Hard road for Swan’s AFL debut

BEN Ronke has earned his AFL debut for the Sydney Swans the hard way.

The rookie-listed small forward broke his ribs in a practice match and then broke them again on his return, forcing him to miss the first half of 2017 with the reserves.

But the Calder Cannon recruit, selected by the Swans in the 2017 rookie draft with pick 17, said being forced to deal with adversity early on was a blessing in disguise.

“In the long run it’s helped me,” Ronke said. “When you get to the club, you want to earn your teammates respect.

“I tried to do that by working hard in rehab. Having a speed bump early makes you appreciate when you do get an opportunity.”

After his setback Ronke quickly impressed in the Swans’ NEAFL side, his tackling inside 50 complementing his 14 goals in 12 games.

The Swans are hoping Ronke will provide a key part of the injury-hit Swans’ game plan to extend their winning streak at Geelong to three.

“I base my game around physical pressure, energy and aggression in the forward half,” Ronke said.

“Having speed in the front half will work if we can get it to ground and make it a scrap. We need to keep a high-intensity pressure game up and that plays to our strengths.”

Ronke, Dan Robinson (six games) and Robbie Fox (five) have been given the task of replacing injured stars Lance Franklin, Dan Hannebery and Dean Towers in the Swans’ line-up. The freshfaced trio have 21 games and six goals between them; the men they replace have kicked 1002 goals in 527 games.