Tippett forced to learn the ropes in ruck
Peter Lalor
The Australian, May 11
Kurt Tippett doesn’t skip a beat during a Swansfit session yesterday with students from Mowbray Public School at Lane Cove in Sydney’s north.
Kurt Tippett didn’t expect to find himself down the pecking order when he was part of a big-money deal that saw him lured from Adelaide to Sydney at the end of 2012.
When Buddy Franklin arrived from Hawthorn the following season he found his chosen position in dispute.
Isaac Heeney was still at school when those two transfers went down, but it has become apparent that the small(er) forward who kicked five goals against Essendon last Saturday has a fair claim to a place in front of the goals also.
It’s not bothering Tippett, however, who is spending less time in front of the goals and more in the ruck.
“I’m really enjoying the role I’m playing at the moment. It’s changed a little bit as I’m playing a bit more time in the ruck, but that’s what the team needs at this stage,” he said yesterday.
“I also get to play up forward and hopefully have an impact up there in front of goal as well.
“I enjoy starting in the middle as there’s something about being in that centre circle for the first bounce of the game. You’re always around the football and you can have a real impact.”
Kurt's ruck and role
Ben Horne
Daily Telegraph, May 11
KURT Tippett has never been Lance Franklin, and finally the Sydney Swans star has convinced the AFL why the comparisons were always unfair.
Parachuting into the Sydney forward line four years ago with a big pay packet and even bigger expectations, it’s taken Tippett’s transition into the club’s No.1 ruckman this season for him to finally get the critics off his back.
Swans coach John Longmire never once measured the 29-year-old by the same markers as he did Franklin, but as the club’s two big ticket signings up front, plenty of people were prepared to do the judging for them — and it was Tippett who was coming off second best.
Billed as the next Tony Lockett or Barry Hall when he arrived in Sydney from Adelaide amid huge drama, it’s only now that Tippett has been able to show that the ruck is where he has perhaps always belonged.
As Franklin sets sail for another 100-goal season, it’s become even more clear that he’s not the man to stand next to if comparisons are being thrown around.
But Tippett in his own right has made his strongest ever start to a season in Sydney and despite Franklin’s star continuing to rise, he’s managed to prove that rather than being written off as an underachieving forward — he should be recognised as a ruck talent who never pretended to be like anybody else.
“I think it’s my best start to a season for a while. For whatever reason the start of my seasons haven’t been as strong through injury or a bit of a lack of form last year, so I’m enjoying playing some good football and trying to contribute each week,” Tippett said.
“(Having critics on my back) is not something I tend to give much energy to. I always just try to be the best I can and play my role the best I can for the team.
“I think within the four walls it’s always pretty clear (what the expectations of me have been).
“You can’t really worry about the outside forces. You’re trying to play your role for a side and really build a season that gives us the best chance of going late into September so you don’t have too much time or energy to worry about it too much other than what’s going on inside the walls.
Heeney has look of a Swans legend
Ben Horne
Daily Telegraph, May 11
AS Sydney was gleefully celebrating Isaac Heeney’s recruitment on draft night, he slipped away for a midnight gym session.
Blossoming in just his second year in the AFL, the 20-year-old from Newcastle is on his way to becoming the next Paul Kelly.
If you didn’t see Heeney tear apart Essendon on Saturday, check out the highlights of his fivegoals. A player with just 21 games, he hurls himself at the ball, combining the cleanest of hands with the spring of an Olympic high-jumper. He has 6cm on 179cm Swans legend Kelly but, according to former Swans star Jude Bolton, until this year part of Heeney’s management group, the comparison is uncanny.
“I was inspired by (Kelly) as a kid and then got to play with him,’’ Bolton said. “There are absolute similarities. Kel grew up in Wagga and had to choose between both sports (rugby league and Australian rules) and Isaac is from Cardiff (15km from Newcastle) and had the same choice.
“They both have the ability to impact the contest at pace. He is such a tough kid, but he is very humble like Kel.
“He has this vertical leap but also confidence. Not many players want to step in front of Buddy (Franklin) and say, ‘I want to put my name on this ball’. He is such a deadly target inside 50, just like Kel.”
Buddy riding the Swans' midfield surge
David Sygall
SMH, May 11
The possibility of Lance Franklin kicking 100 goals this season has as much to do with the phenomenal standard of Sydney's midfielders in the first seven rounds as the forward's outstanding form.
Franklin needs four goals against Richmond on Saturday night at the MCG to pass Stephen Kernahan on the table of the game's top goal scorers and move into 15th place. If he does reach a century this season, he will overtake Barry Hall (746), Saverio Rocca (748), Kevin Bartlett (778) and Matthew Richardson (800) and be just outside the top 10.
But Franklin cannot kick goals without the ball reaching the Swans' attacking third, and there is no team better at winning the ball out of the centre than Sydney.
Three Swans midfielders - the dynamic trio of Dan Hannebery, Josh Kennedy and Luke Parker - all occupy a top-10 place for disposals. No other team has more than one player on that list. They also occupy three of the top-10 spots for contested possessions. And all three are averaging over five clearances a game. Throw in the likes of co-captain Kieren Jack and Tom Mitchell, who enjoyed his best performance so far this year in the 81-point win over Essendon on Saturday, and the job of midfield coach Josh Francou is simply to help things continue ticking over.
"Those players pretty much self-manage," Francou says. "They've played a lot of footy as individuals and a lot of footy together. I think individually they know what to do to get the best out of themselves. I suppose week in week out - and it does highlight the professionalism of those players - they prepare the same no matter who we're playing or where we're playing.
"Whether it's the NAB Challenge or a final, they study the opposition very closely. We look at opposition midfields very closely, look for themes and trends and what the opposition is trying to do. We look at strategies to best combat that.
"No doubt other sides do the same to us. But I just think their meticulous approach to preparation and their professionalism in studying the opposition is really exceptional. I think that's the reason they play consistently good football week in, week out."
Swans to be bolstered by return of Richards
Ben Horne
Daily Telegraph, May 10
SYDNEY ironman Ted Richards is set to return from a fractured eye socket on Saturday night in a major boost for a Swans side out to bust a mysterious three-match losing streak against Richmond.
Richards has bounced back well from surgery after battling through three quarters with the facial fracture two weeks ago in his best-on-ground performance against the West Coast Eagles.
The veteran produced one of the best matches of his 257-game AFL career, and the Swans will be after some more inspiration this weekend at the MCG.
Sydney have dropped three-straight matches against the underachieving Tigers dating back to 2014 and will be wary of a side that’s had a knack of being able to topple the leading sides regardless of their position on the ladder.
The Swans took a half to get going against Essendon last Saturday and almost got pipped against the Brisbane Lions the weekend before.
However, in Richards, 33, the Swans have a leader to turn to capable of putting the spring back in their step.
“He’s been back training since last week and he’s going well, feeling good and got clearance to play so he’ll be available this week,” said Swans physio Matt Cameron.
