In the absence of senior midfielders Josh Kennedy, Ben McGlynn, Craig Bird and all-rounder Sam Reid, the Swans young brigade helped the team to a comprehensive 63-point win over the Western Bulldogs on Sunday, which kept them team in outright top spot on the AFL ladder.
Speaking to SwansTV after the win, Jack said he could not be more impressed with the club’s young players including Tom Mitchell and Shane Biggs, who stepped up in place of the four senior Swans.
“It was a bit of a challenge,” Jack said about playing without a handful of star Swans.
“(The Bulldogs) have got a really good, young group who win the contested ball most weeks.
“With Josh, Ben and Bird out, I thought the guys who came in like Tom Mitchell was outstanding and the other guy was Biggs, whose job on (Ryan) Griffen was incredible.
“It was a really good effort from a young midfield group and there were some good signs.”
In just his second senior game for the season, and the fifth in his short career, 23-year-old Biggs was charged with the job of curbing the influence of the Bulldogs leading ball-winner.
In what was an impressive performance from the young Swan, Biggs kept Griffen, who had amassed 88 possessions in his last two outings against the Swans, to just 16 possessions and picked up 17 touches of his own.
Jack described Biggs’ performance on the Bulldogs’ captain as a “great effort” and said the young defender had been pushing for his opportunity all season.
“It says a lot about him,” the co-captain said.
“He’s a great young kid and he’s been unlucky not to get a go earlier on this year, and he’s played some really good footy in the reserves and he’s been banging the door down doing everything right and I think the group had full confidence in him today.
“He showed he’s a quality young kid and to do a job like that on one of the competition’s best ball winners, it’s a great effort by him.”
Mitchell, who played his first match since round four, was also influential, with the 21-year-old collecting 23 possessions, seven clearances and laying seven tackles.
Round 21 AFL Rising Star nominee Jake Lloyd also produced a strong performance, with 21 possessions, three tackles and two goals in Sunday’s win, while 2013 draftee Dean Towers had his best game for the season, with 13 possessions, four tackles, four insides 50s and one goal.
The battle for spots in the Swans 22 will continue next Saturday afternoon, when the club hosts Richmond at ANZ Stadium.
With a finals spot on the line for the Tigers, who have won their last eight matches, Jack said the Swans expected finals-like intensity next weekend.
“They are going to be desperate and they are going to be hungry and that’s what you want,” he said.
“You want to come up against teams like that leading into finals.
“We just spoke about it (after the game), hopefully it’s going to be a five-week campaign which starts with Richmond this week and we’ll get it rolling from there.
“It’s going to be a big month ahead but it’s something that we’re looking forward to.”
