Crows v Sydney A case of sibling rivalry?
For some, this Friday nights blockbuster will be the chance to ensure finishing minor premier, a great achievement and something not to be underestimated. For others, it will be payback for our under-achievement at the Swan’s hands in last year’s semi-final. To put it another way in the words of Matchbox 20, it is an opportunity to see how far we've come.
I know, my team being bundled out of the 2016 finals is, in relative terms, a trivial first world problem. However, having put things in perspective, this Friday night’s game on the big stage with a huge nationwide TV audience pits the two form teams of the comp against each other. According to the AFL website before the weekend’s rounds just completed ‘The Swans remain the best team over the last few months; since round seven they're 11-2, three games ahead of the next best team. In that time, they've conceded only 67 points per game’.
But there is more at stake in this game for some of us. As they say ‘you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your relatives’. For me, there is some added spice. The Swanettes verses the Mighty Crows is a case of sibling rivalry! Please don’t ban me or put me on ignore for making this confession, but my brother is a one-eyed supporter of the Sydney Pongs and has been since he lived there in the 1980’s.
Perhaps this is what got his attention
or this?
I was tempted early in the season when Sydney were down and we were flying to crow a little on our family football banter thread, especially when the brother trolled saying Adelaide have the season wrapped up and that Sloane is a lock in for the Brownlow, but I restrained myself knowing how good and determined a team Sydney is as well as just how unpredictable footy and life can be. Probably one of the wiser choices I have made.
It was great to see the Crow’s work through their mid-season slump and come out of it stronger, more flexible and better. The times in the valleys are good for some soul searching. Having re-tweaked our game plan and with lessons learnt, can we soar to the mountain tops? That is the question to which we now turn.
The game: Adelaide v Sydney Friday, August 18th 7.20pm (ACT) Adelaide Oval
Preliminary weather forecast (check with the bureau of meteorology as the week progresses). Daytime max of 14 degrees with probable showers and 1-5mm’s forecast. So the chance of a bit of precipitation but not looking like a wash out.
Where the game will be won and lost:
Having a swanette in the family does has some advantages. Why not go to the horse’s mouth (well the next best thing to Johnny) and find out from the brother where he thinks Sydney's strength is?
Don’t you love the passion and drama in his reply? Maybe he is aspiring to take over from Bruce Mcavaney when old ‘Mr Olympics’ retires. Sparring aside, he does get it right when he highlights Sydney’s dour defensive game. Here’s his blurb:
“As a long-term Swans supporter I'm privileged to have watched many finals series over the past decade or more (end of boast). As the lead up to each finals series draws closer, there is one statistic I observe more than any other: points scored against. This year it is no different. It is uncanny how the top four, and even the grand-finalists, are regularly those who have the best defensive records. Arguably the reason for this is that those are the teams who play finals-type footy throughout the year.
This year there is a potential anomaly, and that is the defensive record of Port Power. Until the very recent Showdown their defensive record had me thinking they could perhaps pull a September surprise. The Crows bullied that thought out of my mind.
What does all this mean for the coming round between the Crows and the Swans? It is a time for the two heavy-weights to flex their defensive muscle, tighten up their back-half structures, and get brutally mean. My Swannies began to tighten up the back-half the moment General McVeigh returned to marshal the troops. I'm looking forward to seeing him continue that for another six weeks.
I love seeing a tonne of goals kicked, but with an eye on September action, it is the defensive side of the game I'll be keeping my eye toward in this looming blockbuster.”
Nice analysis bro. I noticed the nice poke at the Port flowers there!
Nothing like a common enemy to unite. That might be just enough to get him back on the Christmas card list, or at least become a recipient of the free e-card I could bulk send to everyone in my address book!
Yet another swanette, Bigfooty poster 'RNVS' writes:
“What kills the Swans is teams that have very good forward lines. We let oppositions have a tonne of forward 50 entries and it is okay against middle of the road teams but it never works against teams with powerful forward lines. The midfield actually has to work in preventing the ball getting to the Adelaide forwards this week.”
Match up’s, key players and the result.
Hey, the sibling has been unbelievably cooperative. He has risen above Collingwood and Powder levels and is almost approaching being human.
A team can’t be a form team of the competition without a whole team of performers, but they also need to have more than their share of elite class. I asked him who are Sydney’s three best backs. He replied:
'I can't stick to three, (yeah, yeah, just after I tried to be nice) this is our best area but Rampe, we started winning when he came back.
McVeigh, the General Grundy, I would have retired him at the end of 2016, but he's having a stellar year Smith, humbly goes about his stuff, recently an all Australian'.
They are going to have to be good, coming up against the best forwards in Jenkin’s, Tex, Betts, McGovern, Charlie and Lynch. The pressure, tactics and class in this area will be intriguining and a sight worth viewing.
