Opinion
Two rounds into the new season and already the Sydney Swans have emerged as the surprise packets of the competition.
Tipped by many to again wallow at the bottom of the ladder, the Swans have taken the competition by storm, becoming the first team since Essendon in 2001 to kick the highest score in each of the opening two rounds of a new season.
You may have thought they’d be in for a heavy defeat when they conceded the first three goals in as many minutes against Brisbane at the Gabba in Round 1.
The pro-Lions crowd expecting to see their side rack up a huge win were later silenced as the away side ran riot, kicking 19 goals to win 19.11 (125) to 14.10 (94).
The win was highlighted by a three-goal performance from Errol Gulden, who claimed the first Rising Star nomination for the season.
Errol Gulden of the Swans (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
John Longmire’s side then backed it up last week, again overcoming a slow start as they defeated a wasteful Adelaide Crows by 33 points at the SCG, marking just their third win against them at home since 2004.
It saw Don Pyke, now an assistant coach at the Swans after taking a year off following his departure from West Lakes at the end of 2019, come up against his successor as Crows coach, Matthew Nicks, who played 175 games for Sydney between 1996 and 2005.
Again it was one of the Swans’ draftees at the forefront, with Braeden Campbell gathering 25 disposals as he claimed the second Rising Star nomination of the year.
But all eyes were on Lance Franklin as he made his first appearance in 83 weeks, kicking three goals in his comeback match after missing the entire 2020 season due to a slew of injuries.
The Sydneysiders also became the first club to claim the first two Rising Star nominations in a season since the award’s inception in 1993. The fourth pick in last year’s draft, Logan McDonald, as well as forward Chad Warner, who wears the #1 guernsey made famous by Big Bad Bustlin’ Barry Hall in the noughties, are also expected to pick up nominations as the season goes on.
This Saturday they face another tough test of their early-season credentials when they fly south to Melbourne to face one of the toughest tasks in the AFL – Richmond at the MCG.
The Tigers have started the season by defeating Carlton and Hawthorn to sit in second place on the ladder – only behind Port Adelaide and ahead of the Swans – on percentages.
Dustin Martin ran the show in the middle as the Tigers beat the Hawks by 29 points last Sunday – and it will therefore take a team effort from the Swans to bring him and the Tiger machine down on Saturday afternoon.
Dustin Martin (Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)
And while Richmond have won nine of their last 14 matches against the Swans dating back to 2010, including the past three in a row, Sydney were the last out-of-town team to beat the Tigers anywhere in Victoria, in Round 13, 2017.
In that match, the Swans trailed by as much as 36 points but pulled themselves out of the grave to win a thriller by nine points after kicking eight of the final nine goals.
Last year, the Tigers won a low-scoring match by just eight points at the Gabba, a week after all ten Victorian clubs were forced to evacuate the state due to a devastating second wave of coronavirus cases.
The Tigers could also probably give the Swans some credit for the success they are enjoying now; in the final round of the 2016 season, Buddy Franklin kicked as many goals as the whole Richmond side did, as the Swans thrashed Richmond by 113 points at the SCG.
Many believed that coach Damien Hardwick would have been sacked at the end of a dismal season that saw the club finish 13th on the ladder with only eight wins for the year.
However, 13 months after having their 2016 season ended in humiliation at the SCG, the club climbed the premiership dais for the first time in 37 years.
This has been followed by two more flags, with the Tigers having now re-established themselves as a powerhouse club after nearly four decades of struggle.
While Hardwick’s side should start favourites on Saturday afternoon, do not be surprised if Sydney make a serious challenge out of it, if their exciting brand of footy we have seen in the opening two rounds is anything to go by.
Another win to the Swans could send a warning to the rest of the competition that, after two years in the bottom four, they could seriously contend for a berth in September.
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