The 2012 AFL premiership will be decided.

The two best teams this season have won their way into the grand final, and the chance to live the dream.

First, it was the Swans who qualified with an impressive performance against Collingwood at ANZ Stadium. The Swans were, tough, desperate, and devastating when they won the ball in space.

Then, it was Hawthorn’s turn. A nail-biting five-point win over Adelaide wasn’t what many expected, but the desire, passion and desperation of all plays was what we did.
It sets up a match-up between two teams who pride themselves on winning the hard ball, laying crunching tackles, defending well and then making the most of their opportunities when they present.

Looking ahead

Finals football is unique. It’s a breathtaking spectacle that is different to what we’ve seen all year. It’s hard, it’s tough, it’s contested, it makes every player work harder than they ever have before. And above all, it is hard to score.

That suits Sydney’s game style.

Across 22 matches in the home-and-away season, the Swans were the best defensive team, conceding just 74 points per match. Their defence has been steadfast, held together by two pillars by the name of Heath Grundy and Ted Richards. They have taken all before them season, with their athleticism and ability in the air giving them an advantage in matching up on the league’s best forwards.

The pair team up with outstanding defensive rebounders, Rhyce Shaw and Martin Mattner. Shaw, in particular was a key player in the win over Collingwood, with his dash out of defence difficult to stop.  The defender had 27 possessions against the Magpies and was one of the reasons why Collingwood couldn’t lock the ball in their forward 50. Shaw’s pace was crucial and the Swans released him at every opportunity.

Given that Xavier Ellis was given a defensive role on Adelaide's Brent Reilly last week, he could be given another role on Saturday, and a match-up with Shaw would be the perfect scenario.

It poses an intriguing battle between the league’s best defence and the league’s best forward line. The Hawks were the number one scoring team in the competition throughout the home-and-away season and have shown no signs of letting teams off the hook throughout the finals.

Despite being inaccurate against the Crows, kicking 13.19, the Hawks still managed 32 scoring shots and could have put the match away earlier.

The huge task of stopping Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead, Cyril Rioli and Luke Breust beckons for the aforementioned defenders. The Hawks forwards are unrelenting. They go in for the kill each time they cross the white line. They are powerful, athletic and dangerous in every way, be it on the attack or when applying forward pressure.

Arguably, each team’s biggest strengths lie in the midfield, and that’s where the game will be won. For Sydney, their midfield is blue collar. They’re hard working players who never shirk a contest. They get their hands dirty, put their head over the ball and win it at all costs.

The Swans’ midfield is led by former Hawk, Josh Kennedy who has enjoyed a breakout season. He has been the player most spoken about whenever a conversation about Swans starts up.

This year, Kennedy has averaged 29 disposals, seven clearances, five tackles and one goal per game. Remarkably, he has played just 85 career matches, but his ability to impact a game and not be affected by the occasion shows experience beyond his years. 

His game against Collingwood sparked the Swans. He was hard at it, precise and unrelenting in his attack. He epitomised the mindset of the Swans, and showed his teammates the intensity required for finals footy.

He was ably assisted by veteran Ryan O’Keefe.

In a somewhat underrated season, O’Keefe has averaged 25 disposals per match from the midfield, as well as six tackles, five clearances and a goal. He is balanced, strong and near on impossible to move when around the ball.

But, when hard nuts of Sydney are combined with the skill, pace and polish of their outside runners such as Lewis Jetta and Kieran Jack its often to devastating effect.
No better example is that of Jetta’s running goal against Collingwood in the preliminary final.

Jetta’s inclusion and rise to stardom in just his third season at the level has given the Swans the lift needed to take the next step, to make the grand final, to hurt opposition when the opportunity arises.

Up forward, it doesn’t get much easier for the Hawks’ to combat, with superstar Adam Goodes often on the end of a Swans attack. At 32 years of age, the veteran is showing no signs of slowing down, and he’s saved his best for the finals series.

Goodes has been dangerous in both finals for the Swans and perhaps hold the key if the Swans are to win on Saturday. He has gathered 22 and 25 disposals in weeks one and three and impacted the scoreboard kicking four goals across the two matches.

