AFL round 8: Sydney Swans vs GWS Giants, full preview and five players who must lift

Sydney’s season is on the brink. GWS Giants’ top-eight charge is faltering. It’s one of the biggest Sydney derbies in recent memory for both clubs. Lachlan McKirdy has all you need to know.

Sydney’s first season under Dean Cox isn’t going to plan.

GWS Giants are clinging to a spot in the top eight, equal with five other clubs on four wins.

As far as mid-season Battle of the Bridges go, there haven’t been many bigger than this weekend.

NSW AFL guru Lachlan McKirdy gives you all the key intel and names the players under the pump who must deliver for their side to win.

EXCLUSIVE: DOWNLOAD YOUR SWANS, GIANTS TEAM POSTERS

MCKIRDY’S PRESSURE METER: WHO’S FACING DERBY BLOWTORCH?

It’s close to a must-win game for both the Swans and the Giants this weekend when they do battle in the 30th edition of the Sydney Derby.

For the Swans, they’ve lost their past three matches and are desperately in need of a result to spark a mid-year turnaround. While the Giants’ premiership credentials have been seriously questioned after two bad losses and will be eager to bounce back.

But where will the game be won and lost? Here are the five players who could turn the clash in their team’s favour.

He loves the big stage — can Will Hayward launch Sydney to victory?

WILL HAYWARD (SYD)

The Swans’ forward line might be depleted, but in his ninth AFL season, Hayward will want to make this game his own. The 26-year-old is on a big new contract at Sydney, loves playing at the SCG, and should relish this occasion against the cross-town rivals.

TOBY GREENE (GWS)

If there’s one man who has constantly been a thorn in the Swans’ side, it’s Greene. After a strong start to the year, it’s been a slower fortnight for the GWS skipper. But with their midfield under fire, expect Greene to spend time on ball and try to spark his team to life.

TOM McCARTIN (SYD)

McCartin is now permanently back in defence and is likely to be given the job of keeping Coleman Medallist Jesse Hogan quiet. The Swans struggled to curtail Ben King last week, but if McCartin can do a job on Hogan, it could go a long way to causing an upset.

Lachie Ash will need to step up again if Lachie Whitfield is tagged by James Jordon.

LACHIE ASH (GWS)

Lachie Ash and Lachie Whitfield run the Giants’ attack off halfback. But with James Jordon likely to spend some time tagging Whitfield, Ash will need to lift to fill the void. He’s been in All-Australian form to start 2025 and he’ll look to continue that at the SCG.

ISAAC HEENEY (SYD)

Heeney was all that stood between the Giants and a preliminary final last season. His heroics in the qualifying final were extraordinary, and if he can produce something similar, it could be the catalyst for a Swans win and turning their entire season around.

ALL-TOO FAMILIAR PROBLEM HAUNTING GIANTS

The Giants’ inability to halt opposition momentum is coming back to haunt them again as they come up against one of their finals vanquishers from last season for the first time in 2025.

The 30th edition of the Sydney Derby will also act as GWS’ first meeting against the Swans since last year’s incredible qualifying final which saw Adam Kingsley’s side fall to defeat despite holding a 27-point lead in the second half.

It was the first of two disappointing losses in September, with their campaign ending the next week at the hands of Brisbane despite at one stage holding a 44-point lead.

A focus over the off-season for Kingsley and his side was on-field leadership and turning to experienced players to wrestle momentum back. However, last week’s frustrating loss to the Western Bulldogs was another example of being out of the game for far too long as they conceded five goals to none in the third quarter.

And the players know that enough is enough, with the Sydney Derby acting as a perfect point to draw a line in the sand.

“We were very unhappy with particularly the third quarter,” Harry Himmelberg said. “There was a patch of I think eight or so minutes where they kicked five goals on us.

“That’s been a work-on for us for a while now, and even the back end of last year, when teams get momentum against us, how do we stem the flow of goals when that happens. The leaders are working closely with the group, and we’re looking to improve that.”

Despite the best efforts of Connor Idun and his fellow defenders, GWS Gaints’ form is on the slide.

“We’re at the point now where it’s happened enough that you don’t really need many more lessons,” Jack Buckley added. “It’s probably happened too much.

