The Preview | Round 10 V Sydney Swans
Season So Far:
Prime time Baggers are back. The Carlton Football Club return to the bright lights of Prime time footy. Friday the 20th of May is staging perhaps, the biggest game of the season to date. As of 4th place Carlton verse the young and firing 5th place Swans, in a match bound to have massive implications on the top 8 and the top 4.
Surprisingly, both teams' place in the top 8 is all but inevitable. Carlton being 7-2 and the Swans sitting at 6-3, as both sides good start to the season has set them up for a really promising back end of the year. Two famous clubs, being back to where they belong after a couple of poor seasons are exactly what makes AFL what it is.
The Blues had one of their better wins over the previous week. Beating the Giants at GIANT stadium for the first time in their history and sending Leon Cameron off to the sunset in the most ceremonious fashion. Doing it without Harry McKay, Patrick Cripps having a poor game and Charlie Curnow being non-existent for three quarters just goes to show how good Michael Voss has this side playing as a unit.
The Swans on the other hand easily swept aside a struggling and cowardly Essendon outfit that fall under any faint sign of pressure. The Swans will be in for a much tougher task this week, as their famous intensity levels will be tested to the fullest as they come up against a Michael Voss outfit that will be relentless from the opening bounce.
The Blues will be coming off a 5-day break, the first of their season. Whereas the Swans will be slightly more rested, having played the day before the Blues last round. The level of intensity and pressure shown by the Blues in the opening stages of the game against the Giants will be hard to replicate, considering the circumstances of travel and how well the Swans deal with pressure.
The Swans are one of the best teams at transitioning from defence to attack - launching a score from 11.9% of its defensive 50 chains, ranked number 1 in the competition. This is a clear sign that the Blues offensive pressure will need to be on point from the opening bounce, or else the Swans will have a field day walking the ball out of defence.
Considering how easy it was at times for the Blues against the Giants, Carlton will need to ensure that there is no complacency coming into Friday night, as the Blues tend to drop their heads when they sense that all fear and consequences have disappeared.
This game could prove to be the catalyst for change if it hasn't happened already. Because, just like last week, this is the type of game where the Blues, if the past, would lose. After a couple of good wins, they come up against a good side, and they valiantly fall short. The Blues lose that sense of motivation because they have the wins banked up, they “can afford to lose a game.” While that statement is still true to some extent, this new look Carlton team is relentless and unrelenting, willing to punish any side that gives them a sniff. They no longer feel that they “can afford to lose a game,” every game is a must win, regardless of what the ladder or the form guide says. The Swans should be worried about this Carlton outfit, a Carlton outfit that now knows how to win, and now knows how to put teams to the sword.
Sydney, in theory, should win this game. Carlton has big outs, the Swans have more ‘pedigree’ and are a more established side coming into these big games. But the Blues have the momentum, and 50 thousand strong at Marvel Stadium will sound like 90 thousand if the Blues can get over the line. The biggest game of the season, it’s in the hands of Michael Voss’ men as to whether it ends in heartbreak, or elation.
