After an extended pre-season, Sydney coach John Longmire has confirmed Kurt Tippett will make his much-hyped return to AFL football this week. The 202cm power forward has been pushed straight into the Swans side after Shane Mumford’s facial injury ruled him out of the clash.
Alipate Carlile is likely to head to Tippett at the opening bounce, with Tom Jonas putting his hand up to have a crack as well after his outstanding run of form. Importantly, Port’s defenders have been able to restrict the dangerous forward in the past with Tippett only managing multiple goals against the Power in two of the eight Showdowns he played as a Crow.
2. Sydney’s streak
The Swans have had the upper hand over Port in recent years, winning the last eight regular season encounters between the two clubs. The reigning premiers are strong favourites to extend their streak but the Power will be looking to carry on their form from a dominant win against GWS and claim their first win against Sydney since 2006.
Port will be able to draw extra motivation from their last encounter with the Swans in which they ran out five goal victors in the NAB Cup earlier this year at AAMI Stadium.
3. The midfield battle
Despite all the talk about Sydney’s forward line this week, the game will be won and lost in the midfield. The Power’s young midfield will have their work cut out for them trying to contain the AFL’s number one ranked clearance side, especially with the absence of clearance king Travis Boak. Dan Hannebery, Kieran Jack and Josh Kennedy are all in career best form and the Power have struggled with clearances all year, ranked a lowly 13th in the league.
Ken Hinkley’s men have been working hard at training to improve in this area, with the Power smashing GWS last week before easing off in the last quarter.
4. Earning respect
A week after brushing aside the pre-game hype and dominating GWS, the Power is out to regain some respect by performing strongly against Sydney this week. With the toughest part of their schedule upon them, Port will be looking to prove that they are no longer easy beats by taking it to some of the best team in the competition over the next month.
