Sydney
Coach – John Longmire
2022 –
Points For – 3rd
Points Against – 4th
Top 5 Best and Fairest
1 – Callum Mills
2 – Chad Warner
3 – James Rowbottom
4 – Luke Parker
5 – Isaac Heeney
2022 Rising Star Noms
Logan McDonald (Round 12)
Ins – Aaron Francis, Jacob Konstanty, Cooper Vickery, Caleb Mitchell, Cameron Owen, Jaiden Magor, Will Edwards, Angus McLennan
Outs – Josh Kennedy, Callum Sinclair, Colin O’Riordan, Lewis Taylor, Barry O’Connor, Sam Naismith, Ben Ronke, James Bell
My Prediction
It must be weird for Sydney supporters, I wonder what it feels like following a team that is entirely competent and rarely makes errors let alone catastrophic ones. Imagine starting a rebuild of your list and then finishing it. Then after you finish it, you are good enough to challenge for the finals. It must get boring.
The backline is solid, they added Paddy last year who was outstanding and the sort of player almost every team could use, a big back who can read the ball. They have the other McCartin and Blakey back there. Rampe is still useful although does seem to be dropping off. Llord and Fox give them run. I suspect Francis has been brought in with the possibility of taking Rampes spot down the track.
The midfield is stacked with young talent. It is enough to make you feel slightly sick. Gulden and Stephens were great last year. Chad Warner is just about ready to own the competition and then you have Mills,Florent, Rowbottom and Parker. They bat deep and have run and polish. They will take some stopping over the next couple of years.
The forward line may be a weakness depending on how the experienced bodies hold up. Franklin and Reid are still important to their structure, last year they were good but another year isn’t going to make them better. McDonald hasn’t come on the way he probably wanted them to so far but he is the answer. Then you have Heeney who is a superstar and smalls in Hayward and Papley. Its isn’t the strongest area of their list but it is still pretty good.
The rucks are a little skinny and I think they are still remembering that good year than Hickey had when he first came across. They would love him to find that form but the strength of their midfield means they probably don’t really need it. The coach knows how to get the best out of his team, he has refreshed the list and clearly has them playing well. The game plan has changed to match his list and they look much more attacking.
I don’t think Sydney were the second best team last year but come finals time, they peaked at the right time of the year before they found themselves on the wrong side of a rampaging Geelong. It has hard to see where they drop off from last year. They are a top four team again this year and I think probably in the 3-4 range.