James Conway
REIGNING premiers the Sydney Swans look to keep their premiership dream alive when they tackle the Fremantle Dockers in Saturday night’s Preliminary Final showdown.
The Swans extended their impressive finals record at Stadium Australia to six wins from seven games in last week’s Semi-Final win over Carlton, cementing a place in Saturday night’s Grand Final qualifier.
The Swans will have to overcome one of the AFL’s toughest road trips (to Perth) if they are to have any chance of winning back-to-back titles.
The Swans and Dockers played out the only draw of the season back in Round 8 although the Swans will be confident of victory given their impressive record in Perth. The only time these sides have met in a Preliminary Final was back in 2006 where the Swans triumphed at Stadium Australia.
The Swans have won seven of the 12 Preliminary Finals they have contested, including the last three straight dating back to 2005.
Hawthorn and Geelong – the top two finishers after the regular season – will face-off in the other Preliminary Final on Friday 20 September at the MCG.
The Hawks earned a week’s break with victory over the Swans in the Week 1 Qualifying Final while Geelong overcame giant-killers Port Adelaide to book their Preliminary Final date with the Hawks.
While the Swans won’t be getting too far ahead of themselves, there is the distinct possibility of a Grand Final rematch with last year’s combatants, the Hawks.
The bloods look to make their dream of winning back-to-back titles a reality, sending retiring legend Jude Bolton out the way he deserves – a winner.
