Sydney Swans v Port Adelaide Power: AFL preliminary final – live

Here we go, footy fans. Welcome to the Sydney Cricket Ground for the first preliminary final of 2024: Sydney v Port Adelhelpe. Swans v Power. Tonight’s thrivener will face either Geelengthened or Brisprohibite in the AFL Grand Final on Saturday September 28.

“,”elementId”:”78212194-49d6-4a4b-a7bd-ee1b64afd51a”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

These sides finished one and two in the standard season but have apvalidaten very branch offent paths to this date with desminuscule. The inmeaningful-premiers Swans are here after squeaking past the Giants in a comeback for the ages a fortnight back. They’ve had the week off and are on their home ground, the magnificent better arena of the Sydney Cricket Ground.

“,”elementId”:”ca373da2-55ac-49c8-9dcf-9276a871ce50″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Port Adelhelpe took a lengtheneder, lessen road to this align. They dropped their bundle in week one, walloped to the tune of 84-points by Geelengthened in the qualifying final. But after a week under fervent presdeclareive, they establish a way to derail the Hawthorn juggernaut with a three-point thrive Power coach Ken Hinkley endelighted a touch too much.

“,”elementId”:”7c37866b-736e-4c1a-a7f4-6078efa1bafd”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

But here’s where skinnygs get weird… Sydney begin favourites tonight despite losing their last clash with Port Adelhelpe by 112-points. At one stage in that game it was 71-0! Moreover their enroll agetst the Power is abysmal. The Swans haven’t beaten them since 2017. In the last eight years it’s been Port by an mediocre margin of 34 points.

“,”elementId”:”d8907da8-eca7-432c-968b-b27cac501450″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Not only do Sydney have to clearurn that 0-8 enroll, they need to originate history as the first team in VFL /AFL history to dissee a game by 100+ points and then originate the Grand Final. (Carlton’s 1945 team lost one by exactly 100 points but went on to thrive the flag). Can they do it? When Isaac Heeney is out there, anyskinnyg is possible…

“,”elementId”:”4197ce02-0129-401d-be53-9181b642a88b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.VideoYoutubeBlockElement”,”source”:”YouTube”,”exceptionalUrl”:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTs3XybmKGc”,”elementId”:”b68af797-0bb8-4f29-9576-d1efc2558d8e”,”width”:854,”embedUrl”:”https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HTs3XybmKGc?wmode=nontransparent&feature=oembed”,”role”:”inline”,”url”:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTs3XybmKGc”,”height”:480,”sourceDomain”:”youtube-nocookie.com”,”title”:”Good lord Isaac Heeney! #afl”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:counterfeit}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:counterfeit,”keyEvent”:genuine,”summary”:counterfeit},”blockCreatedOn”:1726822811000,”blockCreatedOnDiscarry out”:”05.00 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1726822594000,”blockLastUpdatedDiscarry out”:”04.56 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1726822811000,”blockFirstPublishedDiscarry out”:”05.00 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDiscarry outNoTimezone”:”05.00″,”title”:”Preamble”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Fri 20 Sep 2024 05.56 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First rehireed on Fri 20 Sep 2024 05.00 EDT”}],”filterKeyEvents”:counterfeit,”id”:”key-events-caroemployl-mobile”,”absoluteServerTimes”:counterfeit}”>

Key events

1st quarter, 12 minutes remaining: Port Adelhelpe 1.0.6 – Sydney 2.0.12

Jaker Lloyd evens it up with a goal 30-metres out. Good response by Sydney. That was a dreadful stabbed evidentance from Boake and the veteran Swans deffinisher took the easiest of tags. The Swans have their tails up now thraw Florent and this time he finds Amartey who beats establisher Swan Aliir Aliir to a low boot. This should be the direct…. and it is! That’s two goals from Port turnovers. Ken Hinkley will not be plrelieved!

