2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season – Round One
Brisbane Lions v Sydney Swans
Saturday, March 19 at 7:45pm AEDT
The Gabba, QLD
Sydney will blood three new draftees with Logan McDonald, Braeden Campbell and Errol Gulden selected for their first AFL games.
The last time the Swans had three first-year players make their debut was 1990, when Paul Kelly, Brad Tunbridge and Shane Fell ran out for the first time in Sydney’s Round 1 clash with Carlton.
Sydney also had three opening round debutants in 2016 , Callum Mills, Tom Papley and George Hewett, however only Mills and Papley were entering their first season with the club.
Papley and Hewett will join the Sydney Swans 100-Game Club together tonight, having shared 87 games, 51 wins and seven finals since they entered the League.
Papley and Hewett will be the 137th and 138th 100-gamers on an all-time Swans playing list.
Tom Hickey will also make his Swans club debut after joining the club this season. The 201cm ruckman has played 102 games in his career with Gold Coast, St Kilda and the Eagles.
Last time they met
Sydney Swans 6.5.41 – Brisbane Lions 11.7.73 – Round 17, Sunday, September 13, 2020.
What it means for Brisbane:
Teenage draftee Harry Sharp will make his debut for the club after an AAMI Community Series performance for the home side when he came on to replace an injured Cameron Rayner. Forward recruit Joe Daniher will also make his club debut, coming off a four-goal performance in the side’s practice match earlier this month.
What it means for Sydney:
The three young debutants and two 100-game milestone will provide plenty of enthusiasm for Sydney’s opening game of the season. Plenty of development occurred in 2020 for Sydney’s younger players and the side showed plenty of positive signs in their pre-season fixture against GWS.
The stat:
Brisbane have won the last two meetings between the two sides but Sydney have won the three encounters prior. The last time these two sides met, Brisbane had a 32 point victory in Round 17 of the 2020 season
