THE Sydney Swans Reserves have their last chance to qualify for the AFL Canberra grand final this weekend when they play the Eastlake Demons in the preliminary final at Manuka Oval.
After losing to Ainslie in terribly wet conditions last weekend, the must-win match against Eastlake on Saturday sees the two sides meet for the first time in six weeks.
Ainslie’s 40-point win against the Swans last weekend saw them progress through to the grand final on Saturday, 18 September, with the winner of this weekend’s game to meet the Tricolours in the final.
Sydney Swans Reserves coach, Daniel McPherson was happy with the majority of the team’s effort but commended Ainslie’s ability to play to the conditions on a very damp Manuka Oval.
“I think Ainslie were just much better at adjusting to the conditions. They just did the basic things much better than us and they were able to get away to a good lead at half-time and it was pretty hard to peg them back after that,” McPherson said.
“I thought most of our players tried reasonably hard across the board. Kristin Thornton was really good returning from injury, Daniel Currie tried in the ruck all day, Nathan Gordon and Dylan McNeil tried hard again through the middle and Byron Sumner’s second half was good as well.”
The Reserves have had the edge over Eastlake so far this season, winning all three encounters. It’s been a while since the two teams met, with the Reserves 39-point win in round 14 the last time they played.
Eastlake has hit form at the right end of the season, winning their past four games to make the preliminary final. Along the way the Demons have beaten teams including Ainslie, Tuggeranong and last week Queanbeyan in its elimination final to progress through to the preliminary final.
Despite the Swans record against Eastlake this year, McPherson admits that it will be a tough encounter on Saturday.
“They’ve got a good midfield, with Aaron Bruce, Pete McGrath, and Chad Gibson their ruckman always has a big influence on games. In the middle of the ground they are pretty dangerous, and then they’ve got some guys across halfback who set them up well also,” he said.
