Preview: Sydney vs Geelong
Where: SCG
When: Friday 22nd of July, 7:50pm local time
Friday night games are a rare breed in Sydney. Before last year’s
Royal Wedding fixture against Carlton the last friday night home and away game
was 2003. Whether this has any sway is unlikely, but it does mean that all eyes
are on the Harbour City tomorrow night. The Swans won the last encounter
beating the Cats at Kardinia, but before that the cats had won the last 9
games. Both teams are coming off a bye from last week and should be set to make
their mark on the run home to the finals.
Sydney
The Swans are sitting pretty in fourth at the last round of
byes. With some good wins over some more fancied opponents (Hawks and Essendon)
they have once again slipped under the radar. Their Round 11 match saw them
steamroll Essendon until ¾ time when a flurry of goals see the final margin reduced
to 4 points. Sydney will happily take the win, when really it was Essendon game
to lose. The Bombers awful kicking and Dempsey’s play on after the siren giving
the game away. Credit to Sydney though, they took opportunities and went to the
bye with a win.
The two shining lights for the Swans this year are Josh
Kennedy and Lewis Jetta. Kennedy is in sublime form, rightly becoming one of
the most damaging players in the AFL. His strength and goal kicking ability make
him the prime midfielder in the Sydney lineup. Along with Hannebery, Bolton,
Jack and McVeigh there is a tough strong midfield to rely on. They also smashed
the Bombers with lots of uncontested outside running which they will try to do
again against the Cats.
The other is Lewis Jetta. Leading the goal kicking for the Swans
at the half way mark, his pace and goal kicking are exciting things to watch. The
Swans have a league of talls, most of which are still young and are not
reaching their potential (Reid, Everett and White). They are though still
stretching backlines and making a contest. The small forward in Lewis and
McGlynn are loving the amount of ball coming down.
This is where they can exploit the Cats. The cats key position
backmen are formidable and won’t allow the Sydney talls to get away. But, the
weakness is on ground level. Hunt is slowing down a lot and Mackie can be
beaten. The one thing that the Swans are not allow to do is let Scarlett, Lonergan
or Taylor to play off their man. The Swan’s talls must be on their defensive
game and make them accountable.
Geelong
The cats are not the team of old. At 7 – 4 they have dropped
games they normally don’t (North, Freo) and have not put teams away like they
used to (Blues, Tigers). Never write the cats off though. They still have a lot
of class and do not lose easily. The round 11 game vs Carlton is a strange on
to read. The cats were efficient all night and won without too much fight.
Their opponents though haven’t been in great form, but were gallant on the
night. Sydney will be a great opponent to gauge their form.
The cats are relying on the old crew for the engine room.
Bartell, Corey, Chapman and Kelly have been the class that you should expect
from them. While good, they have missed the extra 10% or so from these players
that made the cats from previous years so formidable. In saying that it’s Joel
Selwood that has had a stellar year. Classy and strong he has really shone for
the cats. This will be an interesting mid field contest tomorrow.
The other standout is Tom Hawkins. He is now the go to guy
for the Cats. Previously it has been Johnson, Mooney or even Podsiadly. He is a
great mark, has a huge tank and is willing to smash through a pack for a mark.
Although he was well held last match, I doubt that will happen much and could
probably be put down to his surgery the week before. He will be the key for the
Cats.
In fact Hawkins, Podsiadly and Johnson will be the key for
the Cats, they could stretch the Swans backline. The swans lineup of Ted
Richards, Heath Grundy, Matin Mattner and Rhyce Shaw do not strike fear into
hearts of men, but are a tight and are responsible for the Swans being the
lowest scored team against in the comp.
Ins and Outs
A lot will be made of the ins and outs for this week’s game.
This is slightly expected due to the bye, but there are some notable outs for
other reason. I don't want to get into the politics of it all, so I won't.
For Sydney, the champion Goodes is back in. This will make a
world of difference. They have been travelling so well without him, but he is
such a good player it will improve the team. This will probably a straight swap and allow a reprieve for Pyke or
Everitt. McGlynn will be in too after a week off, so this will probably see
Malceski or Dennis-Lane out on form.
For the Cats, its Podsiadly in. This will give them another
avenue to goal and will be welcomed. Alan Christensen is also meant to be match
fit. Jesse Stringer will also miss the
last half of the season due to club suspension and Stokes maybe out with a
hamstring. If the cats don’t mind a swapping a tall with a small, then it should
be it. Otherwise Orren Stephenson seems to be the one that misses.
Prediction
I expect a tight fought mid field event that can go either
way. It will come down to if the Cats ruck or the Sydney outside running. The
SCG may allow the Swans to flood back well enough or the Cats to lock in the midfield.
Tip sways to Sydney in a close fought match.
Swans by 6
