We take a look at some of the hot topics heading into Saturday afternoon’s clash against the Western Bulldogs at the SCG.
Dangerous Dogs
First-year coach Luke Beveridge has the Western Bulldogs playing some exciting football, which means Saturday’s hit out at the SCG will be no walk in the park.
Against the Crows, who were undefeated and on top of the ladder, the Dogs upped the ante to finish with more contested possessions and tackles than their more fancied opponents.
The Dogs entered the forward line 63 times to give Jake Stringer (six goals) and alike every chance at impacting the scoreboard while placing the Crows’ defence under immense pressure for a majority of the contest.
For the Swans, shutting down the Dogs’ key runners will be important and bringing their own renowned level of pressure and intensity will make it tough for the Dogs to perform at the SCG in front of a vocal home crowd.
Can the Swans start fast?
For the second time in four weeks, the Swans have allowed opposition sides to dictate terms in the opening half.
The deficit blew out to 41 points at one stage in Round 1 against Essendon before the Swans booted seven unanswered goals in the final stanza to record a superb win.
The Swans almost achieved a similar feat against Fremantle on Saturday night but this time were not so lucky and fell 14 points shy.
The fight back required a massive effort given the mountainous task (48 points) the Swans had to scale after half-time.
Saturday’s clash against the Bulldogs at the SCG will be a good test to see whether the slow starts are just early season or a genuine concern.
The Dogs blitzed Adelaide on Sunday to take a five-goal lead into the main break of their clash at Etihad Stadium, a start the Swans can ill-afford to give away again to a team on the rise.
Recent record against Dogs
The Swans recent record against the Bulldogs is sound, with a big win in 2014 while Saturday’s hosts have won seven of the past eight encounters at the SCG.
Time will tell whether last weekend’s trip to Perth and tough hit out against Fremantle will have any effect on the Swans’ legs.
Also, the Dogs look to be a different side and will arrive with their tails up. It seems you can teach old dogs new tricks with Robert Murphy and Matthew Boyd excelling while a younger breed, spearheaded by Marcus Bontempelli and Jack Macrae, are at the forefront of the Dogs’ early season promise.
But can that hold up against an experienced Swans outfit in front of an adoring home crowd?
What happens at the selection table?
The Swans continue to have a good run with injuries with no senior players currently sidelined.
It leaves a long list of names pushing for selection in the NEAFL team including Adam Goodes, Sam Naismith, Daniel Robinson and Tom Mitchell.
After a strong first three rounds Dean Towers was lucky to miss last week’s clash against Fremantle as he made way for the return of Nick Smith.
The lack of injuries and a solid start to the season makes, as Goodes pointed out after the NEAFL game, breaking into the senior outfit a difficult task with the veteran ruling out wearing the green vest.
“We've got a plan, I've always had a plan when I said to John about not playing as the sub, it's a plan we'll stick to it and it won't change next week,” he said.
