Preview The Swans Redemption Arc Goes On - Sydney vs Port Adelaide - Preliminary Final

[The King!]

Fox can play as a defensive forward and has in the past which can free up Hayward

He wasn't great forward this year. But we do need a Tasmanian in

 

[JackHiscoxWasFast]

I’d be happy with a three quarter performance this week. This time, big lead and win easing down with the AA stars benched and Ramps subbed.

Save our only 4 quarter performance for the GF.

 

[Punts]

Fox either defence or don’t play him

 

[The King!]

I’d be happy with a three quarter performance this week. This time, big lead and win easing down with the AA stars benched and Ramps subbed.

Save our only 4 quarter performance for the GF.

I think the team were planning on muddling until the third quarter and winning in 20 minutes.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

I think the team were planning on muddling until the third quarter and winning in 20 minutes.

Can we at least go 3/4 so I won’t want to finish an entire scotch cabinet at half time?

 

[bedford]

Can we at least go 3/4 so I won’t want to finish an entire scotch cabinet at half time?

We will come from behind , but only a couple down at HT 15 11 101 to 11 7 73

 

[LukeParkerno1]

We will come from behind , but only a couple down at HT 15 11 101 to 11 7 73

You are lucky I love ya! Scotch won’t be strong enough

 

[Swannie0307]

This dropping/subbing JMac is beyond weird

If he started 2 weeks ago he should start this week. He’ll be a million times better for the run, think of him like a racehorse, you need a run before they go well. He’s not a first up specialist!

Fox for Mills

Campbell stays sub we finally have found a great sub

Yes, Jmac will be one of the first picked. The only way he won’t play is if he hasn’t pulled up well from last week.

Still think it’ll be a close call who they select out of Fox or Adams… I’d be ok either way.

 

[GotTheGoodes]

The best stories in sport are ALWAYS the redemption arcs.

• Tiger Woods coming back from his wife, sponsors and health deserting him. Then winning his first major in 11 years at the masters.
• Michael Jordan coming back into the NBA after failing at baseball and a tonne of betting controversies, winning multiple titles with the Bulls and becoming an icon that transcended sport itself.
• Muhammed Ali getting revenge against Frazier, Norton and Spinks (All three were losses), let alone coming back from a ban to become world champion again
• Cadel Evans finishing runner up at multiple Tour De Frances, looking past it with finishes outside the top 20 in 2009 and 2010 before finally becoming Australia's first ever winner in 2011!

Some of us may not recognise it but the Sydney Swans are in the midst of their own redemption arc.

• Had lost three straight finals against GWS - Came from behind to beat them in a final in front of our own fans - TICK
• Haven't beaten our preliminary final opponent since 2016, lost to them by over 100 points earlier in the season - Pending

Hell there is even a third part of this redemption with Geelong, but lets not get ahead of ourselves here. Lets start of with the preview of our preliminary final.

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Sydney Swans VS Port Adelaide
Location - SCG
When - Friday 21st of September
Time - TBC
Weather - High of 23 degrees, dropping down to 18 by the bounce, no rain currently forecast, low amounts of wind.

Recent Form

Sydney - Lets not talk about about our midseason "dip" instead lets focus on the fact we have now won our last 4 on the trot, are well rested and have won after a week off every round this year. This match is set up for the bloods, so there are no excuses for our form, we just need to turn up and get the job done.

Port - Port have won 7 of their last 8 matches, but they greatly crashed down to early last week against Geelong. Honestly I think that match against Geelong was a one off and they are actually in great form leading in. I expect them to be up and about for this match.
Likely Changes
Sydney OUT: Mills IN: Fox (If not Fox then Adams)
Port: None - They may choose to bring in Dixon for Marshall, but I think their forward line looked better balanced with Marshall and I am sure their coaching box did as well.

Who to look out for

Sydney

Heeney: Did anyone expect me to name someone else? From one of the best performances I have ever seen by a Swan last week, I am expecting him to once again put our team on his back and lead us to victory. Watch out for Port who will likely put a big body on him around the stoppages (Potentially even Wines) .

McInerney: Yes he was probably a tad underdone last week, but I think he will hit back with a bang this week, as Port put more effort into our other players, I think he will step up and surprise a few.

Papley: Our barometer and a player built for finals, I am putting him down for 4 goals a few assists and maybe a scuffle or two.

Port

JHF: Similar to Heeney, this man is built for the big stage and is someone Sydney will need to look at shutting down. I'm not sure if he is the James Jordan matchup, but we will definitely have to get someone to go one on one and hurt him in the other direction.

Butters: A true leader, rose back off the canvas to lead Port over the weekend, if we can keep him quiet (Potentially Rowbottom head to head), it will go a long way to keeping Port quiet.

Burgoyne: Was HUGE for Port Adelaide over the weekend, and the player I would be sending Jordan (or even Hayward to). If we can cut their run from defence we can choke them up and make them appear lost.

What to expect from this match?

Port Adelaide are going to come hard at us from the first bounce, they start matches well and really left us shell shocked earlier in the season. On the bright side of things, I think we are mature enough to weather this storm and we have enough leaders in the side to limit the damage.

If Sydney can keep the ball in transition it will go a long way to us winning this match, Port have a very big bodied midfield which will pose problems for us, so expect to see Parker more on the ball, or potentially Adams coming in for Mills instead of Fox. If the match is contested we are going to likely have a few issues, but if the ball is played through the arcs and we can run through the corridor it will be ours to lose.