The bro’s three best or most important mids are:
'Kennedy, an absolutely brilliant ball getter, Parker, very similar to Kennedy in style and Hannebery, when Swans were struggling early in the year, so was he. He's starting to peak at the right time. Heeney, is all class, courage, and consistency. Can play forward, midfield, or loose man in defense. A great football brain and the enigmatic Zac Jones who could slip under the radar and break the lines with great dash through the middle'.
We have our trio of the very physical, hard running Crouch, Crouch and Sloane, with Dougie in good form, and our ‘fear no man but God' spiritual surprise packet, Hugh Greenwood, so clean and a real tackling machine. Hewett to tag Sloane? If Sloane and Kennedy come up fitness-wise we will have an epic midfield battle. Our boys hit the body hard and run hard, but so do they.
Finally there is Sydney’s forward line:
'Obviously Buddy, but Reid is a better grab, and has the luxury of getting the second best defender on him due to Buddy. Rowan brings speed to the midfield when he's there ( and let's face it, the modern game is all about pace), but he is excellent when he goes up front'.
Keath has come from nowhere, is athletic, used to big crowds and pressure, and rising with each game. He and Talia may share the duties on Buddy, but there is also Reid, Tippett to float forward at times and others. We have the balance of talls, mid-sized and pacy smalls back, with plenty of rebound.
The verdict?
Not much separates these teams. Sydney has a lot to play for aiming at the four. The Crows will be keen to keep them out of the four as they are arguably our biggest threat to a flag. If Sloane and Walker are fit, and we play like we really want it, being at home may help us just sneak over the line.
If we are off in any of those areas Sydney may just snatch the win.
Overall the teams stack up very evenly with the Crows possibly just having a slight edge with our forwards.
I will say Crows by 9.
Thanks to my swannie sibling for his input which made my task easier (I deliberately put myself down for this game for this reason). He may just be a shade better than the average Sydney ballerina and more of a gentleman along the lines of RNVS.
"We are all such nice Swans" (cough, cough, puke).
Possibly, as important a game as it is, this is just the curtain raiser. Perhaps there remains some twists and turns and the one that really counts between these two clubs is still a few weeks away when the seasons turn and the new life of spring bursts forth. We await with anticipation to see what the eggs hatch and which bird ultimately soars the most!
For some, this Friday nights blockbuster will be the chance to ensure finishing minor premier, a great achievement and something not to be underestimated. For others, it will be payback for our under-achievement at the Swan’s hands in last year’s semi-final. To put it another way in the words of Matchbox 20, it is an opportunity to see how far we've come.
I know, my team being bundled out of the 2016 finals is, in relative terms, a trivial first world problem. However, having put things in perspective, this Friday night’s game on the big stage with a huge nationwide TV audience pits the two form teams of the comp against each other. According to the AFL website before the weekend’s rounds just completed ‘The Swans remain the best team over the last few months; since round seven they're 11-2, three games ahead of the next best team. In that time, they've conceded only 67 points per game’.
But there is more at stake in this game for some of us. As they say ‘you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your relatives’. For me, there is some added spice. The Swanettes verses the Mighty Crows is a case of sibling rivalry! Please don’t ban me or put me on ignore for making this confession, but my brother is a one-eyed supporter of the Sydney Pongs and has been since he lived there in the 1980’s.
Perhaps this is what got his attention
or this?
I was tempted early in the season when Sydney were down and we were flying to crow a little on our family football banter thread, especially when the brother trolled saying Adelaide have the season wrapped up and that Sloane is a lock in for the Brownlow, but I restrained myself knowing how good and determined a team Sydney is as well as just how unpredictable footy and life can be. Probably one of the wiser choices I have made.
It was great to see the Crow’s work through their mid-season slump and come out of it stronger, more flexible and better. The times in the valleys are good for some soul searching. Having re-tweaked our game plan and with lessons learnt, can we soar to the mountain tops? That is the question to which we now turn.
The game: Adelaide v Sydney Friday, August 18th 7.20pm (ACT) Adelaide Oval
Preliminary weather forecast (check with the bureau of meteorology as the week progresses). Daytime max of 14 degrees with probable showers and 1-5mm’s forecast. So the chance of a bit of precipitation but not looking like a wash out.
Where the game will be won and lost:
Having a swanette in the family does has some advantages. Why not go to the horse’s mouth (well the next best thing to Johnny) and find out from the brother where he thinks Sydney's strength is?
