Sydney Swans v Port Adelaide: Mick McGuane previews preliminary final
The last time these two sides met, the Power won by 112 points. Friday night’s clash will be much closer, writes MICK McGUANE, but Port can prevail if they win four crucial areas.
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Preliminary final weekend is here and the two teams who finished the regular season in the top-two spots on the ladder will face off at the SCG on Friday night.
Will we see the Super Swans or the Ugly Ducklings against a Port Adelaide side which has also had its ups and downs this season?
AFL analyst Mick McGuane puts his coaches’ hat on for both sides and details how he would attack the big match.
IF I WAS SYDNEY …
PRESSURE COOKER
The Swans players need to be breathing fire from the first bounce.
They should be fresh and energised after a week off and they must bring the heat and throw the first punch against Port.
We know what happened in round 21 when they didn’t get it right from the outset.
Sydney has to try and emulate what its cross-town rival GWS does and bring the type of heat they do when they are at their best.
It’s not just about pressure around the contest from the likes of James Rowbottom, Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney, either.
There must be manic pressure applied on the Power all over the ground.
The Swans’ pressure rating has not been as consistent as some other sides this season and they only registered a pressure rating of 172 when these sides last met.
That’s nowhere near good enough and not what a Preliminary Final requires.
CONTEST IS KING
It was clear that Port Adelaide put a huge emphasis on winning contested footy in its semi-final against Hawthorn last week.
The Power went +16 for contested possessions, including recording a season-high +19 differential for post-clearance contested possessions.
Sydney has to be prepared for Port to bring that kind of contest game again — and at least match them in that area.
The Swans can’t underestimate the physicality, the will and the want of the Power players to win 50-50 situations.
The Swans contested ball returns have been inconsistent this year, not only from game-to-game but also from quarter-to-quarter.
They can’t pick and choose this week.
FOCUS ON STOPPAGES
When they’re on, the Swans can score heavily from stoppages.
We saw that in their qualifying final against GWS when they kicked 3.4 (22) from clearances in the last quarter to run over the top of the Giants.
However, Sydney will also need to defend stoppage losses strongly against the Power.
Port recorded a season-high 57 points from clearances last time these sides met in round 21 and has a great ability to generate inside-50s from its clearance wins, by winning the ball inside the contest and quickly getting it to a teammate in space on the outside.
If they don’t win first possession themselves, the Swans midfielders must immediately locate and try to limit the ability of their opponents to stream forward from clearances and rack up entries inside-50 entries.
On the smaller SCG, you can’t afford to lose the territory battle.
Heeney, Warner, Rowbottom and others must apply immediate pressure and take away time and space from their opposing midfielders to at least force pressured entries when Port kicks to its forwards.
DEFEND THE CORRIDOR
Port Adelaide loves to attack the game through the corridor.
Whether the Power win the ball from a clearance up the ground or intercept it in their defensive 50, more often than not they will try to take the direct route to goal.
Sydney has to be structurally disciplined defensively and take away the corridor from them.
Allowing Port to regularly have a player in space in the corridor to hit up is not going to end well.
In round 21, the Power generated 22 marks inside-50 against the Swans — almost double the AFL average of 11.8 marks inside-50 per game.
Sydney was missing some soldiers down back that night, including Lewis Melican and Dane Rampe.
But Port’s quick transition footy through the corridor meant the Swans’ back-six were hung out to dry.
MAGNET BOARD
Defensively, two Swans have big roles to play.
I’d be sending Melican to Mitch Georgiades, who is in terrific form and is an important target player for the Power.
Georgiades leads up at the footy well and quickly reads the flight of the ball in the air, so he must be curtailed.
Harry Cunningham has to go to the dangerous Willie Rioli and try to take away his forward 50 disposals, given the Power livewire is so selfless and creative with the ball in hand.
Offensively, I’d try to test Port Adelaide’s backline at times by playing Logan McDonald, Hayden McLean and Joel Amartey in the same forward line, particularly when the Swans have momentum.
This might force Miles Bergman off Will Hayward and onto one of the talls, who could dine out.
IF I WAS PORT ADELAIDE …
BLUEPRINT IS THERE
It was less than seven weeks ago that the Power surged to a 112-point thumping of Sydney.
Team line-ups look a little different this time around and Ken Hinkley’s men can’t expect such a dominant result again, but Port did everything right in that match.
The Power won clearances (+10), contested possessions (+27) and inside-50s (+35).
They also had great balance between their turnover and stoppage games, racking up a season-high 57 points from clearances and 90 points from turnovers.
Perhaps more importantly, they only allowed Sydney to score 1.2 (8) from stoppages.
The Swans’ chains from those stoppage situations were halted by desperate Port players who snapped into defensive transition quickly as a midfield group.
The Power’s pressure game held strong throughout the night.
Given that recent result, Port will rate itself a good chance of winning this preliminary final.
If the Power can again find the right balance between their offence and defence, they could give the Swans a scare.
CHASE AND HARRASS
A major reason that Port Adelaide is still in the premiership race is the pressure it brought against Hawthorn in last week’s semi-final.
It was in-your-face pressure on the Hawks’ ball carriers, at a level that took great intent and trust.
Power players left their direct opponents to apply frontal pressure or head-on tackles, trusting their teammates behind them to provide cover.
The scene was set early and they didn’t relent as they recorded a pressure rating of 195 for the night.
If Port can bring that heat again, they will challenge Sydney’s strong transition game.
CONTROL THE AIR
Within the first 20 minutes of the round 21 game between these two sides, Port Adelaide took eight marks inside-50.
The Power needs to try and control the air again to provide themselves plenty of scoring opportunities.
Georgiades, Chalie Dixon and Esava Ratugolea are capable of taking contested marks in attack and trouble the Sydney defenders.
Swans ruckman Brodie Grundy will try and get back to provide support, but his opponent Jordan Sweet has to be smart with his positioning.
Sweet needs to either try and fish Grundy out of Port’s forward 50, or put himself in a position where his side can use him as a goalkicking option.
HUNT GROUND BALL
If the Port Adelaide tall forwards can’t mark the footy in the air, they must at least bring it to ground.
That’s because, in my eyes, the Power have an advantage when it comes to winning ground ball inside-50.
If the ball is on the ground, I’m not confident that Cunningham, Jake Lloyd, Nick Blakey and Ollie Florent will consistently hunt it and win it back to clear the area.
The Power have multiple ground-level threats forward, including Rioli, Darcy Byrne-Jones, Connor Rozee and Jason Horne-Francis when he’s rotating there.
This could prove a real advantage area for Port Adeladie.
Ground ball wins at the other end will be equally important, though, given the Swans also have ground-level forward threats like Tom Papley and Will Hayward.
CLAMPS ON
Isaac Heeney was the matchwinner for the Swans in their qualifying final and requires some close attention wherever he goes.
When Heeney’s onball, Willem Drew has to live in his shadow to ensure he does not find any time or space.
I’d start Bergman in defence on Hayward, but when Heeney spits forward then a handover should take place.
Bergman is then the match-up for Heeney and Lachie Jones or Logan Evans can take Hayward.
In the ruck, Sweet has a big role to play.
He was significant against Lloyd Meek last week and must be ultra-competitive again and not allow himself to be bullied by Grundy.
At Sweet’s feet, I’d start with an onball group of Zak Butters, Ollie Wines and Drew.
There could then be an opportunity to start Horne-Francis forward, forcing Rampe to take him and creating a more favourable match-up for Georgiades, Dixon or Ratugolea.
MICK’S TIP
Sydney by 6 points
Originally published as Sydney Swans v Port Adelaide: Mick McGuane previews preliminary final
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