Hawks Coach Alastair Clarkson may need to lock down on the Swans champion, and a player in line for the big job could be Ben Stratton.

Stratton has been a dependable defender all season, a quiet achiever if ever there was one. His match-saving tackle on Patrick Dangerfield in the preliminary final is evidence of this, and finally, many are taking notice of his importance to the Hawks.

Possible key match-ups

Lance Franklin v Ted Richards: A colossal battle between the All Australian centre half forward and centre half back beckons on Saturday. Expect John Longmire to throw Richards the job of curtailing Franklin who kicked four goals in his first match for seven weeks when the teams last met.

Cyril Rioli v Nick Smith: Smith has been the Swans go to man for shutting out the opposition’s small forwards and he hasn’t let his coach down. Smith is quick, strong and wears his man like a glove. Rioli is Hawthorn’s game breaker. He sparked the Hawks in the last five minutes of the preliminary final and has shown that he needs just five minutes to change a game.

Josh Kennedy v Sam Mitchell/Brad Sewell: Could we see two of the clearance kinds go head-to-head in the biggest game of the year? Either match-up would be one for the punters who love a good old fashioned slog and with a wet grand final day predicted, this battle could hold the keys to the premiership for both sides.

Ryan O’Keefe v Liam Shiels/Brad Sewell: Shiels has been Clarkson’s “go to” man when he needs to lockdown on a player, and given O’Keefe’s impressive game against the Magpies last week, he could be on Clarkson’s radar. Both Shiels and Sewell will be well equipped to do the job on the Swans veteran.

Lewis Jetta v Isaac Smith: It seems as though it’s the only logical match-up for the Hawks for Jetta. He’s lightening quick, and so is Isaac Smith. Short of recruiting Usain Bolt for the grand final, Smith is arguably the only Hawks with the legs to go with the Swans dynamo.

Lewis Roberts-Thompson v Josh Gibson: Roberts-Thompson performed a defensive role on Collingwood’s Ben Reid last week and could be handed a similar role on Josh Gibson in the grand final.

Adam Goodes v Ben Stratton/Shaun Burgoyne: Goodes is playing with confidence and has the unique characteristics of both a key forward and a midfielder. The job could be given to Stratton who us perfectly placed standing at 189cm. Burgoyne too could be given the job, especially if Goodes is thrown into the midfield at any stage. 


Ben Stratton: “Their ability to win it inside with their tough, hard mids and then on the spread outside as well, they’ve shown they’ve been the best at that all year.

“Our mids will have their work cut out for them, hopefully they pressure the ball enough and are coming down into the backline.

“They’ve still got their tall forwards in (Sam) Reid and Goodes down there who are pretty handy players.

“It’s probably going to be of a contested style of footy and a high pressure game being a grand final.”

Luke Hodge: “Their defence has been solid, their midfield has been outstanding. If you look at Joey Kennedy, Keiran Jack, Ryan O’Keefe, and they’ve got the ability to throw Goodes in there as well.

“That’s where they’ve hurt a lot of sides, their spread from the contest after they’ve won the hard football.

“Then you look down forward and they’ve got those tall, athletic types who can all kick goals.

“To make a grand final, you don’t just have one strength, they’ve been consistent across the whole paddock.”


Andre Dos Santos on Facebook: “Play our game, that is the key. Don't fall for their traps. Shane Mumford and Goodes are our biggest dangers, but our midfield is better than theirs by a mile. Clean possession is a must. Good luck lads, you deserve your opportunity make the most of it.”

Hayden Hudgell on Facebook: “The key to win is to shut down the clearance work of  Kennedy, Bolton and Jack. They've been getting the ball out of the centre most times this season then offloading the ball to Jetta and Hannebery, then their kicking it to the forwards.”

Tracie Hart on Facebook: “We must win the midfield battle. When we beat them a couple of weeks ago, the game changed to our advantage when Sewell, Mitchell and Burgoyne picked up their work ethic. If we have more inside 50s than they do, and we kick straight, then we should win. We have a much better forward line. Maybe we should try and isolate Cyril Rioli, deep forward because they'll struggle to find a match up for him.”