In Sunday’s 47-point win over Richmond at the SCG, the Swans’ tall forwards Kurt Tippett and Jesse White combined for seven goals, while Mumford and fellow ruckman Mike Pyke got the better of the ruck contest throughout the match.
Speaking from the Swans’ recovery session at North Bondi on Monday afternoon, Mumford said the round 18 match was proof of how dangerous the Swans’ talls could be.
“The way that we’re working down there as a group is great and I think we’re really starting to gel and things are coming together quite well,” Mumford told SwansTV.
“There was a lot of people who doubted whether we could all be playing and playing four talls in the same side, but I think we’re proving that it’s working quite well.”
White and Tippett were the main beneficiaries of the first-class delivery from the Swans’ midfielders throughout the match, with the rotation of Mumford and Pyke in the forward 50m also proving another strong option.
Mumford said the Swans’ tall set up could cause headaches for opposition defenders if all four players are firing.
“There are not too many teams with four tall, strong backmen who would be able to go with all of us,” Mumford said.
“Someone should be able to get off the chain each week you’d think.”
After missing two matches with a fractured cheekbone, Mumford has stepped up his own game in the last fortnight.
On Sunday, the ruckman led the team for both hit-outs (29 for the match) and clearances (7) and notched up a season-high 19 possessions.
The 26-year-old said he was pleased to have finally found some consistency in his game, and even steal a little bit of the limelight from his rucking partner, Mike Pyke.
“It’s good to be able to start playing some good footy again and take Pykey out of the paper a bit and stop the media talking about him all the time,” he said.
Mumford and Pyke will again have to be at their best this weekend when they take on the Western Bulldogs and in-form ruckman Will Minson, who ranks second in the competition for hit-outs this season.
“The way (the Bulldogs) won on the weekend was a massive win for them and it’s going to be massive challenge for me and Pykey with the way that Will Minson is playing,” Mumford said.
“He’s a quality ruckman and he’s going to be a test for us.
Now in outright third on the AFL ladder, Mumford said a win this weekend in Melbourne was critical for the Swans in the late stages of the 2013 season.
“It’s a massive game,” he said.
“You don’t want to mess with your form at any time of the year.
“We’ve just got to keep playing consistent four quarters of that contested footy and just keep shutting the life out of our opposition.”
