The Sydney Swans have named an unchanged side to face the Western Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at Marvel Stadium.

Following a 92-point victory over West Coast in Round 16, John Longmire is backing the same side for this weekend’s clash against the ladder leaders.

“We know we have a big challenge this week but we need to take the next step which is exciting for us," Longmire said.

“We have gone through a few weeks this year where we have made a number of changes, obviously it was a strong performance last week, we know we have to get better and keep improving all the time because we play the best team of the competition this week, but it’s good to be consistent with selection.

After a 29-point victory over North Melbourne last week, the first placed Bulldogs have named key forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and defender Ed Richards for the clash.

Ugle-Hagan, the number one pick in last year’s draft, will make his debut while Richards returns after ruled out with illness in their clash last week. They replace forward Aaron Naughton (concussion), Toby McLeand and Pat Lipinski.

The match kicks off at 3:20pm AEST at Marvel Stadium and will be broadcast live on 7mate, Fox Footy and Kayo Sports and broadcast on radio via ABC and AFL Nation.

In Round 17, the Swans will celebrate its proud history during Swans Heritage Week. To celebrate the Club’s rich history, the team will wear the famous red-V heritage guernsey, worn by South Melbourne dating back to 1932 and made famous by Bloods Legends including Bob Skilton, Peter Bedford, Bob Pratt, Ron Clegg and J.Herbie Matthews. 

STATS

 Sydney enters this clash sitting sixth on the ladder with 9 wins and 6 losses this season. The side comes off a confidence building 92-point victory over West Coast last week. The side has three wins in the last five weeks.

Similarly, the Western Bulldogs enter this clash with three wins in their last five weeks, with victories over North and West Coast in the last fortnight.

The Bulldogs hold the recent head to head advantage with 3 wins in their last five clashes, with Sydney last claiming victory over the opposition in 2018.

The two sides last met in Round 4 last season, which saw the Dogs win by 28 points.

KEY QUOTES

JOHN LONGMIRE

“The consistency over the four quarters is what impressed me most. Our pressure rating was still really high, even though we had a bit of the ball so those things worked well for us,” Longmire said.

“We have been concentrating how we can go to the next level again this week.

“We want to add to the consistency that we have been after and trying to play the four quarters at a really high level as consistently as we can. It’s something we aim for every week, it’s difficult to achieve, but if we can do that this week it gives us a chance against a really good team.”

JAKE LLOYD

“Don Pyke has been massive. We have changed a lot of our structure offensively, and he is a big reason for that,” Lloyd said.

“We are going into games a lot clearer on what we can do to beat our opposition, and the boys have been implementing that each week and we are certainly looking a lot more dangerous with ball in hand.”

“They are a phenomenal side. We had a look at the yesterday and identified a few key things that they ae doing really well at the moment,” Lloyd said.

“Just the way they move the ball by hand, they get up the ground and work back in numbers well so we really have our work cut out.

WILL HAYWARD

“We are still building definitely. We haven’t played every game with a four quarter consistent effort and to beat a side like the Bulldogs, you need to play four quarters of your best footy,” Hayward said.

“If we can produce that, we will hold ourselves in pretty good stead but it’s about building on some learnings from the game and things we can do to get over the line on the weekend.” 

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