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Kurt Tippett’s transformation into an elite ruckman this year was a major reason why Sydney had such a strong start to the season. Now his long-term absence is threatening to scotch the Swans’ premiership push.
Sydney remain well positioned in fourth spot with a 10-4 record. But in a remarkably tight season they could drop to seventh spot if they lose to premiership favourites Geelong at Skilled Stadium this weekend.
The Swans surprised many of us with their striking performances over the first half of this season, defying widespread expectations their young side would not be a premiership threat.
The prolific and mercurial displays of Lance Franklin up front helped drive this success, along with the maturation of young stars like Isaac Heeney and Tom Mitchell. All the while, their greatest weapon – a beastly crew of midfielders – continued to dominate in the clinches.
What put the blood red cherry on this Swan cake was the monumental input of Tippett. Recruited to the Swans on a massive contract as a spearhead, Tippett had garnered plenty of criticism despite being a valuable contributor across his first three seasons up north.
While fellow big money recruit Lance Franklin constantly shaped games with his piercing left boot, Tippett’s influence waxed and waned. Last season he became a more consistent footballer thanks, in part, to spending a greater amount of time outside the forward 50m as a ruckman.
Playing as a backup to veteran big man Mike Pyke, Tippett spent more minutes as a follower than he had since his second season of AFL back in 2009. When he arrived at the Crows, the 200cm teenager had been earmarked as a ruckman-forward, intended to provide a target in attack while also shouldering a significant ruck workload.
Then in that 2009 season he showcased a rare ability to find the goals and so became a key forward who only occasionally helped out in the ruck. He remained such a player for the following five seasons. It wasn’t until Pyke started to slow down last season that Tippett was again asked to play a key role in the ruck.
Seemingly with an eye to Pyke’s impending retirement the Swans brains trust put Tippett on the ball regularly throughout last season and he showed signs that he could, potentially, become a fine number one ruckman.
After Pyke departed, Sydney recruited Callum Sinclair who was coming off a good season as the number two big man to Nic Naitanui at West Coast.
The Swans may have hoped Sinclair would prove capable of holding down the frontline ruck spot, allowing Tippett to spend a majority of each game inside the forward 50. But Sinclair has struggled when handed such responsibility and looks far more comfortable operating in the slipstream of a more physically imposing ruck counterpart.
As Sydney went down by a goal to the Western Bulldogs on the weekend, the ruck contest was crucial. Sinclair was asked to lead the ruck but was clearly outpointed by Bulldogs big men Jordan Roughead and Will Minson.
Tippett was sorely missed. In a short amount of time he has built a fine understanding with the Swans blue chip midfield of Mitchell, Dan Hannebery, Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker and Kieren Jack. In averaging 30 hit outs, 14 touches, three tackles, three clearances and 1.3 goals per game this season, Tippett has been one of the most valuable players in the competition.
Recently I posed the question of who, right now, was the AFL’s supreme ruckman. While Naitanui, Todd Goldstein and Max Gawn were the three big men I put forth, Tippett was only just behind that dominant trio in my mind.
Certainly, with his goal kicking nous, he offers a versatility unrivalled by Naitanui, Goldstein or Gawn. The Swans did not look like the same side in his absence on the weekend.
If they are to snare the flag then Sydney desperately need Tippett fit and controlling the ruck once more. The problem is that, after having surgery on his hamstring, he is not expected to return for at least another six weeks.
Serious hamstring injuries of this kind are very difficult to recover from, particularly in the short term. It will be hard for him to build any momentum before the finals start, and that would be a crushing blow for Sydney and their premiership hopes.