(From left): James Jordon, James Rowbottom and Joel Amartey are all playing key roles in Swans’ superb season.
One of the fruits of long-term equalisation, borne out over the last half-a-decade, seems to be that three superstars and a good game plan can get you most of the way to a flag. It’s equally true that premiership sides are routinely made up of players enjoying career best seasons.
Sydney, clear frontrunners for the 2024 premiership, clearly has the former. The Swans’ midfield troika of Errol Gulden, Isaac Heeney, and Chad Warner should waltz into the All-Australian team, and their ruck, Brodie Grundy, is behind only Max Gawn for that position.
But the Swans’ elevation this season is not merely due to their top end, as formidable as they’ve been. A plethora of players, some new but many not, are firing to new levels all while keeping the cogs turning with minimum fuss.
Hard-nosed midfielder James Rowbottom clearly headlines this list. Having shaken the underrated tag over the past two months, Rowbottom is continuing in the great tradition of Michael Braun, Luke Power, and James Kelly – a rung down in a colossal midfield when it comes it pizzazz and plaudits, but lauded within, and widely celebrated in due course.
Prior to the bye, Sydney was a bottom four side in centre clearance and contested possession. Since returning, the Swans have demolished all three opponents in those categories.
Rowbottom has been the man who’s led this charge, winning 19 centre bounce clearances across the three games (for context, season leaders in that area, Nick Daicos and Marcus Bontempelli, average a tick over three per game), along with a ridiculous 48 contested possessions.
There was one area of weakness in the Swans’ armour in the first half of the season, and Rowbottom has single-handedly addressed it in a matter of weeks. He’s going as well as anyone in terms of what he brings to the team.
The Swans’ forward line was perhaps cause for scepticism heading into the season, but they’ve proven more than effective as a rag-tag bunch.
Joel Amartey’s Coleman Medal standing is heavily inflated by his recent bag of nine, but he’s also hit the scoreboard in every game bar Opening Round (subbed off after a half) and Round 15 (kicking back after his haul the week before).
There is a long list of players capable of significant scoreboard impact on any given day. Along with Amartey, Tom Papley, Isaac Heeney, Logan McDonald and Will Hayward have all proven that a five-goal haul is within their repertoire. Chad Warner has kicked 24 already this year, and Hayden McLean very capably fills the need for a back-up ruck who’s also good for a goal per game.
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This kind of forward depth stacks up well against Sydney’s most obvious contender in Carlton, which outside of Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay, doesn’t have another forward who’s ever kicked five. In fact, only Jack Martin has booted four on multiple occasions, with Zac Wililams and Patrick Cripps achieving the feat once each.
Clearly, the attacking set-up differs at each club, and Carlton’s front half is hardly a concern. But it does illustrate just how dangerous the Swans’ depth has become, with a swathe of players able to get off the leash at any time.
Another piece of the forward puzzle who doesn’t make the four-or-more list is Sam Wicks. Wicks made headlines for the wrong reasons earlier this season, but since round eight he has entrenched himself in the side despite minimal scoreboard impact.
In the same period that Rowbottom has turned Sydney’s centre square fortunes around, Wicks has addressed the post-clearance contest issues that the Swans faced in the early stages of the year. His ability to win the ball between half forward and the middle is crucial to Sydney’s pressure game, and while his spot looks vulnerable with what the Swans have to return, he will be hard to omit.
Their other half forward, James Jordon, arrived in search of more midfield opportunity. While he hasn’t necessarily found that, he’s made himself indispensable by becoming one of the most effective run-with players in the league.
In a modern approach to the role, Jordon has turned his attention not to on-ballers, but to playmaking half-backs like Tom Stewart and Lachie Whitfield. He isn’t producing career-high numbers, but few would dispute that he’s having a career-best year.
A lift in performance from those who’ve been around for a few campaigns is also vital to a premiership push. Justin McInerney and Ollie Florent, who are producing career-best numbers in key categories like disposals, rebounds, and score involvements, have never been quite this good.
Down back, Tom McCartin, Dane Rampe, Nick Blakey and Lewis Melican form the no frills (some frills when it comes to Blakey) defensive backbone that has seen Sydney concede only 75 points per game on average across the year. Of those, veteran Rampe is the only one not having a season at least equal to his very best.
If Sydney wins the flag this year, it may well be due to an all-time display from its barnstorming midfield. But whether through confidence, game style, or a wink from the universe, the rest of the Swans’ squad are also hitting their straps at the right time, and are just as likely to be the difference.
This article first appeared at ESPN.
