Tippett return another boost to Swans' hot forward line
Andrew Wu
SMH, August 15
In an ominous development in the race for the premiership, the returning Kurt Tippett is set to spend more time in Sydney’s rampant forward line.
Kurt Tippett is set to spend more time in Sydney’s rampant forward line when he makes his eagerly anticipated return from injury this week. In an ominous development in the race for the premiership, the star big man is available to face North Melbourne in what will be his first game in more than two months after hamstring surgery.
It means opposition defences will have to deal with Lance Franklin, who played his best game of the year on the weekend, and Tippett at the business end of the season.
Tippett can expect to play a different role from the one he fulfilled with distinction at the start of the year when he was used primarily as ruckman who drifted forward. After missing so much football, the Swans have said he will play more in attack with the occasional stint in the ruck.
‘‘You’d have to say at this point it will be more forward,’’ Swans coach John Longmire said. ‘‘He’s missed a bit of footy but he’s been training pretty well. If he comes back, it will be more forward ruck. Our young ruckmen were pretty good tonight,’’ he added.
Swan in dogfight for gong
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, August 15
A STUNNING 27-possession display against St Kilda on Saturday night has moved Callum Mills into outright favouritism for the Rising Star award.
But with his first finals series just around the corner the 19-year-old said the coveted prize was well down on his list of priorities.
Plenty of people have been scratching their heads as to why the Swans defender had to wait until Round 16 to be nominated for the honour but there’s no denying his debut season has been remarkable as he’s slotted into the stingiest defence in the competition.
“The award is at the back of my mind at the moment,” Mills told The Daily Telegraph.
“Whatever happens, happens. My main focus is staying in the team at finals time, that’s more exciting than winning the Rising Star at the moment.”
Sydney build for September glory
Greg Denham
The Australian, August 15
Sydney have moved a step closer to having the perfect start to their finals campaign — a qualifying final at ANZ Stadium in the second weekend of September.
Despite not hosting a single game of AFL this year, the venue is shaping as the stepping stone to the Swans’ fifth grand final appearance in 11 years.
Sydney maintained second place on the ladder and kept their hold on two potential home finals with a percentage-boosting 70-point win over St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
Entering the game three percentage points clear of Adelaide, the Swans appeared in bother when they led by just five points at halftime, before clearing out with a 15-goal second half.
As a result, Sydney’s percentage increased from 144.2 to 146.9 with games against North Melbourne in Hobart and Richmond at the SCG to come.
Playing at ANZ in the first week of the finals and potentially then a fortnight later in a preliminary final, are the perks of a top-two finish this year. Tellingly, the Swans have an 80 per cent success rate in finals played at ANZ Stadium.
They lost their first (2003) and last finals games at the venue, but won all eight in between. There were excuses — a massive injury toll being the chief reason — when they were beaten by North Melbourne and eliminated in last year’s semi at ANZ Stadium.
And let’s not forget Sydney were without their best forward Buddy Franklin, who was declared unavailable to play after round 21 due to mental illness.
Another key difference from 12 months ago has been the quick and exciting emergence of first-year defenders Callum Mills and Aliir Aliir, who were both outstanding against the Saints.
Old firm sets up crushing Swans victory over in-form Saints
Andrew Wu
SMH, August 14
Leigh Matthews has a theory that a football team looks a whole lot better when its top six fires. Any doubters should watch Sydney play more.
At a time when several leading fancies have stumbled, the Swans are trampling their rivals. This week it was St Kilda’s turn, their game bid for a finals berth extinguished after the Swans’ crushing 70-point win on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium.
This loomed as a danger game for the Swans, who were facing an inform team at a venue they have proven hard to beat. And the events of the first half had done little to dispel those thoughts.
Half an hour later, however, the only danger was the game turning into a blowout after the Swans destroyed the Saints with a blistering third term where they outscored their rival eight goals to two.
This was a performance full of authority by the Swans, who fielded nine players with less than 40 games’ experience. Their stars all fired, none more so than Lance Franklin.
The superstar forward turned in one of his finest games of the season, booting six goals in a Swans forward line that has clicked in recent weeks. There should, in theory anyway, be more improvement to come next week when Kurt Tippett makes his expected return.
The win was set up by the old firm of Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker and Dan Hannebery. All three had 30-plus possessions and when this happens the Swans seldom lose.
Swans' six-shooter Buddy sinks Saints
Sam Edmond
Herald Sun, August 14 
SYDNEY’S march to September has gained ominous momentum after a stunning second half barrage buried St Kilda’s finals hopes.
The Swans led a tight contest by five points at half-time before blowing the Saints away with a 15.4 to 4.5 second half that had all the hallmarks of a serious premiership contender.
Lance Franklin kicked six goals from 28 possessions and nine marks, while Daniel Hannebery (37 touches), Josh Kennedy (35), Jake Lloyd (35) and Luke Parker (33 and three goals) all tore into St Kilda.
“It was just a real powerful second half. It was a fantastic second half,” Swans coach John Longmire said.
“It was a real interesting tussle that first half. We thought we were going OK, but they were playing really well.
