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NORTH MELBOURNE V SYDNEY SWANS
Saturday April 17, 2.10pm, Etihad Stadium
TEAMS
North Melbourne
B: Michael Firrito, Scott Thompson, Brady Rawlings
HB: Sam Wright, Nathan Grima, Scott McMahon
C: Daniel Wells, Brent Harvey, Ryan Bastinac
HF: Aaron Edwards, Lachie Hansen, Liam Anthony
F: Lindsay Thomas, David Hale, Ben Warren
Foll: Hamish McIntosh, Andrew Swallow, Jack Ziebell
I/C: Leigh Adams, Gavin Urquhart, Todd Goldstein, Leigh Harding
Emg: Ben Cunnington, Josh Smith, Cruize Garlett
No change
Sydney Swans
B: Craig Bolton, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Tadhg Kennelly
HB: Martin Mattner, Heath Grundy, Nick Malceski
C: Jarrad McVeigh, Brett Kirk, Kieren Jack
HF: Ryan O'Keefe, Adam Goodes, Josh Kennedy
F: Jesse White, Daniel Bradshaw, Jarred Moore
Foll: Mark Seaby, Jude Bolton, Ben McGlynn
I/C: Daniel Hannebery, Lewis Jetta, Shane Mumford, Rhyce Shaw
Emg: Ted Richards, Gary Rohan, Nick Smith
No change
HISTORY
Head to head: North Melbourne 71 wins, Sydney Swans 76 wins, one draw.
The Swans were 15 point winners in the only meeting between these two sides at the SCG in Round 13 last year. We have enjoyed a kind of mini-rivalry with North Melbourne over the last few years with some close, tight games, some blow-outs and the honours almost evenly split. However, Wikipedia maintains that the Swans have not beaten North Melbourne in Melbourne in 10 years ? the closest encounter coming in 2008 with the controversial draw and White as the Swans? 19th man.
LAST WEEK
The Swans? impressive-looking 55 point win over Richmond didn?t tell the whole story as the Swans came out firing, playing an exciting first half before dropping off significantly in the second. Nevertheless, the new-look Swans have been in good form ? pushing last year?s premiers all the way, breaking their Adelaide hoodoo for an impressive win and a solid game last week leaving them 4th on the table and surprising many critics with their exciting brand of footy.
North Melbourne sit in 13th with 1 win and 2 losses but their poor start to the year ? a close encounter with Port Adelaide and a smashing at the hands of St Kilda was rectified last week as they ground out a solid win over West Coast at home. They were attacked for their lack of passion and effort under new coach Brad Scott but last week proved they can kick a big score in a scrappy encounter.
KEY MATCH UPS
North Melbourne?s ruck division have performed well this season, 21 year old Todd Goldstein teaming up with Hamish McIntosh to form a solid partnership and both ruckmen feature in the top 13 of the league. The Swans? new ruckmen, Mark Seaby and Shane Mumford have also enjoyed a dream run, working together like they have been playing in Sydney for years.
The battle in the ruck will inevitably be won in the midfield and which team can shark the clearances. North Melbourne?s captain Brent Harvey will be looking to continue his best on ground performance from last week where he picked up 44 touches while the Swans? usuals ? Kirk, Bolton and O?Keefe will look to take the advantage in this area.
The coaches? boxes will also be an interesting place to be as Brad Scott has come out to say he will use his experience as an assistant at Collingwood to bring a hard, tough brand of football and exploit ex-Swans Assistant Coach Brett Allison for all his inside knowledge of the Swans? game plan. However the Swans of 2010 are a different breed with a faster and more efficient game plan and huge personnel changes making them unpredictable and hard to match up on.
WHERE THE MATCH WILL BE WON
This match may well turn into a battle of the big men, both in the ruck and in the forward line. The ruckmen will go toe to toe but the Swans have the flexibility to send either Mumford or Seaby forward to join tall forwards Daniel Bradshaw and Jesse White and stretch North Melbourne?s defence.
With all the big men down there, look for Ben McGlynn to use his height ? or lack of it ? to crumb at the feet of the big forwards in an effort to continue his stellar run as the Swans? leading goal kicker. North Melbourne have shown in recent years that they can step up when needed but they are a much younger team this year with a very young coach and just may not have the experience or flexibility to go with the Swans.
PREDICTION
Optimistically (as always) - Swans by 44.
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Sydney Swans vs North Melbourne Match Preview
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#6ugg commentedEditing a comment4 points off alison! Lift your game
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#7alison.z commentedEditing a commentI tried ... I was a bit nervous at half time but it worked out well in the end
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#8Red commentedEditing a commentGreat work. I'm taking your next match preview to the TAB.
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