Last Friday night’s 22-point win over Carlton was a great victory for the Swans, particularly given the number of young players we had on the field. I remember looking at the team in the warm up and we had some younger guys like Brandon Jack, who had come in, as well as Jed Lamb, who was playing his first full game, and then we had Kurt Tippett who was about to play just his second game for the club. We also had Jesse White, who was due to play his third game for the year, so there was certainly some inexperience up forward against the Blues.

In addition to that, we had Mitch Morton go down in the pre-game warm up with a tight quad. It was a little bit of a concern when Mitch went out of the team, but we also saw it as an opportunity for all the young guys coming in. We weren’t at all worried about any of our up-and-coming players’ ability because they had all played plenty of games in either the reserves or the seniors and were all match-ready. We thought they all showed what they were capable of on Friday night when they came in and played their role, from Jed and Brandon who played their first full game, to Xavier Richards who came on as the sub and was moved up forward.

It’s been a real bonus to finally welcome Kurt to the side. Everyone was of course eagerly awaiting his debut for the Swans, and I think he has come along really well in his first two games. I think he’s kept it really simple for himself and he’s provided a really good contest in the air, and then when the ball hits the ground his follow up work has been really good. I think that was the most pleasing thing on the weekend, that even though the conditions were wet, he had ten ground balls and got involved in a lot of play after the ball hit the ground, so that’s another strength he’s got. After two wet games, we are waiting to see how he will perform on a dry day!

This week will also be the first time Tippo and Sam Reid play together, which will be exciting. To have them both at their best will be a big advantage for us as a forward line.

The best thing about out forward line, particularly since Kurt joined the side, is that it’s a team effort, so we don’t need to put too much pressure on our key position players. For a long time we’ve relied on all six of our forwards contributing each week and when we’ve played well we’ve had that, so we certainly don’t want to start looking at just Tippo and Reidy to get the job done. Every player who plays in the forward line has a specific role and if they’re not doing their role it hurts someone else.

Every week you’re up against good defenders and Melbourne this weekend will be no exception. They are a really versatile defence with Lynden Dunn playing down there and he can play tall or small, as well as James Frawley who is quick and can also play tall or small. Then they’ve also got Tom McDonald, who has had a really good year and leads the club for rebounds, and Colin Garland, so they are really versatile and can handle our big or small guys.

For the last two weeks Melbourne have played really well and their ball use has been really positive out of the back half when they run and carry and link up, so if we’re not on our game then they’ll get a hold of us.