Don’t you love the passion and drama in his reply? Maybe he is aspiring to take over from Bruce Mcavaney when old ‘Mr Olympics’ retires. Sparring aside, he does get it right when he highlights Sydney’s dour defensive game. Here’s his blurb:
“As a long-term Swans supporter I'm privileged to have watched many finals series over the past decade or more (end of boast). As the lead up to each finals series draws closer, there is one statistic I observe more than any other: points scored against. This year it is no different. It is uncanny how the top four, and even the grand-finalists, are regularly those who have the best defensive records. Arguably the reason for this is that those are the teams who play finals-type footy throughout the year.
This year there is a potential anomaly, and that is the defensive record of Port Power. Until the very recent Showdown their defensive record had me thinking they could perhaps pull a September surprise. The Crows bullied that thought out of my mind.
What does all this mean for the coming round between the Crows and the Swans? It is a time for the two heavy-weights to flex their defensive muscle, tighten up their back-half structures, and get brutally mean. My Swannies began to tighten up the back-half the moment General McVeigh returned to marshal the troops. I'm looking forward to seeing him continue that for another six weeks.
I love seeing a tonne of goals kicked, but with an eye on September action, it is the defensive side of the game I'll be keeping my eye toward in this looming blockbuster.”
Nice analysis bro. I noticed the nice poke at the Port flowers there!
Nothing like a common enemy to unite. That might be just enough to get him back on the Christmas card list, or at least become a recipient of the free e-card I could bulk send to everyone in my address book!
Yet another swanette, Bigfooty poster 'RNVS' writes:
“What kills the Swans is teams that have very good forward lines. We let oppositions have a tonne of forward 50 entries and it is okay against middle of the road teams but it never works against teams with powerful forward lines. The midfield actually has to work in preventing the ball getting to the Adelaide forwards this week.”
Match up’s, key players and the result.
Hey, the sibling has been unbelievably cooperative. He has risen above Collingwood and Powder levels and is almost approaching being human.
A team can’t be a form team of the competition without a whole team of performers, but they also need to have more than their share of elite class. I asked him who are Sydney’s three best backs. He replied:
'I can't stick to three, (yeah, yeah, just after I tried to be nice) this is our best area but Rampe, we started winning when he came back.
McVeigh, the General Grundy, I would have retired him at the end of 2016, but he's having a stellar year Smith, humbly goes about his stuff, recently an all Australian'.
They are going to have to be good, coming up against the best forwards in Jenkin’s, Tex, Betts, McGovern, Charlie and Lynch. The pressure, tactics and class in this area will be intriguining and a sight worth viewing.
The bro’s three best or most important mids are:
'Kennedy, an absolutely brilliant ball getter, Parker, very similar to Kennedy in style and Hannebery, when Swans were struggling early in the year, so was he. He's starting to peak at the right time. Heeney, is all class, courage, and consistency. Can play forward, midfield, or loose man in defense. A great football brain and the enigmatic Zac Jones who could slip under the radar and break the lines with great dash through the middle'.
We have our trio of the very physical, hard running Crouch, Crouch and Sloane, with Dougie in good form, and our ‘fear no man but God' spiritual surprise packet, Hugh Greenwood, so clean and a real tackling machine. Hewett to tag Sloane? If Sloane and Kennedy come up fitness-wise we will have an epic midfield battle. Our boys hit the body hard and run hard, but so do they.
Finally there is Sydney’s forward line:
'Obviously Buddy, but Reid is a better grab, and has the luxury of getting the second best defender on him due to Buddy. Rowan brings speed to the midfield when he's there ( and let's face it, the modern game is all about pace), but he is excellent when he goes up front'.
Keath has come from nowhere, is athletic, used to big crowds and pressure, and rising with each game. He and Talia may share the duties on Buddy, but there is also Reid, Tippett to float forward at times and others. We have the balance of talls, mid-sized and pacy smalls back, with plenty of rebound.
The verdict?
Not much separates these teams. Sydney has a lot to play for aiming at the four. The Crows will be keen to keep them out of the four as they are arguably our biggest threat to a flag. If Sloane and Walker are fit, and we play like we really want it, being at home may help us just sneak over the line.
If we are off in any of those areas Sydney may just snatch the win.
Overall the teams stack up very evenly with the Crows possibly just having a slight edge with our forwards.
I will say Crows by 9.
Thanks to my swannie sibling for his input which made my task easier (I deliberately put myself down for this game for this reason). He may just be a shade better than the average Sydney ballerina and more of a gentleman along the lines of RNVS.
"We are all such nice Swans" (cough, cough, puke).
Possibly, as important a game as it is, this is just the curtain raiser. Perhaps there remains some twists and turns and the one that really counts between these two clubs is still a few weeks away when the seasons turn and the new life of spring bursts forth. We await with anticipation to see what the eggs hatch and which bird ultimately soars the most!
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