Sydney
Coach – John Longmire
2019 –
Points For – 12th
Points Against –10th
Top 5 Best and Fairest
- Dean Rampe
- George Hewett
- Luke Parker
- Isaac Heeney
- Callum Milles
2019 Rising Star Noms
Nick Blakey (Round 14)
Ins – Dylan Stephens, Will Gould, Elijah Taylor, Chad Warner, Brady Rowles, Lewis Taylor, Kaiden Brand, Sam Gray
Outs – Darcy Cameron, Heath Grundy, Cody Hirst, Kieren Jack, Zak Jones, Daniel Menzel, Jarrad McVeigh, Toby Pink, James Rose, Nick Smith, Durak Tucker
My Prediction
I don’t think many were surprised by the Sydney Swans last year. They fell off the cliff early and then started blooding young players. They look to have found a couple and their system means that they have the ability to stay competitive.
The backline will feel the loss of Grundy who has served them very well, with McCartin coming through and Aliir finding his way back into Longmire’s good graces alongside Rampe, they still have a good set of talls. Zak Jones looked like he was going to develop into a very good player but had stagnated before being offloaded and they will rely on run from Mills and Dawson.
The midfield is working class like it generally has been in recent history. Kennedy, Parker and Hewett supported by Heeney and Florent will give them run and grunt. The depth of their midfield is a concern for them moving forward and whilst I think they will be ok at home, their lack of spread will make it harder for them to compete on bigger grounds.
The talls up forward are interesting. Franklin is almost shot, Reid is a week to week proposition, but then comes Blakey who is an absolute gun in the making. He will be an incredibly hard match up for most teams. They have brought in Taylor who support Howard and Papley which will give them plenty of speed and forward pressure. On the rare occasion that Reid, Franklin and Blakey are all up and running together, they will be a hard forward line to stop.
The rucks are a worry, Callum Sinclair is a mobile ruck but relies on the midfielders around him to make his ruck work look ok. Naismith coming through may take the role off him this year. That being said, Sinclair will rip the bombers apart at some stage this year. Longmire is the most consistent coach and people know what to expect from him. I thought the time was right for him to leave last year with his reputation intact, the change would have done both him and the Swans the world of good.
I think the Swans finished around the mark last year for where their list is at. I don’t feel like they have improved their list last year and have lost a bit of experience from it. They have a list that is built for its home ground but I think not as well suited outside of the SCG. I think they are likely to finish well out of the eight again. I think in the 14-16 range for mine but could surprise.
