AFL Grand Final week 2022: All the Geelong v Sydney Swans news, preview and build-up
Gary Rohan says he has just been ‘unlucky’ in defending his record in three previous grand finals and is hoping his luck will turn this time around.
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Geelong’s much maligned forward Gary Rohan says the support of coach Chris Scott has helped him deal with widespread criticism of his finals record.
Rohan, 31, is lining up in his fourth grand final against his former team Sydney with an ugly stats record in the last Saturday in September.
He has had just 17 touches in his three grand final losses and kicked only one goal.
Rohan’s disappointing overall finals record was highlighted in the lead-up to this year’s campaign which prompted Scott to leap to his defence.
He justified the support by breaking open the qualifying final against Collingwood, kicking three goals in clearly his career best finals performance.
“He (Scott) has always stood by me, he knows the role that I play, some people don’t really see it, what effect I can have on the team,” Rohan said.
“It doesn’t really bother me, you can write what you write, it doesn’t bother me, I don’t read it, that’s your job so.
“He (Scott) says it to me every week, obviously publicly it’s always good, he has always got our backs so same for us we have got his.
“I got a a little bit (of confidence from the qualifying final) but you can’t get too ahead of yourself. I just went back into training last week and did the same thing so hopefully I can do it again this week.”
Rohan said he’d just been “unlucky” in the three grand final losses,which included Geelong’s 2020 defeat by Richmond when he had just five possessions.
“Hopefully it’s fourth time lucky,” he said.
“It is a childhood dream to win one. I have been there three other times and been unlucky, you’ve just got to put yourself back out there and keep pushing.
“That is what I am going to do this weekend, put myself back out there and do what I can do best and see if I end up with the result.
“Nothing (is going to change), I’m just going to keep doing the same, play my role and do what I can for the team.”
Rohan, who hails from Cobden in western Victoria, grew up barracking for the Swans and was drafted to Sydney at No.6 in the 2009 national draft.
He played 106 games and kicked 96 goals for the Bloods before being traded to Geelong at the end of the 2018 season.
A back injury sidelined him for the first half of this season but Rohan is confident he’s found the right synergy with key forwards Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron.
“They are the two best forwards in the competition so it’s always good down there and obviously I have got the front row seat to watch them go about their business so it is really exciting,” he said.
“Obviously I didn’t play the first half of the year but we have got chemistry in the back end of the year and hopefully we can gell one last time.”
Dangerfield and Cats ‘shocked’ by star’s injury response
- Rebecca Williams
Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield revealed Cats youngster Max Holmes has “shocked a few” of his teammates with his recovery so far from a hamstring strain he is fighting to overcome for Saturday’s grand final against Sydney.
In a battle against the clock to prove his fitness for the premiership decider at the MCG, the Cats’ speedster hit the training track with his teammates at GMHBA Stadium on Monday.
Training away from the main group, the 20-year-old tested his hamstring with some agility exercises and run-throughs before jogging laps.
He looked comfortable as he jogged around the boundary of the ground, receiving a huge cheer from the strong Cats’ crowd at the open training session every time he went past.
Holmes loomed as the heartbreak story of grand final week for the Cats after hurting his hamstring in the third quarter of the Cats’ preliminary final win over Brisbane, but was cleared of major muscle damage.
Dangerfield expected Holmes to be given until the last minute to prove his fitness for the premiership battle against the Swans.
Asked what chance he gave of Holmes getting up for the grand final, Dangerfield said the young Cat had surprised his teammates so far.
“A lot more (of a chance) than I did post-game, I think that’s for everyone,” Dangerfield said on Monday.
“It will obviously be left to the last minute and we have got wonderful medical staff and they will make the best call for everyone involved.
“He has shocked a few of us, I think.”
Holmes looked visibly upset after the set-back against the Lions, pounding the turf with his fist as he lay on the ground getting treatment after he came from the ground.
The Cats will have their main training session on Wednesday and a captain’s run on Friday ahead of the grand final.
Geelong teammate Mark Blicavs said Holmes was remaining positive.
“He is good, he is really positive. He got a big cheer when he was doing the laps around here,” Blicavs said.
“He will be given, I assume, right to the last minute.
