A Giant wake-up call
Sunday’s loss to GWS has no doubt been pulled apart and analysed by the footy department with, as assistant coach Henry Playfair points out, contested ball just one of the contributing factors in the defeat.
“We pride ourselves on that so it was disappointing and set us on the back foot,” he said.
They were ready and raring from the very first bounce. That intensity and pressure remained for the entirety of the game at Spotless Stadium.
The Swans had no answers.
But the beauty of AFL footy is that there’s an opportunity to make amends and that’s exactly what they’ll be aiming to do on Sunday.
Dangerous Dees
Sunday will mark the first time former coach Paul Roos has coached at the SCG since his final year at the helm of the Sydney Swans in 2010.
Six seasons on and he’s in charge of an ultra-competitive Melbourne outfit gung-ho on claiming a big scalp on Sunday.
There’s no better opportunity for the 10th placed Dees to do that. They’ve been hard at the ball and man this season, ranked within the top four across a number of key performance indicators.
In tight they’re a league leader, averaging only one less than Sydney for stoppage clearances while they’re ranked second in the competition for centre clearances and overall clearances.
Last weekend was a battle of the midfields. It looks like this weekend will be a similar story.
Paul Roos speaks to media after being labelled to play 'ugly footy' in 2005.
Who will replace Tippo?
Selection talk this week has centred around who’ll be the man to replace Kurt Tippett after the ruckman was ruled out for at least six weeks with injury.
Melbourne rank second in the competition for hit outs, thanks largely to the power of work from Max Gawn, so whoever comes in will have a tough ask on their hands.
Toby Nankervis is an obvious choice since the 21-year-old has already featured at senior level this season. But Sam Naismith was also thrown in the mix after performing well at NEAFL level.
Thursday night’s selection hasn’t made it any clearer with both named as part of the extended squad.
The 25-man squad will be whittled down on Friday night with a host of other names in the mix including George Hewett, Aliir Aliir, Dean Towers and Tyrone Leonardis.
Ted Richards (concussion) and Tom Papley (shin) will miss another week with respective injuries.
Reggie’s 200th
We’ve seen Heath Grundy grow so much in the past 199 games.
From that skinny 20-year-old who kicked three goals on debut against Richmond in 2006 to the ever-reliable defender who’s enjoying arguably his best season to date.
Grundy will notch game 200 on Sunday in another significant milestone in his relatively low-key career, which includes life membership to the Sydney Swans, a treasured premiership medallion.
His promotion into the leadership group goes to show how much ‘Reg’ is respected and valued within the four walls of the Sydney Swans Football Club.
Join us in wishing ‘Reg’ the very best on a special day.
Heath Grundy shares a laugh with premiership teammate Marty Mattner.
#RedDay
The colour red will be the flavour of the weekend when the Sydney Swans and Redkite celebrate 15 years of partnership during our inaugural #RedDay on Sunday.
The Australian cancer charity provides essential services to young people and families dealing with childhood cancer.
Since 2001, Swans players including the likes of Brett Kirk, Rhyce Shaw and Harry Cunningham have supported the cause by visiting patients at Sydney Children’s Hospital.
Fans are encouraged to wear red on Sunday to help celebrate the milestone. A limited number of red headbands will be available for a gold coin donation while tin rattlers will be scattered along Driver Avenue aiming to raise valuable funds.
Redkite families will participate in a guard of honour to welcome the Swans players out onto the ground while a celebrity AFL 9s match will be played before the main game.
