Match details
Saturday April 9, Patersons Stadium, 6.10pm (local time)
Teams
Sydney Swans
B: Paul Bevan, Ted Richards, Martin Mattner
HB: Rhyce Shaw, Heath Grundy, Alex Johnson
C: Ben McGlynn, Kieren Jack, Nicholas Smith
HF: Jude Bolton, Sam Reid, Adam Goodes
F: Ryan O'Keefe, Jesse White, Daniel Hannebery
Foll: Shane Mumford, Josh P. Kennedy, Jarrad McVeigh
I/C: Craig Bird, Gary Rohan, Lewis Jetta, Andrejs Everitt
Emg: Brett Meredith, Mike Pyke, Jed Lamb
In: Alex Johnson
Out: Brett Meredith
New: Alex Johnson (Oakleigh Chargers)
Milestones: Jarrad McVeigh - 150 games
West Coast Eagles
B: Mitch Brown, Darren Glass, Shannon Hurn
HB: Sam Butler, Eric Mackenzie, Scott Selwood
C: Matthew Rosa, Matthew Priddis, Andrew Embley
HF: Bradley Ebert, Josh Kennedy, Luke Shuey
F: Mark Nicoski, Quinten Lynch, Jack Darling
Foll: Dean Cox, Adam Selwood, Daniel Kerr
I/C: Will Schofield, Nic Naitanui, Patrick McGinnity, Andrew Gaff
Emg: Thomas Swift, Brad Sheppard, Ashton Hams
In: Sam Butler, Eric Mackenzie
Out: Beau Waters (Elbow), Brad Sheppard
Summary
For the second weekend in a row the Sydney Swans go into a game against a young, firing, and undefeated team - this time in the form of the West Coast Eagles.
The Eagles have started the season brilliantly with close wins over North Melbourne (four points) and Port Adelaide (18) and currently sit in third position on the AFL ladder. The Eagles will be looking to start the season with three straight wins for the first time since 2007, when they started 3-0 after winning the premiership in 2006.
The revitalisation of three of those premiership players - Dean Cox, Andrew Embley and Daniel Kerr - has been the driving force behind the wins over the Kangaroos and Power, with youngsters such as Luke Shuey - the round 2 Rising Star nominee - and Jack Darling also rising to the occasion.
The Swans have also had a strong start to the season with a draw against Melbourne and a gutsy win over Essendon last Sunday.
The Swans have also benefited from the stellar form of their leaders. Three of the 2005 premiership players - Adam Goodes, Ryan O’Keefe and Jude Bolton - have started the year in superb fashion, while relatively unsung players such as Marty Mattner and Ben McGlynn were crucial in getting the Swans over the line against Essendon last week.
Players to watch
West Coast Eagles: Daniel Kerr
After a horror run with injuries every season since he was named as an All Australian in 2007, Daniel Kerr’s start to 2011 has been promising. He played his first game last week in the victory over Port Adelaide, finishing with 25 disposals (10 contested) and four clearances, and even opposition supporters would agree that a fit and firing Daniel Kerr is good for the competition.
Sydney Swans: Daniel Hannebery
Collected the umpire’s three Brownlow Medal votes in his last outing at Subiaco - last year’s round 20 victory over Fremantle - and has said the wide open spaces at the ground are conducive to his ‘inside-outside’ style of midfield play. Despite not having his best game last week, Hannebery was still able to influence the outcome with a strong tackle and handball that resulted in one of Ben McGlynn’s goals in the frantic final quarter.
Match-up to watch
Josh J. Kennedy v Heath Grundy
After a stellar 2010 that netted 41 goals and 28 contested marks, the Eagles’ Josh Kennedy has continued his good form in the early stages of 2011. Kennedy has kicked four goals in the opening two games of the season, and will have the opportunity to build on that in the absence of Mark LeCras. Heath Grundy played well on Essendon’s Michael Hurley last weekend, and despite the Bomber forward scoring two goals, Grundy had six more possessions, five rebounds from defensive 50, and one scoring assist. With young defender Alex Johnson making his debut against the Eagles, the Swans have bolstered their key position stocks to play on the likes of Kennedy, Quinten Lynch and Nic Naitanui.
Coaching match-up
John Worsfold v John Longmire
Swans coach John Longmire showed last weekend he can inspire his players to come from behind to claim victory. Essendon were close to taking the game beyond the Swans grasp on many occasions but as Longmire said, his players found a way to win. It’s a Swans trait that will be familiar to West Coast supporters and coach John Worsfold, who have watched brilliant duels between the two teams over the past decade.
But Worsfold has proven throughout his coaching career that his Eagles outfit are always tough to beat, especially on their home turf.
Memorable match
Grand Final, 2005: Sydney Swans 8.10 (58) d West Coast Eagles 7.12 (54), MCG
No surprise really that the Swans most famous victory since 1933 would be this week’s memorable match. In a low scoring game, the Swans had one hand on the premiership cup with a 20-point lead at half time, before the Eagles came storming back in the second half of the classic Grand Final. In a see-sawing final term that netted two goals for each team, the Swans led by four-points when Leo Barry took ‘that’ pack-mark in the dying seconds, with the Eagles’ Chris Judd and Mark Seaby - now a Swan - also vying for the ball. Judd won the Norm Smith Medal, with Adam Goodes, Tadhg Kennelly and Lewis Roberts-Thomson among the best for the Swans.
What Swans assistant Stuart Dew says …
“The Eagles had a good win at home first up and it was massive win over in Adelaide last week. In fact, they hadn’t beaten Port Adelaide in Adelaide since 1998, so they will take a huge amount of confidence from that."
Media coverage
Television:
Fox Sports 1 - (Perth 6pm, Melbourne 8pm, Adelaide 7:30pm, Sydney/NSW 8pm, Brisbane/QLD 8pm); Network Ten - (Perth 6:30pm, Sydney/NSW 8:00pm)
Radio: 6PR, ABC720, 1116 SEN, Triple M, ABC630, ABC103.9
Check out www.afl.com.au/broadcast for your local listings
Alternatively you can get live updates from Swans insiders on Facebook (facebook.com/sydneyswans) and Twitter (twitter.com/sydneyswans) - the Official hash tag for this game is #afleaglesswans.
2011 form
West Coast Eagles: WW (def North Melbourne 16.20 (116) to 7.14 (56))
Sydney Swans: DW (def Essendon 14.14 (98) to 13.15 (93))
2011 Ladder position
West Coast Eagles: 3rd
Sydney Swans: 5th
Head-to-head
Played: 41
West Coast Eagles: 19 wins
Sydney Swans: 22 wins
Last time they met
Round 5, 2010: Sydney Swans 17.13 (115) def West Coast Eagles 9.9 (63), SCG
Current streak
Sydney Swans (4)
Injury list (as at April 6)
West Coast Eagles: Mark LeCras (adductor) - 7-9 weeks, Chris Masten (knee) - 5 weeks, Ryan Neates (abdomen) - 6 weeks, Beau Waters (elbow tendon) - 10-12 weeks
Sydney Swans: Daniel Bradshaw (knee) - indefinite, Trent Dennis-Lane (ankle) - 1 week, Campbell Heath (knee) - 3-4 weeks, Nick Malceski (knee) - 7-9 weeks, Jarred Moore (ankle) - test, Lewis Roberts-Thomson (hamstring/gluteal) - test, Matt Spangher (quad) - 1 week