“Great to see him jogging out, he is really positive and the club is really positive on it.
“So, I am unsure what is going to happen but he is just going to give it his all.”
Blicavs said the Geelong players were trying to support Holmes as much as possible, but also being mindful of giving him his space.
“He has been amazing. I’m not sure if it’s because he is a young player, or if it is because he is normally a happy, energetic guy,” Blicavs said.
“But he has done a pretty good job of that himself.
“We obviously have a chat to him and try and get around him as much as we can, but we are also giving him some space because you don’t want 50 people saying ‘How are you going, mate?’ and he has to explain it every time.
“We stuck with him and I thought he was fantastic before going down with that injury against Brisbane, so we will wait and see.
“But he’s in good spirits.”
Mark O’Connor, the medical sub against the Lions, Brandon Parfitt and Sam Menegola - both emergencies against the Lions - will be the likely candidates to replace Holmes should he be ruled out.
It just doesn’t get much better in G Town #lowkeybutexcitedpic.twitter.com/6wkIBcUpnL
— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) September 19, 2022
Swans-Pies blow up the TV ratings
- Simeon Thomas-Wilson
The AFL finals continue to pull in strong ratings on TV.
The thriller between Sydney and Collingwood at the SCG on Saturday pulled in 1.084 million viewers as people tuned in for an all-time classic with the Swans holding off a fast-finishing Magpies to claim a one-point win and a spot in the grand final.
Out of this, 540,000 fans from Melbourne tuned in to the clash.
It gave Seven a big Saturday win with a network share of 38.2 per cent and a primary channel share of 39 per cent - while 7Mate had a multichannel win with 3.9 per cent.
The pre-match coverage reached 314,000 people while 228,000 tuned in for the post-match viewing.
It translated to subscription TV as well with Fox Footy getting 453,000 viewers for their coverage, and 360,000 for Best on Ground.
They were the two top spots on subscription TV with the South Sydney and Cronulla game on Fox League in third with 343,000 viewers.
Papley fires back over that mark
- Sam Landsberger
Tom Papley is certain he held on to the mark that broke Collingwood’s hearts — and says he did not illegally dispose of defender Darcy Moore.
Papley, 26, was perplexed at the scrutiny placed on the contest as the pocket rocket was paid a mark before slotting Sydney’s only goal of the last quarter.
Debate raged as to whether Papley pushed Moore in the back and whether the Sherrin hit the SCG turf before it was taken cleanly.
Papley, speaking at Sydney’s Brownlow Medal function at the SCG on Sunday night, said it was a misguided narrative.
“I definitely marked it,” Papley told News Corp.
“(It was) a bit of forward craft and he (Moore) probably tripped a little bit. That’s footy — I got paid the mark and kicked the goal.”
Lance Franklin was absent from Sydney’s low-key Brownlow Medal function as the superstar forward enters the final game of his nine-year contract.
Sidekick Sam Reid is almost certain to miss what will be Franklin’s sixth AFL Grand Final after he was substituted out of the preliminary final epic with an adductor scare.
Reid, 30, has played a crucial role as Sydney’s back-up ruckman and best contested mark in a remarkable career resurrection this season.
The 2012 premiership player has not been officially ruled out but all eyes will be on whether he can train with the Swans this week.
Understudy Hayden McLean sweated through 8.5km on the SCG on Saturday night as five back-up Swans completed a sharp training session following the one-point preliminary final victory.
McLean, Harry Cunningham, Joel Amartey, Ben Ronke and Will Gould hit the track as a decision looms between McLean, 23, and Amartey, 23, to possibly come in and suit up next to Franklin
“It’s like any other week - train the best you can, do everything you can to put your hand up and we’ll wait and see,” McLean told News Corp.
“We got about 8.5km in. It was a good little hit-out. There was one-on-one stuff with me, Harry Cunningham, Joel (Amartey), Ben Ronke and Will Gould.
“It was a nice little emergency group of us running out just in case.”
Star Isaac Heeney invited McLean to Sunday night’s SCG medal count.
McLean has not played at AFL level since round 8 while Amartey played rounds 17-20 and is considered more likely to get the nod in the event Reid misses.
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