We bring you all you need to know from the newspapers around the country in the latest Swans in the media.
Young Bloods fire up McVeigh
Matt Logue
Daily Telegraph, August 3
ON a day when Sydney celebrated its historic 30-year partnership with major sponsor QBE, you could forgive co-captain Jarrad McVeigh for feeling nostalgic.
Instead it was the future that had McVeigh buzzing with excitement at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
The Swans have surged into the AFL top three on the back of blooding a record number of rookies this season.
McVeigh says rising stars like Isaac Heeney and Aliir Aliir have created a special spark within the Sydney ranks.
“The way they are playing at the moment has been great,” McVeigh beamed.
“We’ve had seven debuts, so that’s pretty surprising.
“I don’t think we’ve had that for a long time before, but the way they have trained through the pre-season and really wanted to stamp themselves on the competition and our team this year has been fantastic.
“For the older and more experienced players to have that youth come into the team gives you a sense of pride.
“You also want to achieve something with these young guys.”
Swans will be ruthless until very last kick, says McVeigh
Tom Decent
SMH, August 3
Sydney co-captain Jarrad McVeigh says the Swans will continue to be "ruthless" after their 90-point win over Fremantle as they power towards finals football.
Despite losing to the Dockers twice last season in the west, John Longmire's men were on song on Sunday with an impressive 21-goal haul against Fremantle to cement themselves in equal second on the ladder, trailing only GWS on percentages.
Instead of being satisfied after opening up a 29-point lead at half-time, the Swans were intent on grinding Fremantle into the ground with another 14 goals to four in the second half.
McVeigh said the Swans put in their best four-quarter effort on Sunday and plan to maintain that high standard against Port Adelaide this Saturday at the SCG.
"We speak about being a ruthless team and when you are in front to really put the foot down, so we do speak about it every week and nothing changed on the weekend," McVeigh said. "It was about getting that process right throughout the whole game because those are the things you need to get in place for the back-end of the year.
"You've got to not get complacent going into the last quarter. You know you're up by a bit so you have to keep nailing the structure and the way you've been playing throughout the whole game. You just have to keep doing that to put the foot down on the opposition and I thought we did that really well on the weekend."
Swans wary of home comforts
Greg Denham
The Australian, August 3
It may have been a walk in the park for the Swans last weekend in Perth against Fremantle, but it enabled several players to find or retain their form ahead of Port Adelaide’s visit to the SCG on Saturday.
The advantage of Sydney’s biggest win of the year (90 points) was a boost in confidence to some players after three lacklustre performances in a row at the SCG, normally a fortress for the Swans.
In their past three home games, Sydney has lost to the Western Bulldogs in round 15 by four points, to Hawthorn in round 17 by five points and fell over the line to beat Carlton by six points.
Now that losing any of their final four games could prove costly, the Swans cannot afford to take the Power lightly, and welcomed the return to top form last week of Isaac Heeney, while inexperienced first-year key defender Aliir Aliir continues to impress.
Following a stint on the sidelines and in the NEAFL, Heeney kicked four goals against the Dockers in his best game of the season. Sydney co-captain Jarrad McVeigh described Heeney’s return to form as a blessing at the right time of the year.
“With his partnership with “Bud” (Lance Franklin) up there, he provides that x-factor,” McVeigh said yesterday.
“He’s good overhead for his size and to kick four on the weekend was really good for his confidence. That break has done him wonders.
“I think he’ll go (into the) midfield in the next few years, and he’s had a few stints in there over the last couple of weeks to get around the ball a bit more and to add a few more strings to his bow.”
All-Sydney final won’t be at Spotless
Matt Logue
Daily Telegraph, August 2
GWS Giants face losing their home-ground advantage in the playoffs if they host a final against cross-town rivals the Sydney Swans.
The AFL, which controls the finals, is considering scheduling the Giants to play a potential Sydney derby final at ANZ Stadium if the 82,000 seat venue is available.
It’s anticipated that a first Giants-Swans final would easily draw above 60,000 fans — more than double the 24,000-seat capacity of Spotless Stadium, the home base for GWS.
The AFL is wary of the potential backlash if it locked out 30-40,000 Swans fans.
Sydney’s membership base is almost 56,523, while the Giants, in only their fifth season, have 15,311 members.
With the Giants and Swans second and third on the ladder respectively and only four rounds remaining in the regular season, there is a genuine possibility of a Sydney derby in week one of the finals.
“We would seek to maximise our crowd potential if the two teams played and, therefore, ANZ Stadium would be part of that discussion,’’ an AFL spokesman said. “But we have not made a definitive decision.’’
Kennedy back in elite form for run into finals
Andrew Wu
SMH, August 2
Sydney ball magnet Josh Kennedy has returned to the form which has made him statistically the best inside midfielder of the 21st century.
Although his 2016 campaign would be the envy of many, Kennedy has taken time to reach his peak but is hitting top form heading into the final month of the home and away season. The gun midfielder collected a career-best 45 disposals in the west against Fremantle, following up efforts of 33 and 35 possessions in the previous fortnight.
He still has a way to go to match the record 11 consecutive games over 30 touches he recorded late last year, but his form spike is timely with the Swans locked in a four-horse race for the all-important second spot and rights to host a qualifying final.
Significantly for John Longmire's coaching staff, Kennedy posted back-to-back games of 20 or more contested possessions, taking his career tally to 32 – the most of any player since the stat was first measured by Champion Data in 1999. It places him well clear of modern midfield greats Gary Ablett (19), Patrick Dangerfield (18), Nat Fyfe (17) and Matt Priddis (16). Three of them are Brownlow Medallists while the other, Dangerfield, is hot favourite to win the award this year.
Although four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson believes the worth of contested possessions is overrated, the Swans value this stat highly as do many others in the competition.
"He was outstanding," Longmire said of Kennedy. "He's played some really good games for this footy club, but it would have to be up there with them. It was absolutely outstanding.
"You don't often get [multiple goals] as a midfielder.
"But to be able to go forward and kick goals is a bit of icing on the cake. And to be able to have 10 goalkickers is good."
