Sydney Derby X
The Sydney Derby will tick over into double figures on Sunday.
It’s not that long ago since the Sydney Swans first took on the newly-established GWS Giants in front of 38,203 fans at ANZ Stadium.
It was 2012. Kevin Sheedy was their coach. The revamp of Spotless Stadium, the weekend’s venue, had not yet been completed.
Four years later and another eight games on, players have come and gone from both sides with Josh Kennedy, Heath Grundy, Ted Richards and GWS co-captain Callan Ward the only players to have played in all previous nine encounters.
The build up to the 10th instalment has been enormous given the positions of both sides on the ladder. The Swans are sitting pretty on 9-2 in second spot while the Giants are breathing down the necks of the top four sitting sixth with a 7-4 record.
The Swans may hold sway, winning eight of the past nine encounters, but expect this one to go down to the wire.
And the Brett Kirk Medal goes to…
Win this, win the game. Or that’s what history suggests anyway.
Eight times the medal, named after Sydney Swans great and current assistant coach Brett Kirk, has been awarded to a player wearing red and white.
Kieren Jack (2012, 2013, 2014) is a three-time winner, Josh Kennedy (2012, 2015) has earned two while Dan Hannebery (2015), Luke Parker (2016) and Nick Malceski (2013) has also played well enough on the day.
Callan Ward (2014) is the only Giants player to break that trend.
It’s a great award to win because as well as taking home the medal, you take home the four points as well.
Josh Kennedy accepts the 2015 Brett Kirk Medal.
The Giants
Look past their two consecutive losses and you’ll see a Giants outfit growing in stature as the season goes on.
They’ve reached a stage where they’re on the cusp of a maiden finals series.
Many commentators are including them in their top eight (even top four) predictions while on-field performances are backing them up given the Giants are the best (with Melbourne) in the competition at stoppages and second most potent behind Adelaide.
As co-captain Kieren Jack said on Tuesday, they boast quality through that midfield including Callan Ward, Dylan Shiel and Tom Scully while they also possess quality at either ends of the ground with Heath Shaw in defence and Jeremy Cameron up forward.
So, as we touched on above, Sydney Derby X firms as the most hard-fought contest yet.
White Ribbon Cup
The Swans and Giants will square off for the White Ribbon Cup on Sunday, as they have for the past nine encounters.
The trophy is named after Australia’s only men-driven campaign to prevent male's violence against women with both clubs being passionate and active supporters of the organisation.
It has been a cause especially close to Ben McGlynn’s heart this season with the forward wearing a white arm band in Round 7 against Essendon in support of family friend Karen Belej.
Kieren Jack spoke candidly about the cause on Tuesday.
“Since the introduction of the White Ribbon Cup, it’s been crucial to have a pedestal to send that message out. I know it’s something the Swans are really proud of and the Giants are really proud of to be involved in that,” he said.
“Stamping out domestic violence against women is an issue in society and needs to stop. For us to play our part in promoting a message like is important and I think the fans can see that.”
For more information, visit White Ribbon.
Kieren Jack receives the White Ribbon Cup.
Lance Franklin
What’s Hot Topics without a mention of Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin.
Franklin will reintroduce himself with adversary Phil Davis in what will be one of many intriguing match-ups in Sunday’s clash.
‘Buddy’ has an opportunity to yet again surpass a star of the game in former Collingwood and North Melbourne forward Saverio Rocca on the all-time goal kicker’s list.
Franklin, on 747, needs only two more to move to 13th spot on the prestigious list with Richmond’s Kevin Bartlett’s total of 800 goals his next target.
Franklin’s season tally of 41 goals puts the champ on top of the Coleman Medal race. He averages a tick under four goals a game in 2016 and booted 4.1 when the Swans and Giants last met in Round 3 earlier this year.
