Sydney star Dan Hannebery has been out of form since giving up alcohol

DAN Hannebery admits he used to love a beer. However, after losing last year’s Grand Final he has stopped drinking. His form has also dropped dramatically.

Dan Hannebery has had a slow start to the new season. Picture: Phil Hillyard

DANIEL Hannebery might have to reassess his approach.

The superstar Swans’ midfielder has been so diligent and professional throughout the summer that he gave up alcohol. The man has admitted he loves a beer at the right time, but he has not had once since the Grand Final loss last year.

Well, perhaps someone needs to slip him a six-pack.

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The man who has finished top-five in the Brownlow Medal over the past two years was kept quiet Friday night as his Swans slipped to a 0-2 start, ahead of an early-season pressure test against Nathan Buckley’s Collingwood at the SCG this weekend.

Since the start of 2008, Carlton (in 2013) is the only team to make finals after losing its first three matches of the season, and even that was after Essendon was booted out of September because of the supplement punishments.

Dan Hannebery is tackled by Lin Jong. Picture: Michael Klein

Clearly, history suggests that the loser of the Swans-Magpies match can start planning their footy trip early this year.

And Hannebery, who was subdued for the second week in a row, will be one to watch, after Tom Liberatore helped clipped the Swan’s wings, in Friday night’s Grand Final rematch.

Unsurprisingly, this contest was a belter, and there were late-term heroics everywhere, including Lance Franklin’s masterclass, Marcus Bontempelli’s match-winning lunging mark, Liam Picken’s high-flying grabs and the return (to form) of Jake Stringer.

Bontempelli had only nine possessions in the first half, but the Dogs’ captain in waiting was sublime in the second half. If Jason Johannisen is pushing for $700,000 in his next contract, Bontempelli must be worth double that.

Hannebery needs to get back on the froffs #neverchangeyourroutine #AFLDogsSwans

— Adam Cooney (@Adamcooney17) March 31, 2017

And while ‘Libba’ does his best work flying under the radar (when he is not playing matches for (Vietnamese football teams during his off-season celebrations) his tough stuff in the clinches and underrated pressure acts remain such an important part of the Bulldogs’ bid for back to back premierships.

For the second week in a row, Liberatore topped the Bulldogs’ tackle tally. He had 16 against the Swans, eight more than the next best on the ground.

Tom Liberatore gets away from Dan Hannebery. Picture: Getty Images

It took Liberatore to 30 tackles over the first two rounds.

To put that into more context, West Coast hard nut Matthew Priddis led the competition for tackles last year with an average 8.5 a game.

Liberatore must wake up this morning feeling like he has been hit by a truck. If he has a cold one to ease the pain, maybe can shout Hannebery one, too.

Originally published as Sydney star Dan Hannebery has been out of form since giving up alcohol