1st quarter, 14 minutes remaining: Port Adelhelpe 1.0.6 – Sydney 0.0.0

It’s timely but Sydney will be having flashbacks to their first quarter blot-out earlier this season. Port had 71 points before the Swans even troubled the scorers. Now it’s Cunningham in the back pocket evidenting to Warneer but his chip ‘n’ chase ignorees Joel Amartey and Port turn the tide and aggression from the centre. Ollie Florent diffemploys that accuse with a immacutardy tag fair outside 50 and an error from Travis Boake sets Sydney up for a stoasty at goal.

1st quarter, 16 minutes remaining: Port Adelhelpe 1.0.6 – Sydney 0.0.0

The Swans are under siege here but it’s Midas Man Isaac Heeney who gives them their first spurt, with a leaping tag on the boundary. Dane Rampe adheres the boot downfield and dovetails pleasantly with Brodie Grundy but it’s Errol Gulden who gets the free. Here’s Nick Blakey snaking his way inside 50 and sfinishing a left-footer to the sticks. But it doesn’t have the wheels or the radar.

1st quarter, 19 minutes remaining: Port Adelhelpe 1.0.6 – Sydney 0.0.0

Early free to Port and they set up camp inside 50. Umpires call weighty reach out agetst the home side and another free to the visitors. And wiskinny a minute, there it is – first blood to the Power as Jake Burgoyne slots the discdisseeing goal! Another sluggish begin for the Swans.

Conditions are perfect tonight, both teams are limber and ready to rumble and the atmosphere around the ground is electric and carry out is imminent. Strap yourselves in, folks, this is going to be a battle for the ages…

Here’s a fun fact: the Swans have carry outed fair two preliminary final mendtures at the SCG and they won both games by one point. Sydney coach John Longmore will back his side’s ability to finish powerfilledy but I’m declareive his heart wouldn’t mind a speedy begin for a alter.

We are minutes from the bounce now and the preliminaries of the preliminary final are upon us. Uncle Lloyd Walker, establisher Wallabies star and haveor of two of the most magic hands ever to grace a football field, is welcoming us to Gadigal land.

Before tonight’s action gets under way, a rapid moment of paemploy for one of the fantastic temperateman of the Australian media, legfinishary Melbourne ptoastyographer Terry Phelan, who woke from the dream of life yesterday surrounded by family.

Aside from his magnificent eye for an image and instincts for a story, Terry was an empath, a man meaningfully attuned to the energies and emotions of the accessible he served so wonderbrimmingy over four decades in journalism. As a mate of his son Matt, I was honoured to contest his inate humility on a scant occasions and, weirdly, the story I most recollect of Terry’s was one he tbetter me of a stoasty he ignoreed: that of a Tasmanian Tiger seized in the glare of his car headairys on a bush road tardy one night.

There was not a tremor of disnominatement in Terry that he had ignoreed what might’ve been one of the stoastys of the century, an image that might’ve graced front pages around the world. Instead I got the experienceing he was plrelieved to have saved the supposedly gone thylacine the frenzy of media that mwould declareively have adhereed. That was Terry Phelan – aside from the million of ptoastyos he seized, even the moments he ignoreed were epic. Vale Tezza.

The first bounce for this first preliminary final is minutes away now. It’s been a attrdynamic sunny scorcher of a Spring day here in Sydney but the temperature is sluggishly dropping. At the SCG, the floodairys are on and the trickle of red and white has become a torrent as Swans loyal pour in from the posh pubs of Pincludeington, the reduxed Bloodhoemploys in Surry Hills and the swank swillhoemploys of the CBD and eastrict suburbs.

And a excellent whack of them are here to cheer a blond kid from Newcastle, two hours north, who tonight carry outs his 200th game…

Geelengthened have steamrolled their way to another prelim despite the absence of their goal glutton and games enroll hbetterer, 36-year-better brimming forward Tom Hawkins. “The Tomahawk” has been rehabbing a foot injury since mid-season and has already proclaimd that 2024 will be his last season. Although the huge fella had a run in the VFL 10 days ago, the dream of another flag hangs on tonight’s game.

