New season, clean slate

Five months, 25 weeks and 176 days.

That’s how much time will have passed between the final siren of last year’s Grand Final and the opening bounce of Saturday’s season opener.

That’s a lot of time to mull over a heartbreaking loss.

Ask any player or coach at the Sydney Swans and they’ll tell you they’ve moved on, as they’ve said numerous times over the pre-season, but there’s nothing like putting the past well and truly behind you with a strong first-up performance.

Such an opportunity presents itself in the form of the weekend’s Round 1 clash against Port Adelaide at the SCG.

Fresh faces

With Round 1 comes a host of fresh faces league-wide, either first-year debutants who’ve impressed enough over the pre-season to earn a senior berth or players in new jumpers keen to make the most of their opportunity.

The Sydney Swans are in line to offer such an opportunity to several players considering several injuries to key personnel.

The coaches were quick to reward Oliver Florent with a debut, confirming his selection on Wednesday, after his strong showing in this year’s JLT Community Series. The first-round draft pick played all three matches, averaging 13 disposals as well as kick two goals in the Swans’ opening game against North Melbourne.

Will Hayward, Robbie Fox and Shaun Edwards (picked up in the Rookie Draft) are also in the mix.

Darcy Cameron would have been among that group had it not been for a finger injury suffered in last week’s NEAFL practice match.

Stay tuned to sydneyswans.com.au for the first Centrum Team Selection of 2017, the final squad dropping at 6.25pm this afternoon.

Oliver Florent has been named to debut against Port Adelaide on Saturday at the SCG.

New leaders

Josh Kennedy will run out onto the SCG as captain for the first time, supported by vice-captains Luke Parker and Dan Hannebery.

The Sydney Swans saw a changing of the guard during the off-season as co-captains of four years Jarrad McVeigh and Kieren Jack stepped aside and handed over the reins to the three-time Bob Skilton Medallist.

The Swans have been served well by McVeigh and Jack, the pair leading the red and white to two grand finals while upholding everything the Club stands for on and off the field.

Now it’s Kennedy’s turn.

A big game player, the 29-year-old is deservedly ranked among the best players in the competition and continually wears his heart on his sleeve.

Is there a man more equipped for the task? We don’t think so.

Saturday's season opener will be the first with Josh Kennedy in charge.

Can Reidy re-emerge?

Plagued by repeated soft tissue concerns last season, Sam Reid has emerged from his strongest pre-season for many years and looks ready to add another dimension to the Sydney Swans’ forward line.

Is this the season we finally see the three-pronged attack Sydney Swans fans have been longing to see?

Reid will offer flexibility in a forward line already boasting the likes of champion goal-kicker Lance Franklin and ruck-forward Kurt Tippett.

Blessed with vice-like hands, a strong leap and supreme athleticism, Reid’s addition will allow Franklin the freedom to gallop further up the ground if need be as well as Tippett to rest deep in the forward line.

Fingers crossed the No. 20 can start strong on Sunday and stay fit for the rest of season 2017.

Midfield squeeze

Much of the pre-season commentary surrounding the Sydney Swans looked at the emergence of several midfield types who could squeeze themselves into the rotation alongside the likes of Kennedy, Parker and Hannebery.

Isaac Heeney and Callum Mills were widely talked about, while in the same breath Zak Jones, George Hewett, Harry Cunningham and Jordan Foote are potential players to be thrown into that mix.

It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for the coaches to inject said players into the middle.

While fans must wait a few weeks before Heeney is back to full health and playing again, Jones looks to be spearheading that group following his fantastic pre-season campaign while Robinson looks comfortable in there as well after returning from shoulder surgery last season.

Against Port Adelaide’s talented on-ball division, the Sydney Swans will need all the midfield depth it can carry so expect to see a selection of (as Luke Parker put it earlier in the week) “the next generation” to be on show on Saturday afternoon.

Zak Jones looks set to be unleashed through the midfield this season.

Can the best stay the best?

The Sydney Swans’ defence was the competition’s stingiest last season, conceding an average of only 66.7 points per game during the regular season.

Led by mainstays Ted Richards and Heath Grundy for so long, even Teddy’s interrupted final season of AFL didn’t hinder the group’s progress.

Grundy became the pillar on the last line, Nick Smith was dependable as ever, while Dane Rampe continued to improve so much to kick down the door of the All-Australian selectors.

Aliir Allir’s emergence was the icing on a very beautiful cake.

Just how long can the best stay on top? Despite the loss of Jarrad McVeigh during this early part of the season, the Sydney Swans’ defence doesn’t look like it’ll fall too far, if at all, given the consistency and improvement expected from key players.

Jake Lloyd’s role across half-back in the lead up to and during finals was telling, while Mills (if there’s no plan to throw him into the midfield) has more than proven his worth back there.

Flicking the switch

The Sydney Swans have accounted for Port Adelaide 27 of 47 encounters over the journey, including the last five games. Furthermore, the SCG hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Power with the home side holding a strong 11-3 record. Port hasn’t tasted victory at Moore Park since 2006.

Last time these two teams met was in Round 20 last season. The Swans jumped out to a commanding lead in the opening quarter (41-0) before cruising to a comfortable 67-point victory.

But it is a new season and the coaches would have seen (via the tapes) a reshuffled Port line-up that’s near full-strength leading into Saturday’s season opener.

The combination of Paddy Ryder (who returns from a 12-month ban), key forward Charlie Dixon and rookie Brett Eddy can stretch any defence this season while reports are predicting its already capable midfield will include more of the talented Chad Wingard and Justin Westhoff this season.

Jack Hombsch and Tom Jonas, who combined have played less than 100 games, will have a considerable challenge of combatting the likes of Franklin, Tippett and Reid but coach Ken Hinkley will back them in.

Matthew Broadbent (146 games), who was cleared of injury this week, should add vital experience to that backline.