Hawthorn’s Blake Hardwick (left) and Tom Papley battle for the ball in Round 7 last season at the MCG. Photo: AFL MEDIA
SYDNEY v HAWTHORN (SCG, Friday 7:40pm)
A ball hasn’t even been kicked in anger yet and season 2025 is already full of drama and chaos.
This match wasn’t supposed to be the season opener, but that title was thrust upon it thanks to Cyclone Alfred looming off the coast of south-east Queensland.
As a result, the original first-up clash between Brisbane and Geelong at the Gabba was postponed from Thursday night to Round 3, while Saturday’s scheduled match between the Suns and Bombers on the Gold Coast was also pushed back all the way to Round 24.
So instead of featuring four matches, the AFL’s latest brainchild Opening Round has been cut in half to just two in only its second year. A rather bumpy start to its life, to say the least.
And while the dearth of footy in the first weekend has probably sucked the wind out of the start of the season to a degree, the two matches on offer promise to be top quality and are certainly capable of making up for the massive speed bump that the AFL has encountered.
It all kicks off on Friday night as last year’s grand finalist Sydney takes on not only the surprise packet of 2024, but also the most exciting team to watch from last season in Hawthorn.
Both sides enter the new campaign seething over the manner in which their respective seasons ended last year.
The Swans suffered yet another humiliation on grand final day (their fourth in a row in a decade), this time at the hands of Brisbane, while the Hawks’ fairytale ride came to a bitter end at Adelaide Oval in an epic three-point loss to the Power in a spiteful semi-final.
Sydney and Hawthorn both have big points to prove this season, which makes this encounter such a highly-anticipated event.
The Swans will be hearing a new voice in the coaches’ box with Dean Cox taking over the reins from John Longmire who led the club to one premiership from five grand finals in 14 years.
Sydny duo Tom Papley (ankle) and Brodie Grundy (knee) have both been passed fit at this stage to line up, but the hosts head into the match without key players Errol Gulden (ankle), Callum Mills (foot), Logan McDonald (ankle), Harry Cunningham (foot) and Robbie Fox (calf).
Meanwhile, the Hawks are close to full strength with only key forwards Mitch Lewis (knee) and Calsher Dear (back) unavailable as well as the dashing Changkuoth Jiath (hip).
The Swans will unveil a pair of fresh faces in former St Kilda defender Ben Paton and debutant Tom Hanily, while boom defensive recruits Tom Barrass and Josh Battle will don the brown and gold for the first time.
Sydney has the wood over Hawthorn, winning five of their last six meetings by an average of 45 points, but Sam Mitchell’s men look like a more settled line-up this time around and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them carry over their scintillating form from last season by toppling the Swans with an early statement win.
Mitchell mentioned on more than one occasion last year that he would have liked the chance to play the Swans a second time, considering they pummelled the Hawks by 13 goals in their solitary meeting in Round 7.
As it turns out, that match quite literally preceded Hawthorn’s stunning run of form which saw them win 14 of their next 17 games. One could even say that the Swans kickstarted the Hawks’ incredible form turnaround.
After waiting 10 months to get another shot at the Swans, Mitchell and his Hawks finally get their chance, and they’ll be hellbent on not wasting it.
RONNY’S TIP: Hawthorn by 11 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 16 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Hawthorn by 15 points.
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GWS v COLLINGWOOD (Giants Stadium, Sunday 3:20pm)
Speaking of teams who would have been doing it tough over the summer, Greater Western Sydney certainly fits that description.
Besides their crosstown rival Sydney, the Giants suffered the most gutwrenching finish to 2024, giving up 28-point and 44-point leads against the Swans and Lions respectively to crash out of the finals series in straight sets. It doesn’t get much more demoralising than that.
GWS looks like it will be there when the whips are cracking again this year, but more immediately, its forward line is already in crisis mode with key pillars Jesse Hogan (thumb), Jake Stringer (hamstring) and Jake Riccardi (suspension) all unavailable, while midfield superstar Tom Green remains on the sidelines with a calf injury.
Those absentees open up a decent opportunity for the Magpies, who are looking to rebound hard this year after failing to make the finals last season, just 12 months after winning the premiership.
By the time July rolls around, Collingwood will have 12 players on its list aged 30 or over, so it has certainly gone all in this season in order to clinch another flag.
The centrepiece of the Magpies’ recent recruiting spree, Dan Houston (suspension), won’t be available to face the Giants, and neither will Jordan De Goey (knee), Tom Mitchell (foot) or Mason Cox (finger), but with new signings Tim Membrey and Harry Perryman in the line-up, there’s a freshness about the Magpies that is hard to deny.
Conversely, the Giants have named a trio of untried players in their extended squad in Cody Angove, James Leake and Ollie Hannaford who are all in line for their AFL debuts.
As with every match, it all starts in the midfield, and seeing these two on-ball brigades going head-to-head will be a sight to behold.
The Giants’ engine room boasts the likes of Josh Kelly, Callan Ward, Stephen Coniglio and Finn Callaghan, while Toby Greene and Toby Bedford are also capable of having stints through that part of the ground.
Meanwhile, Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos spearheads a midfield contingent that features players such as Scott Pendlebury, Josh Daicos, Jack Crisp, Steele Sidebottom, Perryman and Patrick Lipinski.
But even if GWS assumes the upper hand in that battle, it is very much light on in attack, and it is going to have its work cut out navigating a Collingwood defence which contains Darcy Moore, Jeremy Howe, Brayden Maynard and Isaac Quaynor.
The Giants’ seeming lack of scoring power looks as though it will come back to bite them in the wash-up.
Collingwood has won three of its last four matches against GWS, and will be out to reverse last year’s Opening Round result which saw the Giants comfortably beat the Pies by 32 points.
RONNY’S TIP: Collingwood by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: GWS by 10 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Collingwood by 17 points.
*all times are local