Sydney Swans ruckman Mike Pyke says he is ready and waiting for a match-up with former teammate Darren Jolly in the team’s crucial clash against Collingwood on Saturday night at ANZ Stadium.
Jolly played 118 matches with the Swans, including the 2005 premiership, but returned home to Melbourne to play with Collingwood at the end of the 2009 season. Saturday night will see him go head-to-head against the Swans for the first time and Pyke says he has had the clash on his mind for some time.
“I think at the start of the year I knew I’d be hard-pressed to get a senior game with the other ruck guys fit, and in the back of my mind I thought to myself, round 12 [sic] against Collingwood, give yourself a chance for that, so I’m really looking forward to it,” Pyke said.
“We rucked against one another alot last year so we know each other quite well. Whether I’ll be rucking against him much, probably not, because I think Mummy (Shane Mumford) will probably be taking that load on, but I’m looking forward to it - it should be fun.''
Pyke is full of praise for his Magpie counterpart and says he was a crucial part of his development as he made the transition from Canadian rugby international to AFL ruckman.
“I think after Stephen Taubert - our ruck coach - that he’d [Jolly] be the next most influential in my development in terms of the ruck stuff,” Pyke said.
“He’s a great player, you can’t take that away from him, he’s got all the ruck skills and he takes some marks and gets the ball around the ground, so he’s a great player and I certainly learned a lot from him.''
Since returning to the team to replace the injured Mark Seaby, Pyke has formed a formidable ruck partnership with Shane Mumford and won praise from coach Paul Roos for his improvement.
“I’m feeling really good. I feel like I’m improving every game which has been the same sort of thing I’ve been trying to do since I arrived. Nothing has really changed for me in the last year or two, just a matter of improving and taking confidence into the next game,” Pyke said.
Pyke said the match was a crucial one for the side, which is eager to prove itself against one of the competition’s form teams.
“I think it’s very important. To be able to get a scalp like Collingwood would be massive as they’re obviously a genuine top-four team at the moment,” Pyke said.
