The form
Hawthorn made amends for Round 6’s shock loss to GWS with a convincing 105-point victory against the Demons. The Hawks now sit in sixth place on the ladder, with four wins and three losses.
The Swans currently sit in third place on the AFL Ladder and enter Saturday night’s grand final rematch off the back of a 43-point win over Geelong.
Recent history
Hawthorn will head into this week’s grand final rematch with high hopes, having won two in a row against Sydney. In their last five games against the Hawks, the Swans have only won a single game – a 19-point victory at ANZ Stadium in Round 8, 2014.
Selection table
Hawthorn will had some headaches at the selection table this week with a number of stars pushing to make their returns. The Hawks have bolstered their squad for Saturday night’s clash with Jordan Lewis, Brian Lake and Isaac Smith all returning to the Hawks line-up.
Is disposal efficiency the answer?
Saturday night’s clash should provide us with a mouth-watering midfield battle. The Hawks are ranked first in the competition for disposals (average of 402 disposals per game) while Sydney are ranked second (average of 389 per game). Disposal efficiency could be the key for Hawthorn – the Hawks are ranked third with a 75.3% disposal efficiency percentage compared to 11th placed Sydney (71.6%).
Franklin v Roughead
Jarryd Roughead and Lance Franklin are two of the most dominant forwards in the game – Franklin is the number one ranked key-forward in the Official AFL Player Ratings with Roughead sitting in second place (533.8 points). Both forwards are tied in the Coleman Medal race with 20 goals each.
Will Sydney be able to stem the flow?
Sydney’s defence must be on song if the Swans are to walk away from the MCG with a win. The Swans are ranked second in the competition for tackles (73 per game) and will be looking to put the pressure on the competition’s number one goal kicking side (The Hawks have an average of 16.7 goals per game).
