The Sydney Swans are relishing the prospect of meeting competition heavyweight the Brisbane Lions in a preliminary final on Sunday.
Those are the words of Sydney development coach Lloyd Perris as the Swans narrow their focus on a team packed with AFL-listed firepower.
All 23 of Brisbane’s players named for the preliminary final are AFL-listed, with the Lions laying claim to 747 games of top-level experience.
Ryan Bastinac (164 appearances), Ryan Lester (126) and Lewis Taylor (112) are the most experienced.
On the contrary, just 14 of Sydney’s 23 players are AFL-listed and they have no more than 54 top-tier matches of experience between them, with 28-gamer Sam Naismith leading the way.
But Perris insists his charges will thrive on the challenge of facing the minor premier in Sunday’s encounter at South Pine Sports Complex.
“We’ve enjoyed the challenge of coming up against Brisbane every time this year. They’re obviously undefeated and have had an amazing season, but we like to think we’ve been building every time we’ve played them. So on the biggest stage of the year so far we think we’re a good chance,” Perris told SwansTV.
“They’ve got quality players all over the field. They’ve got a really strong defence that’s played a lot of footy and they’ve got quality midfielders. Then they’ve got guys in that 24-25-year-old bracket like Tom Cutler, Nick Robertson, Lewis Taylor – quality players with AFL experience. So for our young guys and Academy players to head up there and play Brisbane is a massive challenge but one we’re really looking forward to.”
The Swans lost to the Lions by 67 points and 71 points in Round 5 and Round 9 respectively, but the men in red and white posed a much greater threat in the clubs’ two most recent contests.
Sydney cut the losing margin to 32 points in Round 17 and fell to a 37-point defeat in the final round of the home-and-away season, leading by two points at three-quarter time before fading late.
Towering Swan Darcy Cameron missed last Saturday’s elimination final victory over Sydney University but will mount a return against the Lions.
The 24-year-old is expected to join forces with Naismith in the ruck and offer a key target when rotating through the forward line.
Perris says Naismith and Cameron fare as a lethal double act.
“Darcy played really well against Brisbane two weeks ago and to have him back in the side working with Sam Naismith is fantastic,” Perris said.
“Sam has hit some form as well and those two are a pretty formidable duo, so if we can get those two firing it will really help us.”
Free-wheeling Sydney defender Ryley Stoddart will also return to action after a two-match stint on the sideline.
The Swans booked their preliminary final berth with a rousing come-from-behind victory over the Students.
The situation was dire as Sydney University goaled early in the final term to push its lead to 27 points, but Sydney would hammer home six unanswered goals to steal a nine-point win.
Perris said the spirited finish had given his charges a major boost on the road to the preliminary final.
“It was an amazing win last week,” Perris said.
“We were feeling really good about ourselves early in the week and we’re going to look to carry that in. We’ve certainly hit some strong form at the right time of the year and we think we’re really building momentum.”
Who: Sydney Swans v Brisbane Lions
Where: South Pine Sports Complex, Brisbane
When: Sunday, 1pm
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Sydney Swans team:
B: 51. R Barkley 47. T Pink 54. K Martin
HB: 19. M Ling 46. J Amartey 53. K McKellar
C: 16. Z Foot 1. J Rose 27. J McInerney
HF: 52. E Gulden 17. D Cameron 49. C Hirst
F: 41. H McLean 35. S Naismith 45. S Wicks
R: 48. M Knoll 32. J Bell 50. S Thorne
Int: 55. N Brewer 57. M Geddes 56. M Rossmann 33. R Stoddart 60. R van Huisstede
