The Sydney Swans’ clash with the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon is bursting with Hot Topics.

Sydney’s unbeaten run on the road, a young Swan’s 50^th AFL game, a showdown between some of the best young guns in the competition and plenty more surround the Round 10 fixture. 

Undefeated on the road
The Swans are undefeated on the road in 2018 ahead of their trip north. They opened their season with a 29-point win over the West Coast Eagles and beat the Western Bulldogs by seven points in Round 4. They overcame the Geelong Cats in a 17-point win in Round 6 and most recently notched an eight-point win over Hawthorn in Round 8. The Swans sit in fifth ahead of Round 10 and have won six games and lost three. 

Strong record over Brisbane
Sydney has won its last 10 games against Brisbane and hasn’t lost to the Lions since Round 22, 2009. The Swans secured their first win of the 2017 season over the Lions in Round 7 and have won their two most recent clashes with Brisbane by an average of 87.5 points. The sides have met on 34 occasions, the Swans hold a 22-11 advantage and the clubs played out a draw in 2007. 

Tom Papley’s 50^th
Another Rookie-listed Swan will continue to make a name for himself when young forward Tom Papley plays his 50^th AFL game on Saturday. The Gippsland Power product signed with the Swans at the 2016 Rookie Draft, held in November of 2015. He forms part of a young and speedy forward line alongside the likes of Ben Ronke and Will Hayward and has kicked 66 goals from his 49 games. The 21-year-old kicked two goals in Sydney’s win over Fremantle last Saturday and again impressed with intense tackling pressure and will be looking to bring his impressive form into the Brisbane clash. Papley is a grandson of former Swans Max Papley and Jeff Bray. 

Battle of the young guns
The Swans and Lions have some of the brightest young stars in the game. Ronke took the world by storm when he booted seven goals against Hawthorn, while Hayward kicked three goals in three consecutive games across Rounds 6, 7 and 8. Papley, Harry Cunningham, Oliver Florent and Isaac Heeney have all brought immense tackling pressure and highlights of their own in the midfield and forward line, while young defender Jake Lloyd is a star-in-the-making. On the other side of the ledger, Brisbane secured the AFL’s No. 1 Draft pick in Cameron Raynor at the National Draft last November and the 18-year-old has starred in his first season at AFL level. Rayner and small forward Charlie Cameron, who Brisbane recruited from Port Adelaide ahead of season 2018, bring blistering speed and a natural instinct around goal. They kicked two goals each in their side’s win over Hawthorn on Sunday and Cameron took a Mark of the Year contender, while young tall forward Eric Hipwood bagged four majors of his own. Keep an eye on this emerging pool of budding talent as they go toe-to-toe on Saturday. 

Clearance king Kennedy
Swans captain Josh Kennedy edged his way into the top five for total career clearances in Sydney’s win over Fremantle and will be looking to take his run of hot form to the Gabba. Hawthorn and West Coast star Sam Mitchell (1,803) tops the lot, Brisbane great Simon Black (1,715) sits second and West Coast and Carlton champion Chris Judd is running third. Former West Coast star Matthew Priddis sits fourth, while fifth-placed Kennedy has amassed 1,424 clearances ahead of the Brisbane clash. The skipper was at his scintillating best in the fourth quarter of Sydney’s come-from-behind win over Geelong in Round 6 when he finished with six of his 13 clearances.