SWANSONG by Whispering Jack

They said that in 2019, the Melbourne Football Club was going to take its game to another level but we were never prepared for the level the club is reaching as it approaches the fourth round of the season holding up the entire AFL ladder in a match that could be its swansong for the year.   

We were meant to be premiership contenders, not playing off for a wooden spoon which is what will be the case unless there is a sudden and dramatic turn around in our fortunes!   

And whilst there’s been a lot of soul searching and declarations of honesty and openness, the fact of the matter is that nobody really has the solution to the club’s woeful form or why players who could hold their heads high in the first half of September last year are dropping marks, fumbling the footy, leaking goals in short bursts in time and allowing opponents to dance around them if they were stationary witches hats.   

This week, they make the trip north to Sydney where they face off a lacklustre side that, despite struggling to overcome Carlton, will start as the red hot favourite to beat a Melbourne combination that seems to have taken a trip back in time of half a decade to its dark, old days of wretchedness and ineptitude before Paul Roos took them for their first training run in the post Neeld era. The Demons can be thankful that they have Angus Brayshaw, Clayton Oliver and Max Gawn because some of the others who led the charge last year have become invisible men.  

Sydney have scored about the same number of points for this season although Melbourne averages 8.3 more inside 50 entries per game. 

On the other hand, the Dees have conceded 100 points more than the Swans - a sign of how poor they have been because their opponents this week have been no world beaters.   

Melbourne’s underdone skippers Nathan Jones and Jack Viney are in charge of a ship that is listing in a storm. It’s their job to take control and steer it into calmer waters.  However, they have the task ahead of them in front of a hostile SCG crowd - Sydney by 19 points  

THE GAME    

Melbourne v Sydney Swans at the SCG Thursday 11 April 2019 at 7.20pm      

HEAD TO HEAD     

Overall Sydney Swans 113 wins Melbourne 92 wins 2 drawn     
At SCG Sydney Swans 14 wins Me lbourne 8 wins   
Last 5 meetings Sydney Swans 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins  
The Coaches Longmire 2 wins Goodwin 0 wins  

MEDIA      

TV - Channel 7 Fox Footy Live at 7.00pm  

RADIO - TBA  

THE LAST TIME THEY MET Sydney Swans 13.9.87 defeated Melbourne 10.18.78  in Round 21 2018 at the MCG      

Melbourne dominated in the general play but its kicking for goal was deplorable, allowing Sydney to win a thrilling encounter by just nine points. Young Swans high flyer Isaac Heeney, who was clearly best on ground, took the mark of the year standing on Jesse Hogan’s shoulders as a farewell to the Demon key forward.   

THE TEAMS      

SYDNEY SWANS 

B Callum Mills  Dane Rampe  Tom McCartin 
HB Jake Lloyd  Aliir Aliir  Jackson Thurlow 
C Zak Jones  Luke Parker  Oliver Florent 
HF Harry Cunningham  Sam Reid  Isaac Heeney 
F Jordan Dawson  Lance Franklin  Kieren Jack 
FOLL Callum Sinclair  Josh P Kennedy  Tom Papley 
I/C
 Nick Blakey George Hewett Justin McInerney Ben Ronke
EMG Ryan Clarke  Robbie Fox Lewis Melican  James Rose 

IN Kieren Jack Justin McInerney

OUT
Jarrad McVeigh (quad) Will Hayward (jaw)

MELBOURNE

B Michael Hibberd  Oscar McDonald  Marty Hore
HB Billy Stretch  Sam Frost  Nathan Jones 
C Jayden Hunt  Clayton Oliver  Christian Salem 
HF James Harmes  Sam Weideman  Angus Brayshaw 
F Corey Wagner  Tom McDonald  Jake Melksham 
FOLL Max Gawn  Christian Petracca  Jack Viney 
I/C Bayley Fritsch  Braydon Preuss Charlie Spargo Josh Wagner 
EMG Alex Neal-Bullen  Harrison Petty

IN Marty Hore Braydon Preuss Charlie Spargo Billy Stretch

OUT Neville Jetta (knee) Kade Kolodjashnij (concussion) Jay Lockhart (back) Alex Neal-Bullen (omitted)

Injury List - Round 4  

Tom McDonald (ankle) — test 
Charlie Spargo (jaw) — test 
Jordan Lewis (hamstring) — 1 week 
Steven May (groin) — 2-3 weeks 
Joel Smith (groin) — TBA 
Aaron vandenBerg (foot) — 4-6 weeks 
Mitch Hannan (knee) — 6-8 weeks 
Jake Lever (knee) — 6-8 weeks 
Jay Kennedy-Harris (knee) — 10-12 weeks 
Guy Walker (shoulder) — season 
Aaron Nietschke (knee) — season