18 hours ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
SCG surface in the spotlight as Swans host Freo in must-win clash
Latest posts
Latest posts
12.35pm
POLL: Who's winning this - and by how much?
12.24pm
Today's teams
Sydney v Fremantle, 1.10pm, SCG
Sydney midfielder Oliver Florent has been dropped again for the AFL clash with Fremantle, who have been bolstered by Alex Pearce's return.
Florent's run of 130 consecutive matches ended when he was axed in round 12, and he has been left out once more after reappearing as the sub last week.
Joel Amartey (hamstring) and Tom McCartin (illness) will return for the Swans (6-9) at the SCG on Sunday, stiffening up the key positions at either end.
Key defender Joel Hamling is also back to face one of his former clubs, with Aaron Francis (suspended), Dane Rampe (calf) and Florent going out.
Fremantle skipper Pearce (shin) is back for his first game in six weeks in a boost to his team's finals chances.
Experienced midfielder Jaeger O'Meara also returns for the first time since round six after he was held back because of hamstring tightness last week.
Nat Fyfe (hamstring) and Oscar McDonald (omitted) are out of the Dockers' (10-5) line-up.
AAP
SYDNEY
B: 43 30 7
HB: - C 14 22 15
C: 44 1 21
HF: 27 9 11
F: 16 36 2
R: 4 5 17
I/C: 12 8 29 39
SUB: 34 EMG: 13 33 19
IN:
OUT: (suspension), (injured), (omitted)
FREMANTLE
B: 13 36 - C 25
HB: 5 23 6
C: 44 34 N.O'Driscoll 30
HF: 16 32 15
F: 4 35 24
R: 9 3 8
I/C: 28 41 20 43
SUB: J.O'Meara 2
EMG: 11 14 21
IN: J.O'Meara
OUT: (injured), (omitted)
12.22pm
Road to the finals
That finals race I was talking about? Here's that in a visual way.
12.19pm
Hello and welcome
G'day footy fans.
Vince Rugari here reporting for duty from the SCG for today's clash between the Sydney Swans and Fremantle, where the biggest point of interest is perhaps not what happens on the turf, but the turf itself, and how it plays.
It's a cracking day here in Sydney. The sun is out and it's unseasonably warm. The rain that has dominated the week is gone. But I'm looking at that controversial Paddington End which is currently bathed in shadow from the Noble-Bradman stand and you immediately get a sense of why that part of the ground struggles to recover from major events.
Last week's Swans-Bulldogs game saw players routinely slipping over at that end. The surface, however, has been ticked off by all concerned and should be much better this time around. We shall see.
Meanwhile … big game for both teams. Sydney (12th, 6-9) needs a win to keep their feint finals hopes alive, while the Dockers (9th, 10-5) need a win to get back into the eight and position themselves way for what looks like a nine-way tussle for those finals positions over the back end of the season.
