All-Sydney final between Swans and Giants a very real possibility
AS if Eddie McGuire’s year couldn’t get any worse, but already the planets are aligning for an all-Sydney premiership decider.
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AS if Eddie McGuire’s year couldn’t get any worse, now for the Grand Final that will have the besieged Collingwood boss looking for somewhere to hide.
It might be six weeks away from the biggest day on the Australian sporting calendar, but already the planets are aligning for an all-Sydney premiership decider.
GWS was only one kick away from setting up a date with destiny against the Swans at the MCG last year, and the recent red-hot form of both clubs indicates that the fairytale scenario is well and truly on the cards again.
It’s Melbourne’s worst nightmare and enough for Bleak City’s unofficial spokesman McGuire to go into meltdown about so-called leg-ups for Sydney.
The Grand Final Day parade through Melbourne’s packed streets might more closely resemble an abandoned car park if it’s the Giants and Swans rolling into town, but it’s the match-up that would take the AFL in NSW to unimagined heights.
There are no certainties in finals, but if results go as expected in this weekend’s final round and the Giants stay in second or third on the ladder and the Swans in sixth, they will be on the right side of the draw to meet on the last day of September.
If not, finals for three weeks straight in Sydney plus an all-Sydney blockbuster final still loom large.
Either way, the rampant form on either side of the harbour will have the Melbourne mafia in panic mode.
“I don’t think it would be too well received,” Swans great and Channel 7 commentator Jude Bolton said when asked about the prospect of an all-Sydney GF.
“But grand final days are always interesting. There are a lot of impartial supporters there, anyway.
“It’ll be a pretty amazing spectacle because both sides are playing great footy.
“There’s a fair bit to play out there. We saw how big the game was when the Giants beat the Swans in the finals last year and if that was to be on the big stage it’d be even more special.
“They are both stinging after the way they finished last year and it holds them in good stead that they will be playing on edge and having learnt from (that) experience.
“The Giants have done a terrific job to sit second on the ladder with the amount of injuries they’ve had and with the real strength back in their side. They’re really well positioned.
“You look at Sydney’s form line, having to go down to Adelaide and Geelong and coming home with wins, it’s pretty strong.”
Two Sydney sides contesting the grand final would be a historic moment for football. It’s never happened before in South Australia, Western Australia or Queensland and it would provide a tremendous shot in the arm for the game deep in rugby league heartland.
AFL NSW chief executive Sam Graham says a Giants v Swans Grand Final would bring the house down.
“We were one kick away from an all-Sydney grand final last year and from the region’s perspective here, we’d love to go one better,” Graham said.
“There are a number of scenarios to play out for the finals but there’s no doubt there are going to be blockbuster finals here in Sydney.
“We’re making real progress and we’re proud of that and some of the Melbourne clubs are standing up to take note.”
Originally published as All-Sydney final between Swans and Giants a very real possibility
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