The week-long lead-up to round one is back and Sydney is feeling the buzz ahead of its clash with West Coast on Sunday.
The Swans will meet the Eagles at Perth’s Optus Stadium in the first AFL men’s game of the venue’s history and vice-captain Dane Rampe says it’s great footy has returned.
“‘Excited’ is probably an understatement and I can’t wait to get over to Perth,” Rampe said.
“We love going over there and hopefully we put our best foot forward on Sunday.”
The ferocity of a Western Australian challenge is not lost on the 27-year-old.
“Whenever you go over to play West Coast or Fremantle it is a very hostile environment,” Rampe said.
“It’s probably up there with one of the biggest ones, so we’re expecting a challenge from not only the Eagles but the crowd as well.”
A near-capacity crowd is expected to flood the new 60,000-seat venue for another chapter in the intense Sydney-West Coast rivalry, a feud built on back-to-back grand final match-ups across 2005 and 2006.
The Swans emerged four-point victors in 2005 and the Eagles one-point winners the following year, while the clubs played out thrilling qualifying finals early in the pieces of both finals series.
The Swans recorded JLT Community Series wins over the Brisbane Lions and GWS Giants earlier this year and Rampe says the pre-season clean-sweep has the side primed for the new season.
“We had a number of senior players out there which was probably a focus going in – really getting some game time in to them and coming out with our best foot forward,” Rampe said.
“Probably in light of what happened early last year we just want to start as strong as we can. Although it’s a new year, we’re not going to get caught on the back foot.”
The 2016 All-Australian defender has also taken a moment to reflect on his personal game ahead of his second year as vice-captain.
The Rampe staring down the barrel of Sunday’s trip west is a fry cry from the 23-year-old picked up as a Rookie in 2013.
He now forms part of a leadership team marked with the names Josh Kennedy, Dan Hannebery, Luke Parker, Jarrad McVeigh, Kieren Jack and Nick Smith, as the Swans prepare for another premiership campaign.
“It’s obviously pretty special,” Rampe said.
“You can get caught up during the year on going about your business and playing footy but it’s important to acknowledge every now and then where you’ve come from.”
Sunday will mark the third time the Swans and Eagles have met in the opening round of a season.
