Sydney v St Kilda – match preview

The Swans will welcome the Saints to the SCG at 1.10pm this Sunday.

Sydney is currently on a very impressive six-game winning streak, which was kept alive by last weekend’s crucial victory against high-flying West Coast at Patersons Stadium. Plus they’re sitting in first place, while St Kilda lies eighth. However, the most recent loss Longmire’s men suffered came against none other than the Saints, back in Round 9 – so there won’t be any chance of complacency.

St Kilda will have to find some way of stopping the on-fire Lewis Jetta and playmaker Adam Goodes, while Shane Mumford and Mike Pyke present another headache. They’ve asserted themselves as an outstanding ruck duo – getting the better of no less than Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui last Sunday. The Swans’ consistency also owes a lot to their back six – the red-and-whites boast the best defensive record in the AFL.

The Saints, on the other hand, have been very inconsistent this season. At one stage they even alternated between a win and a loss for 10 weeks in a row. They may not build momentum, but Sydney found out the hard way in Round 9 that Scott Watters’ men can beat anyone on a good day. This weekend will be St Kilda’s chance to string together more than two consecutive victories for the first time, off the back of impressive wins over Essendon and Brisbane. Motivation and confidence will both be high in the Saints’ camp.

The Swans are still smarting from that last loss, by 28 points. “…if we’re a bit off they are a good enough team to make us pay and they made us pay last time in Melbourne,” said Sydney midfielder Dan Hannebery. “We got absolutely obliterated in the midfield and around the ground, so they are going to be pretty confident coming up here and matching us because they did it last time.”

After recording a superb 42 possessions in last week’s game, Hannebery said both he and his team have gone from strength to strength since then and are fired up for this rematch.

“…I think this week will be a good test to see how far we have improved against the St Kilda midfield,” he stated. “The guys are pretty hungry to get back on top of them.”

“We’ve got a massive task on our hands this week and it’s going to be a super game.”

Sydney Swans v St Kilda

Sunday 22 July

1.10pm

SCG