Well it has all come down to which team wants it the most. The Saints have had a week off and will be well refreshed after their clinical effort against the Kangaroos 2 weeks ago. The Swans have come into the game having played 1 extra game. They had an easy win over the Bulldogs followed by a solid hit out against the Kangaroos.
A quick look at the season's stat tells us that this game should be won and lost in the Swans forward half. The Swans have, according to their scores, the most potent forward line in the Country Energy Tamworth AFL averaging 120 points a game. To counter this the Saints have the best backline in the CETAFL conceding on average a miserly 70 points a game. In Contrast the Swans concede on average 77 points a game and the Saints forward line averages 113 points. As we can see from this both teams have great backlines and impressive forward lines. Add to this both teams starting mid fields. The Saints have seen new recruit Ben Lee improve with every game he plays in the ruck. Lee has become very adept at palming the ball to his small birgade. The Irishman, Mick Corley, has found a niche as tagger and has kept some the best players in the CETAFL quite this year. Next is Darren Pithers, he plays on the edge and while this can be an advantage it is also his downfall at times. Lastly Jack Lawton in only his second year of football he has become a permanent fixture in the Saints mid field and does not shirk an issue. The Swans No.1 ruckman is Andrew Donohue and he has had an ultra consistent year and has not been beaten very often. Gavin Knee has been exceptional this year and is very unlucky not to have polled better in the Tony Gillies medal. Lachlan Rowling has had another good year and is clearly one of the classiest players in the CETAFL. And finally we have Captain Damien Wendt, Damo is a joint 2009 Tony Gillies Medallist and when he is not using the ball to great effect he can be seen running hard to chase down opponents.
The Saints have Coach and joint 2009 Tony Gillies Medallist, Peter Heath, to come back into the team. Heath will line up at centre half forward after not playing for 4 weeks with a hamstring injury and will be pumped to lead from the front. If the man mountain Jason Gobbert is brought back into the team he will line up at full forward and between him, Heath and possibly Joe Kimmince the Swans back line could be stretched to its limit. Add to this Gerry Griffiths Medallist, most goals in the CETAFL, Mick Viney and the human tank, Gary Hadland, and the Saints look unbeatable.
The Swans backline is lead by club President Josh McKenzie and Travis Brown. McKenzie is a straight at it hard nut that hurts when hits and provides great drive forward for them. He is often a barometer for the Swans if he is loose doing his thing the Swans are usually well on their way to winning. Brown has been the man given the fullback's job and has done very well this year. Last week he played on the Kangaroos' Paul Tapper. Although Tapper kicked 4 goals not one of them was easy. Throw into the mix Carl Shave, Evan Griffiths, Nick Green and cameos from Lachlan Rowling the Swans backline are no easy beats.
The Saints backline is lead by their Captain Courageous, Matt Harrison. Harrison often fights out of his division standing opponents much taller than him. Rarely beaten you know you have earned every kick you get when he's around. At fullback you have a choice of Shaun Mansbridge or Joe Kimmince. Both are tight no nonsense defenders who do not give up kicks easy. Club stalwart Peter Dunlop will line up in either a back pocket or on the half back flank. Dunlop loves nothing more than being able to run and carry the ball. When he is really on he is also a goal kicker. Then there's Nick Baird, with a kick like a cranky mule he regulalry kicks to the centre of the ground and further when he is kicking in from the oppositions points.
The Swans forward line, as touched on before, is the most potent because of the efforts of Jason Darcy, Dean Hoy, Simon Freer, Richard green and Mitch Firth. Darcy is an old fashioned full forward who uses his size to best advantage nudging his opponent under ball to take his marks before converting his shots at goal. Hoy is big, can run and kick with either foot. He is hard to stop and when he is not kicking goals from long range he is setting them up. Freer is tall and has been a solid contributor all year standing up when he was needed. Green reads the play very well and knows where the goals are. Firth has taken giant strides in his development this year and this was most evident last week when he kicked 3 goals in 10 minutes during the Swans first quarter to get them back into the game.
For the Saints they will also rely strongly on ex skipper Jono Elphick. Having only started in 2006 Elphick is one of the Saints most dependable players. Whether playing back, forward or in the mid field he never lets his side down. And for the Swans John Robinson is playing his best football at the right time of the year and was almost unstoppable last week. Robinson will definitely need to be tagged closely or he will make the Saints pay.
So for my last tip of the year, it is hard as the Swans have beaten the Saints twice this year and one of these was in Inverell with not their best team available. The Saints were awesome against the Kangaroos last start and have good ins for this week. I worry that the Swans may have played their Grand Final last week and will tip the Saints by 15 points.
Last Modified on 09/09/2009 22:25