After four rounds of the 2012 AFL Season, the West Coast Coast Eagles and the Sydney Swans sit atop the AFL ladder, with four wins apiece.
It brings back memories of the not-so-distant past, when these two teams began one of the AFL’s best rivalries.
Both the Eagles and Swans have only really been challenged once this year.
For Sydney it was round three, when they overcome Fremantle by 13 points. As for West Coast, who could forget their low-scoring epic against Hawthorn last week?
The pair sit at number one (West Coast) and two (Sydney) on the ladder and are only separated by percentage.
Sydney boast a talented line-up, with their experienced players like Jude Bolton and Adam Goodes stepping up. They are mixed in with some recycled players, such as Josh Kennedy, and a talented bunch of youths, such as Luke Parker.
West Coast also boast a strong line-up of young players, with the likes of Shuey, Gaff and Darling springing to mind.
While early season form is always welcome, the question that needs to be asked is, are both clubs really up to playing the level of footy which provides a finals-like intensity when they face each other, come round 16?
Are both clubs really contenders or will one of them drop off mid season?
Only time will tell whether they are indeed the real deal.
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Last, year in the second showdown, Adelaide destroyed Port by 47 points with a staggering 20 marks inside 50 with Tex Walker the main star.
There’s no disputing that Cam Guthrie will be important against Melbourne, given Patrick Dangerfield is set to miss due to injury.
Collingwood led by a point with minutes to go, Kyle Langford had the chance to be the hero with a set shot, however, he missed, and we saw the first draw of the season.
We’re taking a look at one player from each team that needs to make a difference this week, starting with the ANZAC Day games.
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