“We took a step backward (against the Bulldogs). We’ve had moments throughout this year where we’ve been better at it, so we’ll get back to work this week with Kingers and fix some things that might have slipped on the weekend.”

Himmelberg admits that “a lot of” facets of the Giants’ game haven’t been up to scratch from the high standards they set themselves in 2025. In particular, they want to help the likes of Lachie Ash and Lachie Whitfield move the ball off halfback.

However, defensively, they remain one of the strongest teams in the competition. The likes of Buckley, Sam Taylor and Connor Idun remain among the best in the AFL and against the injury-depleted Swans who have struggled to score consistently in recent weeks, it could be a real advantage on Sunday afternoon.

“I think last year we probably weren’t as good as we could be in that area, and to get back to that level has been pleasing in terms of being stingy in our back 50,” Buckley said.

“But we do have a role to play in the entries against in the way we’re moving the ball out of our back half. We’ve had a lot of back-half turnovers in the last month … restricting entries against is partly on us, so we can’t just say we’re doing our job.

“It’s 18 guys on the field, you’ve got to be really connected between the lines. We’ve definitely got a role to play in reducing entries, but it’s pleasing that we are being stingy to score against, that’s a good thing.”

SWANS LEADERS FEEL BLOWTORCH AHEAD OF MUST-WIN DERBY

The Swans are not falling back on their injury crisis as an excuse with their experienced leaders prepared to demand more from themselves and the team ahead of Sunday’s Sydney Derby.

Sydney was comprehensively outplayed in the second half against Gold Coast, with the Suns kicking 12 goals in a row for the first time in their history to turn the game on its head and hand the Swans their fifth defeat of the season.

While many of their losses in 2025 have been closely fought, it was the first time under Dean Cox that the Swans clearly found themselves looking second-rate as they attempt to turn their campaign around.

Much has been made of the club’s lengthy injury list, with up to 10 players potentially missing from their side this weekend against the Giants. But midfielder James Rowbottom believes it’s time to face the facts that they have not been up to scratch.

Sydney was left to rue a dismal third quarter against Gold Coast which James Rowbottom believes there’s no excuses for. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

As one of the club’s leadership group, he also knows he’s one of the players who has to find more on the field to help spark his teammates.

“Obviously it was a harsh review,” Rowbottom said. “We played some good footy in the first half of that game … but our second half was really disappointing and we looked that square in the face.

“We have tried to put some things in place to learn and get better in that regard, and hopefully, can stem momentum going forward.

“(The injuries are) obviously a challenge, but it’s not an excuse. We’ve still got a relatively experienced team at the moment, and we’re the ones that are making mistakes and not providing our best footy.

“So I don’t think injury is an excuse … we’re after our best footy, regardless of who’s on the field.

Rowbottom is demanding more from himself after questioning his own leadership during the Suns clash. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“One thing I was personally really disappointed with on the weekend, in that third quarter, was I wasn’t able to identify and try and galvanise the boys as well as I could and probably let it slip for a bit too long. That’s probably a problem we have as a team in general. If I can play my part and get that done a bit earlier, then that’ll be good.”

The Swans are still confident that their best footy can be good enough in 2025 and have put some perspective on their performances so far. Their five losses have come against the current top four on the ladder, as well as Port Adelaide who were preliminary finalists last season.

Sydney is hopeful that Sam Wicks could make a return after missing the Suns clash with a calf issue. His speed in defence could be crucial to locking down Giants’ livewire Darcy Jones who continues to impress this season.

And although the Swans have a positive record over GWS in recent years, winning their last four matches including last year’s dramatic qualifying final, Rowbottom insists the side has more important things to consider than looking back at their last meeting.

“We’re obviously struggling to find a win at the moment, and regardless of the Derby or not, I think we’re in need of a win and searching for that form,” he said.

“We’ve got more pressing issues (than looking at the qualifying final). Team and form and everything in the last couple of weeks, we’ll probably need to review and fix, rather than looking back six months to try and draw inspiration.

“It’s obviously not a good position to be in when you’re 2-5, but we’ve done it before as a club, come from 0-6 before and made finals. We’re still trying to find that form, but still hopeful we can get back to our best footy.”

Originally published as AFL round 8: Sydney Swans vs GWS Giants, full preview and five players who must lift