GRANT Birchall says pressure applied by his midfield teammates will assist the defenders in the difficult task of stopping Sydney’s star-studded forward line.
For the first time this season, the Swans have named their dream forward setup with Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett returning from injury to join Adam Goodes and Sam Reid inside 50.
While the Swans are enjoying finally having their full complement of forwards available, the Hawks will be without one of their best defenders, Norm Smith Medallist Brian Lake with injury.
Lake’s omission is a huge loss for the Hawks, particularly given the height and talent in Sydney’s four-pronged attack.
To combat that, Coach Alastair Clarkson has recalled maligned defender Kyle Cheney as consistent defender Ben Stratton is a welcome addition after overcoming injury.
“They’re a couple of big inclusions for us,” Birchall told hawthornfc.com.au
“Obviously we’ve lost Lake but the reason why we’ve been so successful this year is our depth and I’ve got no doubt those two will come in and play their role.”
While Hawthorn coped well without Lake in the first four games of the season, the sheer size and talent of Geelong’s Tom Hawkins was too much for Cheney to handle as the Hawks suffered their first loss of the season in Round 5.
Following that game, debate sparked over why Lake wasn’t selected given the size of Geelong’s forwards but this time, the Hawks don’t have the luxury of calling on him to stop one of Sydney’s giant forwards.
Instead, the Hawks will more than likely send Ryan Schoenmakers, who returned from a knee reconstruction last week into defence to add size and height, while the rest of the task will be thrown to Josh Gibson, Cheney and Stratton.
But it’s not about the personnel, Birchall says, but rather the pressure applied on the ball coming in to stop Sydney’s forwards.
“For starters, hopefully we can put enough pressure on in the midfield because it makes our jobs as defenders a lot easier if the ball is coming in a bit ‘scrappier’,” he said.
“We just need to stick to our systems and a couple of things we’ve worked on before the game and if we do that, we should be fine.”
Assistant Coach Cameron Bruce says taking on such a talented forward line will be a great test and backed in Cheney to perform his defensive role well.
“They’ve certainly called upon the heavy artillery,” he told hawthornfc.com.au
“We’ll need to cut off the supply to their forwards.
“It’ll be a great test for us.”
“It’s going to be a good chance for Kyle to come back in and prove that he’s come a long way with his footy,” he said.
The Swans are in the best form of their season, having won three in a row after losing three of the first four games.
Birchall says it has been an improvement in their defensive game that has allowed them to record victories over Fremantle, Melbourne and Brisbane.
The Swans have conceded just 82 points to their opposition combined, in the last two weeks.
“They’re starting to click,” he said.
“The defensive side of their game has been a lot better in the last few weeks so no doubt that’ll be their focus tonight to try and beat us.
“(But) we’ll back in the way we play and hopefully we can come away with the win.”
