Sydney and Western Bulldogs ferocious attack on ball sets up mouth-watering Grand Final
THIS could be the perfect Grand Final pairing. And not just because the two best sides will play off for the 2016 premiership, writes Andrew Hamilton.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THIS could be the perfect Grand Final pairing.
And not just because in Sydney and the Western Bulldogs, the two best sides will play off for the 2016 premiership.
It has something for everyone, storylines to appeal to all footy fans.
BURNING QUESTIONS: WHO CAN STOP BUDDY?
SWANS VETERAN: GF SET TO BE MCGLYNN’S SWANSONG
DOGS COACH: BEVO URGES FLAIR AND INSTINCT
There are enough similarities between the sides to ensure a gripping physical encounter but they are not clones.
Both are ferocious at the footy and defend, in particular tackle, as though their lives depend on it.
However, the Dogs wear their hearts on their sleeve while the Swans keep their cards close to their chest.
The AFL love it when an expansion state is involved (as long as they don’t have the gall to win three in a row as the Lions did). If it couldn’t be their preferred Giants, the Swans and the massive marketplace they represent are a more than satisfactory option B for the league.
While the rest of the competition may not be thrilled the Swans are there, they are damn well pleased the Giants aren’t because according to the hysteria, they are going to win the next 10 in a row.
The state of Victoria is happy — if you consumed any media from south of the Murray River yesterday, you would be forgiven for thinking there was only one side in it.
Sydney won’t mind that, they have always thrived on an us-against-the-world mentality.
In the heartland of Aussie rules, the Bulldogs are the sporting fairytale of the year. The more you read about them, the greater the adversity they have overcome to get to the big dance.
By the time the ball is bounced, it won’t be just geography separating these two sides but also an economical, moral and talent divide.
It will be billed as a grand final between the battlers and the Bondi Billionaires — a side not overflowing with talent but full of ticker against one that both plays and are paid like millionaires.
The reality is that Bulldog Tom Boyd is in Swan star “Buddy” Franklin’s tax bracket, and Boyd and fellow Dog Marcus Bontempelli were the two highest draft picks from the preliminary final sides these two clubs put out.
The tables have been turned on the Swans in that regard — it was premiership coach Paul Roos who somehow convinced the world his 2005 side which featured Adam Goodes, Barry Hall, Craig Bolton, Ryan O’Keefe, Michael O’Loughlin and Tadhg Kennelly, were just a bunch of hardworking foot soldiers.
The AFL Grand Final mirrors the NRL’s.
In the Melbourne Storm, we have an expansion club that are perennial finalists and the envy of just about every other side in their competition. Very Swans like.
Like the Dogs, the Sharks are battlers who have suffered the pain of four preliminary final losses in the past 18 years.
Originally published as Sydney and Western Bulldogs ferocious attack on ball sets up mouth-watering Grand Final
Best bets: Queanbeyan and Scone
Looking for a winner at Scone or Queanbeyan today? Shayne O’Cass has you covered with his tips.
The ‘final straw’ moment that broke Seibold
Anthony Seibold says the pressures of coaching the NRL’s flagship club had taken a toll on him and his family as well as slanderous rumour mongering as he opened up on his Brisbane exit.