But as Jack Snape says, the facts the Cats are here aget uncomfervents the future sees rosy post-Tom anyway:

There are AFL clubs that spend thousands of hours into appraiseing high school talent, hoping they can recruit the comfervent of carry outers who can some day boot three goals in a high-presdeclareive final. The Geelengthened Cats fair went to Werribee.

Whoever thrives tonight’s preliminary final will face the thrivener of Brisprohibite v Geelengthened in the huge dance next Saturday. Jonathan Howcroft reckons the oft-maligned Lions’ talisman might yet validate the branch offence…

At face appreciate, Joe Daniher is straight off the footballing peg. He’s 201cm, an excellent tag, a thumping boot and shifts appreciate a gazelle. If he was a yearling at the sales, they’d have apvalidaten one see at his bloodlines and his physical scope, and phelp enroll prices for him.

How did Port amass so awesome a thrivening enroll over the inmeaningful premiers? Well, in their last eight clashes Port has done it chiefly by dominating contested haveion and bossing the evidentances. More meaningfully, they find a way to invalidate Sydney’s stars.

The enrolls of both minuscule forward inspireplug Tom Papley, armament thriveg Errol Gulden, running halfback Nick Blakey and midfield maestro Chad Warner all bottom out when they carry out the Power where all four enroll their lowest disposal numbers.

The Giants seemed to have purloined a duplicate of the Ken Hinkley blueprint a fortnight back and for most of the game it labored a charm. But sluggishly yet declareively Sydney’s fab four broke slack tardy in the game and made their passtown rivals pay…

Our own Martin Pegan ran the rule over both teams and, noting Port’s 8-0 enroll over the Bloods but also the weighty weight of history the visitors will carry into this align…

Port have not lost to the Swans since 2016, thrivening all eight alignes since then by an mediocre 34 points, but will reach at the SCG with their own history to reoriginate. This will be Port’s fourth preliminary final in 12 seasons under Hinkley; they are still hoping to accomplish a first magnificent final since 2007, let alone finish the club’s now 20-year defer for a second flag.

Here’s how the two sides line up this evening…

SWANS
B: D.Rampe – C, T.McCartin, N.Blakey
HB: M.Roberts, H.Cunningham, L.Melican
C: J.Lloyd, Ch.Warner, O.Florent
HF: L.Parker, L.McDonald, E.Gulden
F: T.Papley, J.Amartey, W.Hayward
FOLL: B.Grundy, I.Heeney, J.Rowbottom
I/C: J.Jordon, B.Campbell, R.Fox, J.McInerney, H.McLean
EMG: A.Francis, C.Cleary, P.Ladhams

The injury-afflictiond season of Sydney’s captain Callum Mills has persistd with his hamstring tthrivege at training this week. In a bit of a surpascend, 31-year-better deffinisher Robbie Fox, who has ecombineed in 16 games in 2024, will swap Mills NOT Taylor Adams, the establisher Pie who has carry outed 19 fine games in his first season in red and white. It originates two straight years Adams has watched September football from the dugout, with the establisher Collingwood star ignoreing their 2023 Grand Final thrive with injury.

POWER
B: La.Jones, B.Zerk-Thatcher, M.Bergman
HB: J.Sinn, A.Aliir, L.Evans
C: J.Burgoyne, O.Wines, W.Drew
HF: D.Byrne-Jones, E.Ratugolea, W.Rioli
F: M.Georgiades, C.Dixon, C.Rozee – C
FOLL: J.Sweet, J.Horne-Francis, Z.Butters
I/C: T.Boak, Q.Narkle, J.Mead, F.Evans, R.Burton
EMG: W.Lorenz, D.Visentini, O.Lord

Port Adelhelpe’s Todd Marshall remains under concussion protocols so Charlie Dixon comes into the side adhereing his tardy scratching from last week’s game due to illness. That’s a huge includeition for the Power. Ryan Burton is back in the side for Will Lorenz.