Expect to see Hayward or maybe McDonald go to Aliir and nullify his influence. Port Adelaide don't have a large range of intercepting defenders, so we may not be afraid to kick the ball long and bring it down to our smalls. I also expect Campbell, McInerney, Papley, Blakey, Florent and Warner to have a big role this week, as we will need our Chaos ball to be up and about.

Port are likely going to target Blakey and even potentially Florent, as they will really be looking to nullify our movement from defence and take a key skill away from us.

Final prediction
I expect Sydney to weather the storm on this match, we we can get past the first 15 odd minutes and not be more than a goal or two behind, we should be able to overrun Port Adelaide in the second half, it is all about limiting the damage.

Sydney by 27 points.

Thanks for an excellent write up Bonz!!

You were out on the margin by 10 points, but apart from that - Spot on mate!

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Yes, Jmac will be one of the first picked. The only way he won’t play is if he hasn’t pulled up well from last week.

Still think it’ll be a close call who they select out of Fox or Adams… I’d be ok either way.

Fox should be the straightest swap we have to assume Mills won’t be back for a potential GF (I’m beyond hoping Horse isn’t a fruitcake)

 

[Bandicoot]

It ain't coming down to that anyway. Any consideration of Cleary/Wicks for the gf would be if we cop multiple injuries.

Suspension aside, I can't understand why Wicks is even being mentioned. His form in the seniors was very ordinary hence he was dropped to the reserves. Did nothing special whilst playing in the reserves other than get suspended.
My God, more than half the people here suggest we should drop McInerney yet bring in someone like Wicks. Crazy.
If we want to win the premiership, we need McInerney in the in the side and in the form he was in 10 weeks ago. He is in the top 10 of our playing list. If you want to drop him and replace him with a player ranked 23-24 say Goodbye to winning the flag.

 

[Bandicoot]

Not much new in Horse’s presser

Haven’t decided on Mills’ replacement yet

Juzzy has done some extra specific training which he’s gotten through well, Braeden also has trained well

Quotes:

Key Quotes: John Longmire, Preliminary Final

Hear from the senior coach as he discusses the upcoming Preliminary Final.

www.sydneyswans.com.au

There's never anything in a Horse presser. He'd make a great politician. Says a lot without actually saying anything.

 

[Olian]

Completely useless stat but where a team (like Port) has lost a qualifying final by 50+ points they have then won the semi final the following week.

What then follows is that no team has then followed up with a preliminary final win. It seems they spend all their energy winning in week 2 of the finals.

 

[Dk007]

Suspension aside, I can't understand why Wicks is even being mentioned. His form in the seniors was very ordinary hence he was dropped to the reserves. Did nothing special whilst playing in the reserves other than get suspended.
My God, more than half the people here suggest we should drop McInerney yet bring in someone like Wicks. Crazy.
If we want to win the premiership, we need McInerney in the in the side and in the form he was in 10 weeks ago. He is in the top 10 of our playing list. If you want to drop him and replace him with a player ranked 23-24 say Goodbye to winning the flag.

If you watch our games, one of our biggest problem is the lack of forward pressure to retain the ball in forward 50. The reason is we are so tall and our talls suck at taking contested marks in our forward 50. So we need another pressure forward to help fix this problem

 

[Swansujelly]

If you watch our games, one of our biggest problem is the lack of forward pressure to retain the ball in forward 50. The reason is we are so tall and our talls suck at taking contested marks in our forward 50. So we need another pressure forward to help fix this problem

wouldn't be opposed to dropping Amarty and Campbell starts, Adams or Fox sub. Shuffle the defence abit. Won't happen, but Amarty isn't offering much atm winning goal aside

 

[Bandicoot]

If you watch our games, one of our biggest problem is the lack of forward pressure to retain the ball in forward 50. The reason is we are so tall and our talls suck at taking contested marks in our forward 50. So we need another pressure forward to help fix this problem

I'd be dropping Amartey first of all and look at the F50 defensive pressure to come from Papley, Parker, Haywood and the mids who have moved down there. You don't have to be small to apply pressure.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Why oh why is Wicks being discussed?

 

[kelpie_X]

He couldn't even kick across his body the other week - it just rolled along the ground - more than once. He was shocking.

If you can't kick over a jam tin, you don't play.

 

[bloodsbigot]

If we want to win the premiership, we need McInerney in the in the side

If we want to win the premiership we need to play fully fit players and not have a Sam Reid repeat.

 

[bloodsbigot]

Why oh why is Wicks being discussed?

Because he's a good, smart player who can infuriate his opponents. And he can afford to snipe and fly the flag in a Grand Final without worrying about suspension.

 

[anotherletdown]

Don’t worry there the phantom profiles are done lol I have my favourites though

And if they don't include Tauru, Lalor, Travaglia, Hannaford, Berry and Shanahan you will need to explain yourself multiple times.

I have faith in you

 

[Hannebrake]

As we’ve seen they can suffocate teams with pressure and at their best they are disciplined.
They are vulnerable if you can break through their first wave of stoppage pressure, so Warner and Heeney will be the key to us getting on top.

 

[Morefunn]

When was the last time Fox played a game? Has he even played reserves since his shoulder injury?

Play Adams for midfield grunt and great blocks at stoppages. Shame about his delivery inside 50.

Perhaps Parker as the sub cos he’d come on super pissed off.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

He wasn't great forward this year. But we do need a Tasmanian in

“Quotas are killing the modern game”

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

I think the team were planning on muddling until the third quarter and winning in 20 minutes.

Seems to have been the game plan for much of this year, and we finished minor premiers so why mess with it now?