THE BASEMENT by The Oracle

Posted June 16, 20169 yr

The AFL has been rather kind to Melbourne when it's come to fixturing games against Sydney over the past five years when the Swans have been powerhouses of the competition and the Demons have been inhabiting its basement.

It seems that the Demons aren't really welcome in the Harbour City because the last time these two sides met each other in Sydney was their Round 8 encounter at the SCG in 2012. The result of that game was a disaster for the Dees with the only memorable aspect being a speccie from Jeremy Howe that earned him the AFL Mark of the Year award. That was the only thing that the club could take out of the occasion of its last trip up to play in Sydney against the Swans because the result was a 100-point slaughter. It's hard to relive the agony of the game now, especially given that the player who provided us with its only highlight has since defected to Collingwood in search of greater glory and the reward of a premiership but in view of the fact that his mark has been recorded for posterity, here it is -

Since that fateful day more than four years ago, the teams have met only once a year courtesy of a generous AFL which has done its best to shield Melbourne from the likelihood of further disasters. Nevertheless, those once a year encounters at the MCG have all ended in similar results - resounding wins for the Swans that have been virtual no contests but at least we've been spared the 100-point blowouts.

Things are a little different as we pass the halfway mark of the season. The Swans have deftly maintained their position among the top sides and have managed to reinvigorate a playing list that was starting to show signs of aging through a combination of good recruiting and excellent coaching and player development, helped to some extent by the Academy programme which is producing some ready-made young guns.

Melbourne, on the other hand, is just emerging from the basement and under former Swans coach Paul Roos, is trying to head into the space that Sydney has been filling with a degree of success over the past decade or so. The team is young but definitely on its way up but we've learned in recent times to temper our expectations. Form can be up and down from one week to the next - young sides can be unpredictable.

That is what makes this week's contest so intriguing. Even the Swans themselves have struggled for consistency. They started the 2016 season with a crushing victory over Collingwood in Round 1 and had a good run early but struggled to win against Brisbane and lost to Richmond, picked up some big scalps in Hawthorn and North Melbourne but disappointed last week against the Giants in a game where they suffered a huge injury toll with their notable loss being ruckman Kurt Tippet to a hamstring injury.

In terms of match ups, the loss of Tippet when coming up against an in form Max Gawn is a factor that certainly tips the needle in Melbourne's direction because his likely replacement, Callum Sinclair, though handy has never been more than a second string ruckman. The Swans however, still have the advantage of strength and experience in the midfield over the Demons' emerging midfield group. The battle of the onballers will be an intriguing encounter and if Melbourne is to cause an upset against the Swans it will have to be through another dominant performance from Gawn and more of the same from the likes of Nathan Jones, Jack Viney, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson and the younger guns.

Then there is the competition's best player when at the top of his game, Lance Franklin, who was quiet last week but is rarely so for two weeks on end. His likely opponent is Tom McDonald who is quite capable of doing enough to quell Buddy's influence to some extent. If he succeeds in keeping him down to a couple of goals, it will have a big bearing on the result.

And if the result swings the game in Melbourne's favour, then we can say that the club is truly out of the basement because it's been a while since the Demons have been in positive territory in terms of wins and losses this deep into a season.

THE GAME Melbourne v Sydney Swans at the SCG Sunday 19 June 2016 at 1.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Sydney Swans 110 wins Melbourne 92 wins 2 drawn

At SCG Sydney Swans 13 wins Melbourne 8 wins

Last 5 meetings Sydney Swans 4 wins Melbourne 0 wins 1 drawn

The Coaches Longmire 2 wins Roos 0 wins

MEDIA

TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 1.00pm

RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand

THE BETTING

Sydney Swans $1.18 to win Melbourne $4.85 to win

THE LAST TIME THEY MET Sydney Swans 12.16.88 defeated Melbourne 7.8.50 in Round 6, 2015 at the MCG

The Swans led a dull and for the most part low scoring scrap of a game from start to finish, outplaying the hapless Demons in almost every position on the ground.

THE TEAMS

SYDNEY SWANS

B: Jeremy Laidler, Heath Grundy, Nick Smjith

HB: Jarrad McVeigh, Dane Rampe, Zak Jones

C: Callum Mills, John P Kennedy, Isaac Heeney

HF: Dan Hannebery, Lance Franklin, James Rose

F: Luke Parker, Gary Rohan, Ben McGlynn

FOLL: Callum Sinclair, Tom Mitchell, Kieren Jack

I/C: Aliir Aliir, George Hewett, Toby Nankervis, Dean Towers

EMG: Tyrone Leonardis, Jake Lloyd, Sam Naismith,

IN: Allir Allir, George Hewett, Toby Nankervis, Dean Towers

OUT: Harry Cunningham (omitted), Jeremy Laidler (knee), Harrison Marsh (hamstring), Kurt Tippet (hamstring)