Putting the foot down
The Sydney Swans produced an outstanding four-quarter effort to defeat Fremantle by 90 points and storm home to their biggest win in season 2016 – so far.
What impressed John Longmire the most was the fact his players were “able to put in a strong performance and keep the foot down.”
"I just think it's what you want to do anyway, you want to make sure you finish off a pretty strong job. You don't want to relax. You want to keep going and put the foot down."
The congestion inside the top eight with GWS (second), Sydney (third), Geelong (fourth) and Adelaide (fifth) all level on a 13-5 win-loss record and separated only by percentage, teams who win big will find themselves in a great position come finals time.
Longmire will be keen for his players to keep that momentum going into Saturday’s clash with Port Adelaide and over the next crucial month of football.
Kennedy’s masterclass
Forty-five disposals (22 contested), 11 clearances and three goals – Josh Kennedy was at his brilliant best against the Dockers.
Kennedy is averaging just under 31 possessions a game, the same form which helped him take out last year’s Bob Skilton Medal, which bodes well for both player and Club leading into finals.
When Kennedy’s at his best – accompanied by the likes of Dan Hannebery, Luke Parker, Kieren Jack and Tom Mitchell – the Sydney Swans’ midfield is extremely difficult to stop.
He’s won two Club Champion awards already and could become the Club’s eight three-time winner on his current trajectory.
The Power isn’t out yet
Port Adelaide still has a sniff at making finals so coach Ken Hinkley will be making sure his players throw everything into Saturday’s contest at the SCG.
Sydney hasn’t been beaten by Port at the SCG since 1996, winning 13 of the past 14 encounters overall, but it’s a whole new season and we’ve seen countless times this year when teams are only marginally ‘off’ upsets can happen.
They’ve got match winners across the ground, in particularly down forward which ranks as the third more potent in the competition.
As well as that, Port overpowered Brisbane by 94 points last week, kicking its largest scoreline since 2005 (25.23.173) so beware the Power surge.
The ruck battle
Longmire is well aware of the challenge in-form Port Adelaide ruckman Jackson Trengove poses on Saturday afternoon.
Trengove has been in an outstanding touch this season while shouldering the load in the absence of injured Matthew Lobbe and adds another string to an already classy midfield.
“He's virtually another midfielder,” Longmire said. “His contested possessions are through the roof and his clearances were incredible for a ruckman. He's such a combative beast in the ruck and he's fantastic at ground level so it's a big challenge for our boys.
By “our boys” Longmire refers to young ruck duo Sam Naismith and Toby Nankervis.
It’ll be interesting to see how the pair counter Trengove in order to give their midfield first use of the ball, which of course is where the game is usually won or lost.
Mini milestones
Dan Hannebery will play his 50th consecutive game for the Sydney Swans on Saturday.
The 25-year-old hasn’t missed a game since Round 20, 2014.
The star midfield has shown incredible durability in his 162 career games, given how much punishment his 181cm and 79kg frame cops week after week.
The No. 4 will again be a crucial cog in the Swans’ machine this weekend, as will co-captain Jarrad McVeigh who also ticks off another mini milestone.
McVeigh (280 games) will, combined with his brother Mark (232 for Essendon), will draw level with the Wakelin brothers in seventh for most games played by siblings in VFL/AFL history.
The McVeighs are chasing Collingwood siblings Wayne and Max Richardson’s tally of 518, while the record stands at 710 achieved by Essendon’s Simon and Justin Madden.
