Sydney Swans coach Dean Cox has released his final team to take on Essendon this Sunday at the MCG.
Cox has recalled Dane Rampe and Brodie Grundy, while Lewis Melican and Hayden McLean make have both been omitted.
Rampe will earn AFL life membership against the Bombers, hitting the exclusive 300 game milestone across home and away matches and official pre-season games. He has played 285 premiership games and 14 pre-season games.
Big man Will Green retains his spot after his debut game against Port Adelaide, with the club opting to play two rucks.
Cox said it was good to reward Green after his solid debut.
“That’s the opportunity we had to give him, with Brodie being out (against Port Adelaide) he took his opportunity and took his chances and played extremely well. So the option to go with Brodie and Will is what we went with,” Cox said.
Jesse Dattoli is also named after earning a Rising Star nomination against the Power, while Billy Cootee will play against his former club, having previously captained the Essendon VFL team.
Sunday’s match against Essendon is the first time the two clubs will play against each other since Round 21 last year when the Swans prevailed by 14-points at the SCG.
“We looked at their second half against Geelong and we looked at the Giants game with their ability to pressure and win clearance. We understand they’re a younger team, but we have to prepare as well as we possibly can for them at their best,” Cox said.
It’s Sydney’s first match at the MCG since their Round 2 clash with Hawthorn, where the Hawks won by 17-points.
“We love getting back to Melbourne. We haven’t played there as much as we would have liked and our South Melbourne faithful have been there through all the times we have been involved and hopefully we can see them all after the game,” Cox said.
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