Young Swan Dan Robinson says all eyes are on North Melbourne as Sydney prepares for a “crucial game” at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
An undermanned Sydney will be out to crack a two-game losing run after defeats to Richmond and Geelong, with experienced duo Jarrad McVeigh and Dan Hannebery headlining a number of players struck down by injury in the past week.
But Robinson said the Swans had reset ahead of the all-important clash with the Roos.
“Over the last couple of weeks we haven’t been super happy with the way we’ve played,” Robinson said on Macquarie Sports Radio.
“The injuries have certainly compounded that issue but the only thing we can focus on is North Melbourne. We’ve watched the vision, we’ve tried to learn from our mistakes and in fairness to Geelong and Richmond we’ve come up against two really quality sides.
“All we can focus on is learning from those games and putting ourselves in the best position that if we do run in to them at the end of the year we can rectify those results.
“It’s a crucial game for us on Sunday and we want to rectify our form.”
As the ladder currently stands, the Swans sit in fifth and the Kangaroos ninth.
Just one win separates fifth and ninth and a long list of sides await critical games, with jostling for finals berths set to heat up as the season nears September.
Sydney is eyeing a return to the top four ahead of its trip to Docklands, while North Melbourne has its heart set on again picking the lock on the top eight.
The Swans clinched a 42-point win in Round 8, 2017 when the two sides last crossed swords at Etihad Stadium, while the Roos won by two points when they visited the SCG earlier this season.
Robinson said the Roos would present another tough challenge.
“North Melbourne has a really quality midfield with players like Shaun Higgins and Ben Cunnington and up forward they have a lot of dangerous tall options headlined by Ben Brown,” Robinson said.
“Our focus won’t change too much from the type of football we want to play but certainly trying to curb the influence of those types of players and really playing the game on our terms will be crucial.”
