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Adelaide and Sydney now have the inside running on the all-important top two positions, thanks to securing hard-fought wins on the weekend.
These were the type of matches both clubs were sorely in need of. Crows and Swans fans should be thanking Port and North respectively, for putting up spirited opposition. (Click to Tweet)
Both top teams had been getting too easy a time of it, and needed some sharpening up for finals.
Coming into Round 22, Adelaide were coming off consecutive routs against the bottom three teams on the ladder, defeating Essendon by 82 points, Brisbane by a whopping 138, and Fremantle by 12 goals (but with 22 more scoring shots). That’s an average winning margin of 97 points.
Sydney were in a similar position, with four wins in a row against bottom ten sides, with the last three coming against Fremantle by 90 points, Port by 67, and St Kilda by 70, at an average of 76 points.
It’s great to be able to play confident and free-flowing footy as you get close to September, but easy wins can also be a curse if it leaves you wanting for high-pressure moments and matches, which are going to be required in finals.
Just last year, the Swans hit the finals series off the back of three wins by margins of 89, 97 and 63 points. Yes, they had injury concerns too, but they weren’t battle-hardened and went out in straight sets when the intensity lifted.
In 2013, Geelong came into finals off the back of two big wins and a low-pressure Round 23 game against Brisbane, only to be found wanting in the first week of finals, going down as heavy favourites to a more intense Fremantle.
In the same week, Richmond may have also suffered in their elimination final loss to Carlton having come off two big, soft wins. They rode to an easy lead in that game, but didn’t have the appropriate steel when the going got tough.
In 2012, Adelaide came into September off the back of 69 and 91 point wins over bottom three sides to ensure second spot and a home final, but couldn’t handle the heat of Sydney first-up.
It’s much better to have had a proper hit out, and this may be more pronounced this year with the inclusion of the ridiculous pre-finals bye. Who knows what effect this extra week off will have.
Sydney are on top, and really should stay there, although given their recent record against Richmond, nothing can be taken for granted. The Tigers have beaten the Swans the last three times they’ve met, two of which were in Sydney.
The fact that Lance Franklin was clearly injured and significantly inhibited against North, and might need the week off, adds further intrigue.
Adelaide runs into a West Coast that is all of a sudden one of the hottest teams in the competition, even if they will have to bounce back from the devastating news of Nic Naitanui having done an ACL.
The Eagles pressure against Hawthorn on Friday night was as fierce as any seen this season, and losing their ruckman shouldn’t impact that attitude, especially given a top-four finish is still in play.
The Swans and Crows are in strong positions, having earned their way to the top and first crack at home finals and the double chance. They need to take care of business this week first, and they’re better off for having had a tough match last round.
When the going gets tough in finals, they’ll have recent match conditioning to call upon, which no amount of training can replace. Sydney and Adelaide have timed their runs to perfection.