“We probably got our hardness right. Our pressure was good, but then we were able to use the ball going forward. I think we had nine marks inside 50m in the third quarter alone and we finished with 25.”
Super-sized Sam soaring after Swans switch
Andrew Wu
SMH, August 13
Sam Naismith was all set to put football on the backburner when he took a call from someone claiming to be Paul Roos. ‘‘I thought someone was playing a prank on me,’’ Naismith recalls.
He quickly learned it was no trickster. It was indeed Sydney’s 2005 premiership-winning coach, and it would prove to be a life-changing phone call. Roos, then coaching the Swans Academy, wanted to take a look at Naismith. So keen was Roos, he offered the giant from Gunnedah, in northeastern NSW, an all-expenses paid stay in Sydney.
‘‘They put me up in a nice hotel and I thought how good was this?’’ Naismith says. ‘‘They had to make sure I could kick a footy, so that’s why I flew down. They told me tall boys don’t grow on trees so I might as well go down, have a kick and see what happens.’’
So instead of moving to study and play rugby in Armidale he was off to the city for a crack at the big time. It’s a move that has paid dividends for Naismith, who last year signed a contract extension until the end of 2018. Injuries limited him to just one game in his first three seasons but he is now on the verge of playing in his first finals series.
Many in the AFL are realising a childhood dream but not Naismith, who had no ambitions to be an elite footballer until Roos’ phone call. The game is not a big deal in Gunnedah, better known to most Australians as the home town of model Miranda Kerr. ‘‘I tell people that I know her, but I don’t,’’ Naismith jokes.
Hang on in there
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, August 13
RUCK rookie Sam Naismith is playing so well he is highly likely to hang on to his spot in the team and keep Callum Sinclair out when he returns from injury in the coming weeks.
With Kurt Tippett set to play next week against North Melbourne and Sinclair back soon after from knee surgery, there is a selection headache looming for Swans coach John Longmire.
Longmire has said he will cross that bridge when he comes to it but the case to retain Naismith at the expense of Sinclair is becoming more compelling by the week.
Naismith has now played five games in the No.1 ruck spot and is clearly ahead of Sinclair’s stats in the five games he played in the same position between rounds 13 and 18 when Tippett was out.
Naismith’s hitout average of 27.6 is nearly double Sinclair’s and his marks (2.4 to Sinclair’s 1.4 per game) and disposals (9.8 to Sinclair’s 8.0) are both significantly ahead.
The 24-year-old is well aware of the looming competition for ruck spots but with just six games under his belt he’s not looking too far ahead.
“Holding my spot in the team is my goal,” Naismith told The Saturday Telegraph.
“I’d love to play my first final but I’m not thinking too far into the future. I have to do my job and let other things take care of themselves.”
Rampe says he hated footy before Sydney Swans saved his career
Sam Landsberger
Herald Sun, August 13
DANE Rampe’s AFL career reads like a fairytale.
In 2013 the stingy Sydney defender earned immediate promotion from the rookie list for a Round 1 debut with the reigning premier.
After one season retiring champion Jude Bolton chose Rampe to inherit his No. 24 jumper.
In 2015 he signed a rich four-year contract after expecting to be offered two years. This season he was elevated to the leadership group.
And soon experts including Matthew Lloyd expect him to be better known as All-Australian Dane rather than the owner of a moustache befitting a 1970s pool cleaner.
The AFL chapters write themselves. Success leaps off the page.
But a flick through the early words truly illustrates Rampe’s rise.
“I hated footy, and I just wanted to get out of there,” Rampe says.
He is talking about 2011. After playing in Williamstown’s VFL grand final loss, Rampe packed in his AFL dream and packed up his car to leave Melbourne.
He’d faced four years of rejection, all laced with disappointment of different dimensions.
There was 2008, when the Sydney boy was denied a real shot at the draft because of private school commitments.
Instead of training with the NSW Rams he was shooting hoops and playing soccer for Newington College and that meant the Rams wouldn’t play him.
“I felt a bit hard done by, so I thought I’d go down to Melbourne to give it a shot,” Rampe said.
“I thought I had something to offer.”
History made at Sydney independent school Shore with first game played on grounds
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, August 13
THERE wasn’t a lot of fanfare but Saturday a little piece of history was made for AFL in Sydney when Aussie rules was played at Shore School’s Northbridge No.1 Oval for the first time in its 120-plus year history.
Shore hosted a gala day which also featured some of the who’s who of Sydney’s independent schools including Cranbrook, Riverview, Knox, Trinity and Joeys.
The Swans have been in the harbour city for 35 years and the Giants five years but the code has made little inroads into Sydney’s private schools - until now.
“There was once a time when the only sports you could do at a GPS school was to row or play cricket or play rugby. It’s not like that anymore,” Shore principal Dr Timothy Wright said.
“It’s a historic moment; the ground is much the same dimensions as the Sydney Cricket Ground. It’s the first time AFL posts have been up there and we would anticipate that where there are opportunities arise in the future that don’t interfere with the other sporting programs at the school it will happen again.”
