 10-3 advantage in 100-point scores. Their highest derby score of 24.27 (171) and their biggest derby win of 129 points came in derby #4 in 2013, and their lowest score of 4.6 (30) and biggest loss of 49 points came in derby #16 in 2018.
Derby Debutants
Five Sydney players have debuted in a derby – Dane Rampe, James Rose, Lewis Melican, Zac Foot and Angus Sheldrick. The Giants fielded 17 debutants in derby #1 and since have added Lachie Whitfield, Lachie Plowman, Jono O’Rourke, Connor Idun, Tom Hutchesson and Leek Aleer.
The other Giants to debut in a derby were all members of the derby #1 side (above) except James McDonald, Chad Cornes, Callan Ward, Rhys Palmer and Phil Davis.
Overall, Sydney has used 77 players in the derby and GWS 94 players.
All-Time Derby Stats Leaders
Possessions: Josh Kennedy (S) 548, Callan Ward (G) 517, Luke Parker (S) 516, Jake Lloyd (S) 442), Lachie Whitfield (G) 415, Josh Kelly (G) 402, Stephen Coniglio (G) 382, Dan Hannebery (S) 363, Toby Greene (G) 355, Kieren Jack (S) 343.
Goals: Lance Franklin (S) 47, Jeremy Cameron (G) 33, Toby Greene (G) 28, Tom Papley (S) 24, Isaac Heeney (S) 22, Luke Parker (S) 18, Harry Himmelberg (G) 18, Josh Kennedy (S) 16, Kieren Jack (S) 16, Jon Patton (G) 16.
Form Guide
While the Swans have started the season WWLLWL, the Giants have gone WLLLWL. Hawthorn is the only club that both teams have played – the Swans beat them by 81 points at the SCG in Round 2 and the Giants beat them by two points at Norwood Oval in Gather Round. Sydney is 0-3 against sides in the top eight, while GWS is 1-3, having beaten Adelaide by 16 points in Adelaide in Round 1.
Stats Leaders 2023
Jake Lloyd (141), Chad Warner (139), Nick Blakey (131), Errol Gulden (128), Callum Mills (128), Ollie Florent (127) and Luke Parker (127) have been the Swans leading possession-winners, while Stephen Coniglio (185), Tom Green (164), Josh Kelly (146), Lachie Ash (136) and Isaac Cumming (130) are the Giants best ball-winners, with Green having missed one game through suspension.
Tom Papley (15), Logan McDonald (11) and Isaac Heeney (7) head the Swans goal list, while Toby Greene (16), Jesse Hogan (12) and Brent Daniels (10) do likewise for the Giants.
Coaches Votes
In voting for the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year award, Chad Warner (24) leads the Swans vote from Callum Mills (11), Tom Papley (10), Errol Gulden (9) and Ollie Florent (9). Giants best are Toby Greene (19), Josh Kelly (17), Stephen Coniglio (11) and the injured Sam Taylor (11).
Visit our Match Day Hub for everything you need to know ahead of Round 7.
Stay up to date with all the latest fixture, team and player news by signing up to our free e-Newsletter – sign up to MySwans.
2023 Memberships are now on sale! Better value, better match day and an all-round better experience. There’s a membership to suit every footy fan in 2023. Be part of something bigger, and better – join today.
