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Sydney Swans and Geelong will be looking to maintain their unbeaten starts to the 2013 AFL season when they meet at the Sydney Cricket Ground tonight. We’ll have live scores and commentary on the action from 7.50pm AEST.
When Geelong travelled to Sydney for a rare Friday night fixture last year, they were unlucky to fall six points short after clawing their way back into a contest that the Swans looked to have won.
Andrejs Everitt sealed it for the Swans in a thrilling final quarter, but Friday fixtures in Sydney will always be tied to the heart-stopping brilliance of the freakish four-goal Nick Davis final quarter in 2005 that clinched a dramatic semi-final.
Geelong trudged off despondent, struggling to swallow a loss that would later be deemed by many as the catalyst for a new footballing dynasty.
Since that day, the Swans have won two Premierships; the Cats have won three. And there’s every reason to suggest that these two sides will be making noise late into September.
Sydney’s 11-goal ‘premiership quarter’ against the Kangaroos down at Blundstone Arena saw them reverse a 14-point deficit at half-time to lead by a remarkable 47 points heading into the final break.
It’s as good as sign as you’ll see that the cursed Premiership hangover is, well, not a real thing.
John Longmire’s men are undoubtedly facing their toughest test yet, but all of a sudden they look like they could be primed for it.
The Swans’ midfielders are firing. Jarrad McVeigh, Josh Kennedy and Kieren Jack have been excellent in the first three rounds and will have had Geelong on the radar when they looked at this season’s fixture list.
Youngsters Dan Hannebery and Luke Parker have started well, while the old guard in Ryan O’Keefe and Jude Bolton only seem to get better.
And while a few question marks may linger over the Swans’ preparation, the Cats have already had to dig their claws in, with hard-fought wins over Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Carlton in the first three rounds.
Whereas the Cats are certainly match-hardened, the challenge will be in having to match Sydney’s tough brand of footy.
Their victories so far have sent a timely reminder that they’re serious top-four contenders.
They’ve been all the more impressive when you consider that they won despite trailing Hawthorn by 20 points and the Kangaroos by 35 points at half-time in rounds 1 and 2 respectively.
The form of usual suspects Joel Selwood, Paul Chapman and Corey Enright has been impressive, but it’s the new breed of Mitch Duncan, Billie Smedts and Steven Motlop that will have Cat’s fans excited.
There’s no doubt that Chris Scott’s men will be raring to go, but I think the Swans home ground advantage will give them the edge in a tight scrap.
Sydney by 11 points.
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