The last time the Swans reserves set foot on Graham Road Oval was in last year’s decider, when they fell eight points short of the Brisbane Lions reserves, who claimed the 2013 NEAFL premiership.
While many of the personnel from last year’s match have changed, rookie defender Xavier Richards said he was looking forward to having another chance to claim the NEAFL’s ultimate prize this weekend.
“The boys are very excited,” Richards told SwansTV.
“Obviously they are excited to play in a Grand Final because a Grand Final at any level is a huge achievement and is a good opportunity.
“They don’t come around very often, so all the boys are going to be grabbing the opportunity and will be giving it their best shot.”
With this week’s Grand Final set to be the first time the two sides have ever met, Richards said the Swans had been working hard to review as much vision of the Hornets’ season as they could in the lead up to the match.
The young defender said while it was an unusual experience to know so little about their opponents, he felt his team mates were well-prepared to tackle Aspley.
“It’s quite a weird experience having so much on the line when you know relatively nothing about the opposition,” he said.
“It’s quite weird, but the boys will be watching footage of their previous games and will be watching how they play and learning about their key players.”
The Swans reserves claimed a place in the NEAFL decider following an impressive performance against NT Thunder last weekend, with a second-half surge setting up a 64-point win for the side.
Richards, who managed to keep NT leading goal scorer Dan Ewing goalless for the match, said it was encouraging to see his team produce a strong finish over the Thunder last Sunday.
“It was a tough game and it was a game of two halves, I suppose,” he said.
“They had us in the first half and it was wet conditions, but we were able to dig in in the second half and came away with the win.”
Richards’ form in the Swans reserves this season was rewarded late last week, when the 21-year-old signed a two-year contract extension, which will see him remain in the red and white on the senior list until the end of 2016.
The defender, who is the younger brother of senior Swan Ted, said he was thrilled to be able to continue his football journey with the Swans.
“I’m very excited,” he said.
“I’m loving Sydney and I think what I can take out of it is that while I’ve got confidence in myself, the club has got confidence in me.
“That’s the best thing about it, and I’m just looking forward to finishing off this year with the Grand Final, and then having a big year next year.
“I’m really looking forward to 2015.”
The NEAFL will provide a live stream of Saturday afternoon's Grand Final between the Sydney Swans reserves and Aspley via Youtube here.
