Today’s battle with the Adelaide Crows will begin in the middle, according to Sydney Swans midfielder Dan Hannebery.

With the Swans and Crows holding the top two positions after the home and away season for contested possession, the 21-year-old said there was no doubt this afternoon’s Qualifying Final would come down to the midfield contest.

“I think it starts in the midfield, really,” Hannebery told SwansTV.

“Whoever gets that ascendency in the midfield is going to go a long way to winning the game.

“If Adelaide gets that ascendency then it’s going to give our backline hell with their keys forwards and if we get the ascendency it’s going to put them under the pump, so it’s going to be a real midfield battle.”

The Crows boast plenty of strength in the midfield, through the likes of Patrick Dangerfield and Scott Thompson, who are ranked second and third respectively for contested possession within the league, while Swan midfielder Josh Kennedy holds the top ranking.

Hannebery said the Swans midfield need to deliver their best performance to quell the influence of the Crows key ball-getters.

“Our midfielders in Joey (Kennedy), Kieren (Jack), Macca (Jarrad McVeigh), Pebbles (Ryan O’Keefe), Jetts (Lewis Jetta) and myself, it’s going to be a big battle in there, inside and outside," he said.

“(Adelaide) have got some quality players in the midfield.

“They’ve really got some quality midfielders in (Patrick) Dangerfield and (Scott) Thomson and they’ve got two really key forwards as well in (Kurt) Tippett and (Taylor) Walker.

“We’re going to expect a fierce contest from them and we need to make sure we’re up to our best if we’re going to get anywhere near them.”

This weekend’s game will be Hannebery’s fifth final, having played for the Swans in September for the past two seasons.

The midfielder, whose 2011 finals’ campaign was hampered by a shoulder injury, said he would not be overawed by this year’s series.

“With your first few finals you always get a bit overawed by the whole thing and you maybe try to do something when you play that you’re probably not used to doing,” Hannebery said.

“What you need to do is treat it like any other week and that’s what we’re doing this week and are preparing the same as we’ve always prepared for the whole year.

“It’s about everyone playing their roles this week and if we play our roles as a footy side, then we’re a good footy side and we can beat anyone.

“I’ll just keep the same preparation that I usually do and just play to the team structures and play my role and that’s what everyone is going to try and do this week.”

After finishing the home and away season with 16 wins and in third place, Hannebery said the team will enter this year’s finals series with the confidence that they can match it with any team.

He said the club’s final month of football has been the perfect preparation for September football.

“It’s been a really good year for us and it was a really good opportunity finishing in the top four to go into the finals,” he said.

“I think it’s been a good month for us. I think we’ve had a good solid month of playing some good footy teams and we’ve played some really good footy along the way.

“We’ve got some areas to improve on, but I think the last month puts us in really good stead for the finals and we’ll see how we fare this week.

“It’s exciting times and hopefully we get a win this week.”