A lot to like
They went, they saw, they conquered.
The Sydney Swans that is, in the form of Friday night’s win over Geelong at Simonds Stadium.
In what’s always a difficult road trip – Sydney hadn’t won at Kardinia Park since 2012 – any doubts were put to rest in the opening quarter as the visitors came out firing.
From the first and last goal of the match – both kicked by co-captain Kieren Jack – Sydney finished (albeit marginally) with more tackles (75-74), more contested possessions (157-153) and clearances (35-34) to consolidate a top-two spot.
There was much to like in Sydney’s performance and, with arguably the toughest task in football coming up, the Swans will need to bring more of the same to overcome the ladder-leaders.
The all-conquering Hawks
Sydney and Hawthorn are no strangers to the odd tussle, during the regular season and on the biggest stage.
Since the 2012 Grand Final, Sydney have won three of nine encounters including the last which came earlier this season in the form of a 14-point win at the MCG.
Hawthorn hasn’t lost since, winning six consecutive matches, so are going into Thursday night’s blockbuster as the form side of the competition.
And not since 2007 has the red and white defeated Hawthorn twice in the same year so the Swans would be making history by beating the competition’s benchmark.
Where do you start?
The question was asked during John Longmire’s press conference on Tuesday whether ever-reliable defender Nick Smith would get the job on Cyril Rioli. Most likely. But what about other forwards Luke Breust, Jack Gunston and Paul Puopolo? Who runs with Sam Mitchell? And does Shaun Burgoyne demand a match-up?
As Longmire pointed out: “Cyril’s a star…(but) he’s one of their many stars. There are plenty of them. There’s no weakness…they have a terrific midfield group, an experienced defensive group and exciting forwards.”
Sydney’s back half stands as the best in the competition, having conceded the least amount of points of any club this season, including restricting the Hawks to their lowest total (55 points) this year to date.
As much as the midfield battle is always one to look at, Sydney’s defence will come up against an always dangerous and creative Hawks forward line which ranks as the most accurate, converting at 55.6 per cent, while their forwards have hit the scoreboard with five players scoring over 20 goals to date compared to Sydney’s one.
Selection
Some experienced players are waiting in the wings, ready for a senior recall.
Ben McGlynn responded strongly to last week’s omission with a standout performance with the NEAFL Swans on Saturday, which included 25 disposals and two goals. But it would have been his game-high nine tackles that would have impressed the coaches.
Harry Cunningham also performed well in his second consecutive game at the lower level, collecting 23 possessions in a strong display through the midfield.
And who could forget Isaac Heeney. The crafty forward would be refreshed and raring to go after being left out of Sydney’s trip to Geelong.
Another record for McVeigh
Jarrad McVeigh has captained the Sydney Swans for a total of 130 games.
On Thursday against Hawthorn, McVeigh will draw level with former skipper and Team of the Century centre-half back Dennis Carroll in third on the all-time list for most games as Sydney/South Melbourne captain.
Only Paul Kelly (182 games, 1993-2002) and Bob Skilton (165 games, 1959-1971) sit above the 278-game veteran on the honour roll.
McVeigh replaced Craig Bolton and Brett Kirk (fourth on the list) as co-captain alongside Adam Goodes in 2011 for two seasons, before Goodes stepped aside and Kieren Jack kept the co-captaincy going in 2013.
