Finals aside, it is 24 years since the Sydney Swans played the Adelaide Crows in a game anywhere near as important as Saturday night’s Round 23 monster in Adelaide. And even that’s questionable.

In Round 20, 1999 Sydney were ninth, with a 9-10 record, when they hosted 11^th-placed Adelaide at 8-11. Both teams were locked in a titanic struggle as six teams split by just one win chased the last two finals spots.

What happened? The Swans posted what is still their biggest win in now 44 games against the Crows by 118 points. Tony Lockett kicked eight goals in his 275^th game, Wayne Schwass four and Paul Kelly three in a 25.9 (159) to 5.11 (41) thumping, and the Brownlow Medal votes went Kelly (3), Lockett (2), Schwass (1) in what was Brett Kirk’s second game.

Sydney then went win-loss to close out the home-and-away season to grab eighth spot by half a game from Hawthorn, while Adelaide finished loss-loss and tumbled to 13^th.

It’s a similar critical situation this week, certainly from the perspective of the seventh-placed Swans (11-1-9) as they travel to meet the 12^th-placed Crows (10-11).

Sydney, who will host fourth-placed Melbourne in Round 24, need two wins to be assured of a finals spot, while Adelaide, away to West Coast in the last home-and-away game, need two wins and other results to go their way.

The Swans have a 19-25 overall record against the Crows since they joined the competition in 1991, having won their last three meetings by three points at Adelaide Oval in 2020 and by 33 points at the SCG in 2021 and 2022.

It’s 8-3 to the Swans in the last decade, and overall its 9-13 to the Crows at the SCG, 3-1 to the Swans at Adelaide Oval and 7-11 to the Crows at their former home of Football Park.

It’s 2-1 in finals. The Crows won the first post-season meeting between the clubs by 27 points at the SCG in 1998 before the Swans won by 29 points at Football Park in 2012 and by 36 points at the SCG in 2016.

Brownlow Medal

Despite the Crows having a narrow edge in head-to-head wins the Swans lead 125-121 in aggregate votes in the Brownlow. Josh Kennedy (11) and Paul Kelly (11) lead the Sydney vote from Dan Hannebery (9) and Luke Parker (7), while ex-Crows captain Mark Bickley (16) heads the overall list from Rory Sloane (10), Andrew McLeod (9) and Tyson Edwards (6).

Major Possession Winners

Ex-Swan Barry Mitchell has held the record for most possessions in a game between Sydney and Adelaide since their second meeting in 1991. He had 46 touches in Round 18 at Football Park as the visitors came from 21 points down at halftime to win by four points. He also kicked two goals but missed out on the votes completely.

There have been four other 40 possession games between the clubs – Dan Hannebery had 40 and 42, Josh Kennedy 42 and Craig McDermott 40 for the Crows in 1993.

Kennedy (5) and Hannebery (4) have had most 30-possession games for the Swans, while Rory Laird, with games of 30-plus in his last five games against the Swans, has been most prolific for the Crows.

Big Goal-Kickers

Tony Lockett’s eight-goal bag in 1999 is the equal biggest in Swans v Crows games after Simon Minton-Connell kicked eight in a 67-point Swans loss at Football Park in 1992. Lockett also kicked six against the Crows in 1995, while the Crows have had five players kick six goals against the Swans – Taylor Walker, Mark Stevens, Peter Vardy, Rod Jamison and Scott Hodges.

A Friendly Foe

Sydney will take on Adelaide for the fourth time under one-time Swan favorite Matthew Nicks, and will be looking to retain their unbeaten record against the now 48-year-old, who played 175 games for the club from 1996-2006. Nicks’ first AFL game as Crows coach was against the Swans at Adelaide Oval in Round 1, 2020, when his side held the visitors goalless from 15 minutes into the third quarter but went down by three points. He’s since lost both meetings against his former club by 33 points at the SCG. He has a 28-53 record overall, and is also still to beat Collingwood and Essendon.

Common Players

Seven players have worn the colours of both clubs in their 32-year rivalry. Four players first in Sydney – Peter Caven, Ryan Fitzgerald, Scott Stevens and Jordan Dawson – while 2012 Swans premiership player Marty Mattner, Tony Armstrong and Kurt Tippett began in Adelaide.

What now Kurt?

Kurt Tippett, who played in the 2014-16 grand finals for the Swans, now has a third AFL club on his CV. Having moved back home to the Gold Coast, where he has set up his own property development business, Tippett this year joined the board of the Gold Coast Suns.

Highs & Lows

The Swans’ aforementioned big win in 1999 is still the club’s highest score and biggest win against the Crows, with the Crows’ 5.11 (41) in the same game their lowest score against the Swans. The Crows’ highest score against the Swans is 23.17 (155) at Football Park in 1999, when Mark Stevens kicked six in an 81-point win, and their biggest win over the Swans was by 90 points at Football Park in 1996, when Peter Caven kicked six and Sydney posted their lowest score against Adelaide of 6.4 (40).

Adelaide Form Guide

Jordan Dawson, in his second season with the Crows and his first as captain, heads his team’s 2023 possession count with 580 at 27.6 per game to rank eighth in the League overall. Rory Laird, 14^th overall, has averaged 28.45 possessions per game and Brodie Smith 21.1. Matt Crouch, recalled to the side in the past four weeks, has picked up 22-32-31-33 since then.

Ex-Crows skipper Taylor Walker, in his 15^th season at 33, is in the race for the 2023 Coleman Medal with a career-best single-season haul of 65 goals – five behind Carlton’s Charlie Curnow (70). He’s been efficient in front of goal, kicking 65.29. Izak Rankine, set to return from a three-match suspension this week, is Adelaide’s No.2 goal-kicker with 35 from Darcy Fogarty (33), Luke Pedlar (25) and Ben Keays (21).

Dawson leads the Crows’ vote count in the Coaches Association Player of the Year Award with 71 and is equal ninth on the overall leaderboard. Walker (45), Rankine (38) and Rory Laird (38) are the only other Crows beyond 20 votes.

Laird is second in the League for tackles with 163, behind only Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell (172), and is 12^th for clearances and eighth for contested possessions. Walker is eighth for contested possessions.

Despite sitting 12^th on the AFL ladder Adelaide is the highest scoring team in the League this year, averaging 95.1 points per game. Sydney is sixth at 91.4. There’s little between the sides defensively, with Sydney ninth best conceding 81.5 points per game and Adelaide 10^th best at 82.1.

The Crows have enjoyed a 9-3 record at Adelaide Oval this season, having lost only to Richmond by 32 points in Round 2, to Collingwood by one point in Round 6 and GWS by 14 points in Round 18.