The form of goal sneak Eddie Betts, who has booted six goals over the past two rounds, has been one of the main focuses of the club’s back six and will be one player they hope to get on top of at the Adelaide Oval.
Speaking ahead of the Swans’ final training session for the week, defender Rhyce Shaw said Betts, who returned home to South Australia after nine seasons at Carlton, had been a clear standout up forward for the Crows.
“Old Eddie, he’s been playing pretty good,” Shaw said.
“He’s got those baggy shorts going and he looks really good and he looks really happy with where he is.”
While the Swans are likely to rotate a number of players against the former Blue, Shaw said lock-down defender Nick Smith would likely be the man for the job, adding that the entire defensive group would need to be at their best to shut down the Crows’ forward structures.
“Hopefully (Betts) comes out and gets two or three touches this week because Nick Smith will be on him I reckon, and everyone knows how stingy Nick is,” he said.
“We put a lot of work into (their forward targets) and especially with Eddie because he’s so good in the air and on the ground.
“We have to really look at him really closely but I’m sure Nick is going to do a good job on him this week, but the rest of the defence need to make sure they hold up their end of the bargain.
“It’s going to be interesting and hopefully he doesn’t get much of it.
“I hope Eddie plays well for the rest of the year, but not this week.”
Saturday afternoon’s match, which will be played in front of a sell-out crowd at the newly redeveloped Adelaide Oval, will be an important match for both teams, who have suffered poor starts to the season.
Shaw said the Swans were looking forward to their first match on the road this season, as well as the challenge of playing the Crows in front of a hostile home crowd.
“Both teams are 0-2, so it’s a tough game,” he said.
“We’re really looking forward to playing them at Adelaide Oval, which is a fantastic sporting facility.
“I’m really looking forward to getting over there and getting out there this week.”
