With the first game of the season just over 10 weeks away, the Swans are already reaching deep into their player pool to field a competitive forward line come Round 1. Lance Franklin and Dan Menzel have been ruled out of the JLT series, and are now in doubt for the opening game of the season against the Western Bulldogs. The four-time Coleman medalist underwent ... Continue Reading »
The dawn of a new Football season rapidly approaches, with a smattering of Swans taking part in the AFL's pre-season warm-up competition, the AFLX. Given a new format for the year, harking back to primary school when captains selected their team, Lance Franklin was tapped on the shoulder as one of the first captains. A season-long battle with injury, followed by post-season injuries put an ... Continue Reading »
Fit again former Swan Dan Hannebery, enjoying an injury-free pre-season for the first time in years, has suffered another injury scare. Plagued by injuries since the 2016 Grand Final, the All Australian battled through through on-going groin and calf issues in his final seasons with the Swans, before suffering another set back at training on Friday. Early reports by Channel 7's Tom Browne suggested the ... Continue Reading »
This is the second article in a series of five where our columnists will be reviewing season 2018, beginning with the 2017 post-season through to the conclusion of the 2018 finals. Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 After handing the West Coast Eagles their only two losses of the season to Round 13, narrowly losing to North Melbourne and Adelaide at home, and beating perennial ... Continue Reading »
This is the second article in a series of five where our columnists will be reviewing season 2018, beginning with the 2017 post-season through to the conclusion of the 2018 finals. Part 1 - Part 2 Despite the core of the elite midfield group still battling on-going injury issues, the outlook at the start of the season was positive. A deep finals run was the ... Continue Reading »
The Sydney Swans have today announced their acquisition of former Geelong Cats forward Dan Menzel on a 1-year contract. Taken by Geelong in the 2009 AFL Draft with pick 17, the forward played 73 games, kicking 100 goals for the Cats before being delisted after the 2018 AFL Finals. The 27-year-old was a rising star of the game in 2011, winning a nomination for the ... Continue Reading »
With the second of the three delisted free agent windows soon drawing to a close, news of former Cat Daniel Menzel's extraordinary round trip from America to Sydney to complete a medical with the Swans was met with delight. But as the time passes and the impending end of the window closing, fans are beginning to ask themselves, now what. He's not the first delisted ... Continue Reading »
This is the first article in a series of five where our columnists will be reviewing season 2018, beginning with the 2017 post-season through to the conclusion of the 2018 finals. Part 1 - Part 2 After the dramatic highs of 2016 and the extreme lows of 2017, the Swans faithful were hopeful that an even-year season would once again produce the goods, as it ... Continue Reading »
Injured Swan Kurt Tippett is set to remain with the Swans in 2019, despite retiring from football in January this year from injuries sustained through 2017. Citing doubts over his body's ability to recover and return to the rigours and demands of AFL football, the 178-game veteran shockingly announced his immediate retirement after undergoing an ankle reconstruction after the end of the 2017 season. While ... Continue Reading »
For the first time in a very long time, the AFL’s Delisted Free Agency period is shaping to be as exciting as the trade period itself. After a stunning final day of trading, with players and picks changing hands several times over, clubs have been forced to be ruthless with their squad as they manage bloated salary caps and position themselves for a shot ... Continue Reading »
Not that long ago, I compared the Sydney Swans to Arsenal under Arsene Wenger. While I was derided by some on social media, the similarities are far too numerous to ignore. Despite both teams wearing red and white as their primary colours, both relied on an abundance of gifted youth, trading away players either side of their prime, and going on long winning streaks before ... Continue Reading »
It was a week of excitement and expectation, some dreams fulfilled while others were left empty and hollow, looking ahead to the draft windows wondering what was next. That’s the AFL Trade Period and the Swans were the shakers and bakers, major role players. At least that’s how the majority of reporters phrased it leading into the trade period. There was an overwhelming ... Continue Reading »
With bated breath, many of us wondered if the Swans would wade into the final-day trading war that was erupting across the nation. Every state had a team that went full-tilt, with Fremantle the clear winners on a final day of trading that few anticipated. Long anticipated trades threatened to boil over into 2019 while Tim Kelly’s goal of returning to Perth was put ... Continue Reading »
As one of many thousands of Swans fans that rose this glorious, beautiful morning to hear the tragic news of our dear Dan Hannebery, glee and delight soon hid from raging, thunderous anger. Immediate thoughts of "how could they", "what the hell are they doing" swirled through my head, accusations of vehement obscenities levelled against those in control, repugnant unclean thoughts and future heads on ... Continue Reading »
The Sydney Swans have completed their fourth trade of the 2018 AFL Trade period, agreeing to terms with St Kilda that will see midfielder Dan Hannebery return to Melbourne. As part of the trade, Sydney will receive pick 39 in this years’ draft, and St Kilda’s 2019 second-round pick, in exchange for Sydney’s pick 28 in this years’ draft and Hannebery. Hannebery, a ... Continue Reading »
