Bring it on, whoever it may be.
That's the message from Sydney Swans defender Nic Newman ahead of the first round of the NEAFL finals series.
Having finished with the minor premiership, three games clear on top of the ladder the NEAFL Swans won a ticket straight to the preliminary finals alongside GWS and, as a result, will take a back seat this weekend and let Aspley, NT Thunder, Sydney Uni and Gold Coast battle it out for the other two spots.
The NEAFL Swans will pay particular attention to one game - Aspley v NT Thunder - of which will determine next weekend's match-up and who'll they have to beat to advance to the Grand Final.
The Hornets and Thunder squared off in last year's grand final with the latter coming out on top. Both have hit strong form of late with Aspley winning five of the past six games and NT winning two-in-a-row to finish fourth and fifth on the ladder respectively.
NT Thunder is one of two clubs to have beaten the NEAFL Swans this year as well and Aspley will remember all too well eliminating the red and white from last year's finals series.
With this in mind, Newman is wary of what either side can produce but remains confident his side can secure the all-important win and progress well into September.
"Aspley, we got them down here (in Sydney), and with NT, we're one (win) and one (loss) this season - we're confident we can get a win," he said.
"They're both really good teams...we're not taking either of them lightly and we know it's going to be a challenge whoever we play.
"But we're definitely confident and have self-belief that whoever we play we can knock off."
Competition for spots in the senior side means the NEAFL Swans will benefit with the likes of experienced heads Ted Richards and Jeremy Laidler fighting for respective recalls.
Added to that are Toby Nankervis, Dean Towers, James Rose, Jordan Foote, Jack Hiscox who've all played at senior level this season and are hopeful of pushing their names in front of the selectors once again with strong showings on the track or when given the opportunity in the coming NEAFL finals series.
Nankervis, Foote joined Newman, Brandon Jack and Colin O'Riordan in the NEAFL Team of the Year, announced at Sunday night's awards ceremony in Sydney.
Foote was the highest placed Swan in the MVP voting in ninth while Newman finished close behind in 11th.
Rhyce Shaw was awarded this year's Coach of the Year.
Newman described the honour as bittersweet: "Getting some recognition for a decent year is always nice, but at the same time it means you're not playing too much senior football."
The venues for next weekend's preliminary finals are yet to be determined.
