Seventh heaven
Yep, seven wins on the trot.
Who would have thought after the 0-6 start to the season that the Sydney Swans would be knocking on the door of the top four?
They are the form side of the competition, those seven-straight wins part of an amazing run of 10 wins from the past 11 matches, to not only leap into finals contention but force people to believe the impossible.
Never before has the AFL witnessed a team go winless over the first six rounds and then reach finals.
Senior coach John Longmire might be laughing off the commentary surrounding the potential fairy tale but a September campaign is now a 92 per cent chance of happening, according to Champion Data.
It's become a reality, for good reason, as the Swans are playing an exceptional brand of football with its midfield firing, its defence back to its best and a forward line that’s applying plenty of scoreboard pressure.
And it's not only their stars that are firing, some unlikely heroes are even standing up to help carry the load.
In Sinc
Callum Sinclair made the most of his opportunity with, arguably, his best game in red and white against St Kilda on Saturday night.
He collected 19 disposals, 10 marks and five goals gave him best-on-ground honours and caught the eye of the coaches who gave him the full 10 votes in the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award voting for his efforts.
The ruckman, who replaced injured Sam Reid for the Round 18 clash, played forward predominately and had a presence and influence on a scale unseen previously by the coach.
“He works as hard as anyone on our list and he got some reward for that effort, against (Jake) Carlisle, who is a quality player,” Longmire said of Sinclair. “It was a really good night for him.”
Reid faces a fitness test on Wednesday but even if the key forward is right to play, Match Committee will be hard pressed to find a reason to leave Sinclair out following his dominance.
Our Rising Star
After another standout performance, Lewis Melican was this week announced as the AFL's Round 18 Rising Star nominee.
He did a superb job on St Kilda star Nick Riewoldt, keeping him to 10 disposals and a goal. It was 333 games of experience against 12, with the youngster clearly winning that duel.
It's just another feather in the cap for the boy from Birregurra, in Victoria's south west.
Since his Round 5 debut, Longmire has held no fears for giving the 20-year-old some big tasks including trying to quell the likes of GWS' Rory Lobb, Essendon’s James Stewart and Melbourne’s Tom McDonald.
Melican says he’s improving as each week goes by which only bodes well for the Swans and their league-best defence.
Lewis Melican has been a revelation in defence this season.
Changes?
Having two key position players pushing hard for selection and one who’s made it near impossible to drop is a solid position to be in for coach John Longmire with only five rounds left in the home and away season.
With Kurt Tippett booting five goals in the NEAFL and if Reid can get the tick of approval from the medical staff, there will be headaches aplenty at the selection table.
The biggest will be what to do with Callum Sinclair. He was the man called up to replace Reid for the Swans ahead of Saturday night’s Pride Game after the key forward hurt his groin strain against GWS.
How can you omit a player coming off the back of a five-goal haul?
We guess that’s the question the Match Committee will ask itself when it convenes on Thursday.
Then there’s the host of other Swans in the frame thanks to strong performances at the lower level including Jordan Dawson (40 disposals, 10 marks, three goals), Will Hayward (19 disposals, nine marks, six goals) and James Rose (27 disposals, three goals) who all starred in the NEAFL Swans’ 146-point win against NT Thunder.
Joey's 200th
Inspirational skipper Josh Kennedy will line up for game 200 on Friday night.
It's been an astonishing rise for the 29-year-old who'll ironically notch his milestone against his former side.
Kennedy, drafted by the Hawks in 2007, played 13 games in brown and gold before jumping at the opportunity to join the Swans in 2009.
Since then he's become a premiership player, three-time Club Champion, three-time All Australian and the Club's 48th captain.
One of the best contested players of the modern era, Kennedy has played a huge role in the Swans' resurgence from 0-6 cellar-dwellers to the form side of the competition and genuine finals contender.
Josh Kennedy, all class throughout the course of his career with Sydney.
The fightin' Hawks
Shaun Burgoyne's and Jarryd Roughead's match-winning goals in the clubs' Round 10 clash at the SCG earlier this season is still giving Swans fans nightmares.
Can you believe that match was the Swans' last loss this season?
Longmire's men have come a long way since letting that game slip, and so have the Hawks.
They've lost only once in the past five weeks, that was only by three points. There was also a draw in there but that was against one of the top premiership contenders in GWS.
Ahead of Friday night's crunch game at the MCG, the Hawks have the wood over the Swans too, having won five of the past seven encounters.
Multicultural Round
Many cultures, one game.
Australian Rules is a game for everyone, no matter who you are or where you’re from. Australian Football has the extraordinary power to bring people together regardless of background and Multicultural Round gives us the opportunity to celebrate the diverse cultures that make up our amazing game.
This weekend, across the entire league, we highlight the enormous contribution multicultural players and their communities have made to the game’s history.
The Sydney Swans are blessed to have many players from different backgrounds including Lance Franklin, Aliir Aliir, Shaun Edwards and Colin O’Riordan.
Aliir Aliir joins fans at this week's Multicultural Round Launch in Parramatta.
