Dangers lurk in defence
SELFLESS on the field and off it, you won’t find Heath Grundy or any of Sydney’s back six claiming credit for helping their side become the AFL’s stingiest.
Many factors have led to the Swans reaching tomorrow’s Grand Final, but their defence has been immense.
The minor premiers have conceded a league-best average of 9.6 goals this season. Grundy has led the way, regularly taking the opposition’s most potent forward.
“The pressure up the ground from our forwards has a massive influence on how we go, so you can’t just put it down to the back six,” Grundy said. “It’s the midfield, forwards and defenders all working together.
“We’ve been good this year but we’ve got to come ready to go this weekend. The Western Bulldogs have got a variety of different avenues to goal and the way they use the ball is pretty hard to stop.”
The speed and precision with which the Bulldogs are capable of moving the ball has gotten the better of many sides this year. The Bulldogs lack a behemoth key forward in the mould of Taylor Walker or Tom Hawkins, who the Swans kept quiet in recent knockout final wins over Adelaide and Geelong.
But their forward line is nonetheless potent and there will be plenty of threats that Grundy, Dane Rampe, Nick Smith and their cohort will have to manage at the MCG.
“We haven’t come up against (a forward line like the Bulldogs’) in the last couple of weeks. They’re all so dangerous, whether it’s Jake Stringer, Tory Dickson or anyone else,” Rampe said. “They’ve also got a lot of mids that come forward, Marcus Bontempelli can play as a tall.
“Their versatility is key to their game and you never feel safe against them in the defensive 50m, just because they’re constantly flicking it around.”
Stringer failed to fire in the Bulldogs’ epic preliminary final but Rampe, who has spent time on the star forward in the past, knows he boasts all the skills to be a matchwinner tomorrow.