The Sydney Swans are looking for their seventh straight win when they face the dangerous Richmond Tigers at the SCG. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:50pm (AEST).
The home side come into the round looking to regain second spot, and they should be raring to go after their week off.
However Richmond have travelled well this season, having only lost one of their four interstate battles.
The Tigers’ stunning away win the last time these sides met will also be in the back of the players’ minds, and John Longmire’s men will be fully aware of the potency of the forward runners they face.
Richmond, on the other hand, will be looking to regain the momentum they produced before their loss to West Coast last week, and this will be another true test of their top-eight credentials.
They will be buoyed by a good week off the field, with Alex Rance signing a long-term deal and the club hitting 70,000 members. Still, they sit somewhat uncomfortably in eighth, with six wins and five losses.
Both sides come into the game with a few changes, with the Tigers losing Corey Ellis (adductor/hip) and omitting Steve Morris and Connor Menadue for the returning Chris Newman, Nathan Gordon and Kane Lambert.
The Swans lose Canadian Mike Pyke (knee), and Daniel Robinson also makes way for Zac Jones and Tom Derickx.
This match will be won in the midfield, and Richmond will be relying on their skipper Trent Cotchin and Anthony Miles, who rank second and fifth for free kicks won, to win and extract the ball.
If the Swans can be first to the ball, while maintaining their average of 72 tackles per game, they will be able to put real pressure on their opposition, who have successfully slowed down their previously manic game in recent weeks.
Prediction
You would be brave to dismiss the Tigers in this clash, but the Swans have been a real force in this season.
If they can utilise their home ground advantage (Richmond have not won at the SCG since 2004) and provide their twin towers up forward with good service, the Swans should prove too strong.
Swans by 20 points.
Join The Roar for live scores and coverage as we follow the action from the SCG live from 7:50pm (AEST). Be sure to share your thoughts on the game in the comments.
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
I quantified it by saying he may not have actually hit. They will have more footage then we do and they'll work out whether or not he hit it. Medical report always makes a big impact and Edwards seemed fine.
GTW
Guest
Tippett is a very frustrated player, he's a lumbering giant that the Swans don't need at all. Buddy is at least twice as good as him. As a League fan, why did the reporting of Buddy eventuate in him not being able to do anything effectively after it? He looked gun-shy, which is a rare event for him. The big half time lead saw the Swans put the cue in the rack, the one-percenters that the midfielders did so well in the second quarter were nowhere to be seen in the second half. AFL comes up with some damned weird rules, and as an outsider, what I think clearly shows a free kick for one side, usually goes the other way. I've heard it said that the AFL umpires rarely effect the result of games, but that is such rubbish. At the SCG something just has to go right in the middle of the park and it's only a matter of seconds before someone is going for goal. Momentum shifts are strongly influenced by umpire decisions.
Don Freo
Guest
That's just silly Jack. If Gibbs gets 2 for playing footy, Buddy gets 8 for thuggery. He knows...that's why he had only one handball for the second half. He'll get 3 down to two but it should be 4 down to 3 (although he should get no reduction because of his constant record of football outside the spirit of the game). When he gets beaten, why doesn't he just try harder, instead of packing it in and resorting to that? You do know that the jaw is part of the head...a protected area? He has blown a Coleman chance and a possible top 4 chance for Sydney...ah well.
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
Tippett in more trouble than Buddy. Took a screenshot at point of impact. Buddy actually isn't flush on jaw but to the side of it (and not necessarily have hit it). He might get off with that and the fact Edwards played out the game. Tippett however has little defence other than it wasn't that hard a hit but still in trouble I think.
Penster
Guest
Franklin they'll miss, Tippett not so much ......
Don Freo
Guest
Yeah, no!
XI
Roar Guru
Yeah, no.
Don Freo
Guest
At least he doesn't disappear under pressure like McVeigh and Jack. Great leadership from Cotchin.
Don Freo
Guest
On the basis of that, Joe, Sydney misses the finals completely? I can understand your thinking...they will probably lose their next 3 games without Tippett and Franklin.
Don Freo
Guest
Sydney got many crazy frees that were never on. The little man in yellow tried very hard to get Sydney home...but alas...!
joe b
Guest
Ch7 commentators dismiss Richmond's loss last week to west coast as just being a bit rusty from their bye... but surprise, surprise, they don't mention that sydney has just come off a bye. Balanced commentating by ch7. Tigers should be able to finish around 6th, but i can't see them winning a final (except against gws)...certainly not 2 finals.
Michael Alvaro
Roar Guru
Good call, they were overrun in the end. Just couldn't pull it back enough, even when they had the momentum in the last quarter
Benjamin Conkey
Editor
Only caught the last quarter of this, but looked the Swans ran out of legs. They had nothing in the last 5 minutes.
Michael Alvaro
Roar Guru
Wasn't as noticeable to me as it seems to have been to others, that's probably because I was so focussed on the blog though haha
Michael Alvaro
Roar Guru
Richmond have continued their immense travelling record this season with a memorable comeback win against Sydney, their first at the SCG since 2004. After finding themselves 32 points down at half time, Trent Cotchin's goal on his back prompted a fightback, as they went on to kick 11 goals to 3 in the second half to run over a usually astute swans side. In an action packed game there were three reports, and all offenders may find themselves in trouble - with Buddy the most notable of the three after his bump on Edwards. Miles and Hannebery lead the disposals count with 29 a piece, as well as one goal each, and Jack Riewoldt kicked a bag of 6 in a great display of gut running, accuracy in from of goal and desperate marking. He was the only multiple goal kicker for Richmond, whilst Franklin, Parker and Rohan all kicked 2 for the Swans. Josh Kennedy tried hard all night alongside Luke Parker and Gary Rohan, who was slightly inconsistent. It was not enough though, as Cotchin, Rance and Deledio dragged their side over the line among the aforementioned contributors. That win puts Richmond into 6th, while Sydney will be disappointed not to have claimed 2nd spot. Tigers fans will be rejoicing, hopefully for them, their side can keep up that form and gain some consistency. For Sydney, it should just serve as a minor hurdle, they showed for half of this game how good they are, but their good form seems to have been disrupted by the bye round. Thanks for joining me for another Friday night clash, it was a beauty. Enjoy your weekend of footy!
XI
Roar Guru
It's funny that the Grandstand commentators said that they gave one against him early to assert that they weren't going to let him get away with that. Based on what happened in that second half, the umpires must have forgotten.
Mark
Guest
Crap umpiring on both sides
Michael Alvaro
Roar Guru
A bit of talk about the umpiring in the crowd, free kicks were even in the end though. I can certainly see where your'e coming from, he stretches the rules as much as possible
Mark
Guest
Not a supporter of either team and I know the free kick count was reasonably even but is it just me or did it seem to be quite one sided in that last quarter?
Michael Alvaro
Roar Guru
He certainly gets his fair share, but you have to give him credit for his leadership in that second half