Sydney
Coach – John Longmire
2018 –
Points For – 12th
Points Against –7th
Top 5 Best and Fairest
- Jake Lloyd
- Luke Parker
- Lance Franklin
- Isaac Heeney
- Josh Kennedy
2018 Rising Star Noms
Ben Ronke (Round 8)
Oliver Florent (Round 11)
Ins – Ryan Clarke, Jackson Thurlow, Durack Tucker, Harry Reynolds, Nick Blakey, James Rowbottom, Justin McInerny, Zac Foot
Outs – Jake Brown, Jordan Foote, Dan Hannebery, Alex Johnson, Harry Marsh, Nic Newman, Daniel Robinson, Gary Rohan, Angus Styles, Dean Towers
My Prediction
There is a lot of danger in picking Sydney to drop off the cliff. I know because I have done it more than once and yet somehow they find their way back into the eight. They seem past legitimate challenger status but even then who knows what they’re capable of, I see them as very similar to Geelong. Their best 22 is extremely competitive but there is a significant drop off after that. A few injuries could leave them in serious trouble.
The backs look better than they did at the start of last year. They made Aliir work his way back into the side and whilst he is vulnerable at times in the contest, he reads the ball really well and is comfortable rebounding. Grundy is a little less reliable as age starts to catch up with him but still a good solid full back. They have good users off half back with Lloyd and NcVeigh and average users with Jones. They didn’t have a stellar year last year but I think that was just as much with the midfield failing.
The midfield is getting thin, this is a concern for the Swans and the area I think they are in a bit of trouble this year. They need some serious improvement from a couple of their younger players. Kennedy is a champion but he is beaten up and showed signs last year than he is just about done. They need Parker and Heeney to have massive years through the middle and someone like Florent to step up and provide a bit of run. I don’t think they have enough talent or bat deep enough through here and it is going to hurt them.
The forward line is all about Franklin, last year he struggled and so did Sydney. They too often were unable to put the score on the board. McCartin looks a pretty good talent but realistically is still a year or two away. Ronke and Hayward both had good years last year and averaged over a goal a game which is great for small forwards. They need more goals to come from somewhere this year which is probably the thought behind recruiting Menzel, he could be a handy foil for Franklin but as always, he needs to improve his defensive work, also as always, he won’t. I think it looks ok but I don’t think there is enough improvement to bring the team to where they need it.
Sinclair keeps surprising and is almost at the stage where I need to accept that he is a good ruck. I keep thinking he will get found out and whilst his tap work isn’t fantastic, his work around the ground and goal kicking make him a hard match up. They have Naismith who is pretty handy in the ruck contents and a good size. The coach isn’t under pressure, I think there were whispers a couple of times and I think a really bad year would change things significantly, I am just not sure that they will have a really bad year.
The Swans looks a weaker team that last year, I know Hannebery looked shot but he hasn’t been replaced by anyone better. They look short in the middle and are going to need something special to maintain their spot in the eight. I don’t think they have something special this year, I think they are likely to miss the eight. I think they have been handing on by their fingernails and this is the year they lose grip. I think somewhere from 10th to 12th is likely.
