The Swans and Giants are on the verge of Sydney Derby XIV and both parties say the rivalry is as fierce as ever.
The Swans will square off with their cross-town rivals at the SCG on Saturday night as they look to return to the winners’ circle after falling short to the Port Adelaide Power on Easter Sunday.
Swans captain Josh Kennedy said the Giants’ midfield would bring the heat.
“You know you’re always in for a tough contest against the Giants,” Kennedy said.
“Their ability to use the ball on the outside is very well noted but their inside pressure and contested footy is up there with the best in the competition. Certainly from our perspective we really need to set ourselves to bring that area of our game and make sure it’s at its best to match it with them.”
GWS (409) sits second behind Adelaide for average disposals per game after the opening two rounds of the competition.
On-ballers Lachie Whitfield (30) and Stephen Coniglio (29) are leading the Giants in average disposals per game, while skipper Callan Ward impressed with 14 contested possessions against Collingwood on Saturday.
The Swans have a long history of priding themselves on playing tough football at the contest and ahead of Round 3 sit third for average contested possessions per game.
Dual Swans premiership player Jude Bolton is remembered for the ferocity with which he would put his head over the ball and Kennedy, Dan Hannebery, Luke Parker and Kieren Jack have followed in his footsteps.
Kennedy (16 contested possessions) and Ward (18) were in everything when the Swans and Giants last met in Round 17 last year and Sydney coach John Longmire says the influence they have on their respective team is immense.
“The battles that Kennedy and Ward have had over the journey don’t get any less,” Longmire said.
“You’ve got two of the absolute quality on-ballers in the competition going head-to-head on the weekend.
“The midfield is an important battle and one that I’m sure both teams are looking forward to.”
The sides have met on 13 occasions since the Giants joined the competition in 2012 and the Swans have clinched victory nine times to the Giants’ four.
They played twice in 2017 and split the chocolates, the Giants prevailing 42-point victors in Round 5 and the Swans 13-point winners in Round 17.
Sydney’s Round 17 win was their sixth on the trot as they powered towards a seven-game winning streak and onwards to another finals berth.
But while the Sydney Derby has the hallmarks of an epic rivalry, Longmire says respect plays a major hand.
“We’ve got an enormous amount of respect for the Giants,” Longmire said.
“We have had some great clashes and have played them twice this year already in pre-season games. Both teams understand each other very well and on Saturday it will just come down to who plays better on the night.”
