We look at some of the hot topics leading into our game against West Coast at Metricon Stadium on Saturday.
Parker the milestone man
Co-captain Luke Parker will play his 200th AFL game this weekend against the Eagles. Recruited to the Swans with pick 40 in the 2010 AFL Draft Parker made his AFL debut the following year in Round 8 v Port Adelaide. A premiership player in 2012, Parker has earned two Bob Skilton Medals as the Sydney Swans Club Champion, was named in the 2016 All Australian team and has won two Robert Rose Awards as the league’s most courageous player. He has been a member of the Swans leadership group since 2015 and has been co-captain of the Club since the start of last season. We wish Parks all the best in this significant milestone match. Small forward Sam Gray will also celebrate his 100th AFL game after joining the Swans in the off season.
Ruck duties
The injury curse has struck the Swans tall stocks this season with seven big men currently on the sidelines heading into the match against the Eagles. Callum Sinclair (knee), Sam Naismith (knee) Tom McCartin (concussion), Michael Knoll (knee), Lance Franklin (hamstring), Sam Reid (calf) and Kaiden Brand (groin) will all miss this weekend. The absence of Sinclair and Naismith means the ruck duties are set to be shared by Hayden McLean and Aliir Aliir. McLean has showed promise in his first six matches of AFL football, but it is always a big ask stepping up to be the number one ruckman against one of the premier ruckmen of the competition in Nic Naitanui.
Turning it around on the road
The Sydney Swans will be looking to turn around their fortunes this week after a disappointing performance against the Western Bulldogs last Thursday night. Sydney has already proven an ability to bounce back from a poor performance this season earlier in the year having a strong win over North Melbourne after a loss to Essendon in Round 2. It will be a matter of trying to bounce back on the road with a trip to the Gold Coast to take on the Eagles going to be the challenge facing the 2020 bloods.
Changing fixture
It sure has been an interesting week, after starting the week thinking there would be a Sunday afternoon match against Melbourne at the SCG, the Swans will now head north to take on West Coast. Due to the ongoing government restrictions the AFL is working through a revised fixture and one of those changes was the Swans match in Round 5. Fans in Queensland will have the chance to see the team in action for the first time in 2020 with limited tickets available to those living in Queensland. Click here to purchase a ticket to the match on Saturday afternoon.
