Sydney and Fremantle are the masters of lock-down football but who will triumph?

SYDNEY and Fremantle are the masters of lock-down football but which team will reign supreme by the end of Saturday night.

Nat Fyfe

EVER played chess against an opponent who makes identical moves to you or plays with the same plan?

Inevitably the board ­becomes gridlocked in a messy battle that frustrates both combatants. Eventually someone breaks and drifts away from their plan.

Prepare for this to happen on Saturday night, with Ross Lyon and John Longmire’s methods ­almost mirror images.

All statistical indicators say Fremantle will prove too strong and advance to the Grand Final. But how can Longmire and Sydney do it again?

The Swans’ ethos demands the players run harder and stronger both ways for longer than the opposition. It’s an ­expectation that their leadership stars have driven all season.

Longmire’s defensive game plan is designed to thwart ­opposition inside-50 entries using basic strategies such as midfielders not allowing opponents to get goalside.

These methods have produced the competition’s best defensive 50m results, allowing a score from only 37 per cent of entries. The Swans tackle and spoil more than any other team, which encourageencouraging more stoppages and more contests.

Ryan Crowley

The Swans want the game played in the trenches and, if you’re not prepared physically and mentally, they’ll break you.

In saying that, Sydney’s defence ranks No.2 in the AFL, conceding an average of 77 points a game.

Which team does it better? Fremantle, which gives up a miserly 69 points each week.

Put simply, Fremantle’s ­defence starts further up the ground than Sydney’s and the Dockers are more likely to take intercept marks.

But the Swans win back the ball more often than Freo at ground level.

The Swans’ slingshot football of late 2012 can challenge the Dockers. Patersons Stadium lends itself to gut-running forward of Fremantle’s pressing defenders.

It’s not easily executed but, without the ­injured Garrick ­Ibbotson holding his intercept post, it’s an area of opportunity for the visitors.

The Swans must run themselves ragged as never before. They will not win without physical exhaustion and concentration over for 120 minutes of organising and decision-­making. They must capitalise on opportunities to score, particularly early, as momentum swings against Fremantle are not common.

When the Dockers lose possession, they immediately retreat, getting back to deny their opponents entries and options. Often we see three, four or five Freo players with their heads down, oblivious to the exact location of the football, working feverishly back across the bottom of our TV screens.

Michael Johnson

It’s a standard Lyon doesn’t ask for, but ­demands. Things are black or white with Ross. There are no excuses — and the players love it.

The main style difference between the sides is the Swans prefer to kick forward, not laterally, and they run and gun with handball around the boundary. compared to Fremantle, which plays the sideways kicking game across half-back before sizing up a free target in the corridor to hit the “go button”. There is minimal handball.

This gives the Swans a chance to handball through the Dockers squeeze, if they can handle the Fremantle harassment in close.

The Swans average more than 160 handballs a week, but had more than 200 last week as they made the Blues chase their tails. They must remain composed in traffic — no ­fumbles or apprehension. Fail the pressure test and Freo will embarrass them.

The main points of conjecture revolve around Fremantle’s extra week’s rest, the loss of Kurt Tippett and the home-ground advantage.

Internally, the Swans would recognise these obstacles, ­embrace the challenge and become excited by the prospect of achieving a win against the odds.

The legend of the “Bloods’ oath” would grow two-fold if, through sheer determination and effort, they can knock over a full-strength Fremantle.

Longmire needs to assert control from the coach’s box. Ryan Crowley must be dragged inside Sydney’s forward 50 as often as possible and exploited, as he was by Patrick Dangerfield in Round 10 and, more importantly, by Sydney’s Dan Hannebery in Round 8.

The Swans’ rucks must dominate hit-outs to advantage versus Zac Clarke while minimising the damage against Aaron Sandilands. Challenge Shane Mumford to play angry and on the edge. That first centre bounce must be his Shane Mumford’s most brutal and he must set the scene.

Imagine Clarke facing the old-school warrior at full tilt. It’s a final and the Swans must take no prisoners.

Composure in finals is ­crucial and given the margins in the past four meetings ­between the sides — draw (SCG), 13 points (Swans, SCG), 11 (Freo, SCG) and 11 (Swans, Subiaco) — we are guaranteed a two-hour arm wrestle.

Lyon has converted an AFL participant to a powerhouse. The Dockers are almost at full strength, at home and rested, but the grandest of hurdles awaits them.

If the Swans could find a way to win — brilliant or brutal — it would be their greatest achievement outside ofbeyond standing on the premiership dais.

Against all odds, beware the Bloods.