Dane Rampe has hailed Sydney’s remarkable on-field continuity as one of the pillars of their late-season AFL surge, as the Swans confirmed they’ll head into Saturday’s preliminary final against Collingwood with an unchanged line-up.
It is the fourth match in a row where the Swans will field the same 22 players, with their blessed run with injury at the right stage of the year adding to the sense of destiny building around John Longmire’s side.
Don Pyke and John Longmire have every reason to smile given the Swans’ blessed run with injury.Credit:Getty
They are riding an eight-game winning streak, stretching back to their big win over the Western Bulldogs at the SCG in round 17, two months ago. During that time, Longmire has made just two unforced changes, bringing in tall forward Joel Amartey at the expense of Logan McDonald for that Bulldogs clash, before swapping that same pair four weeks later against North Melbourne.
The pre-finals bye saved Longmire from having to find a replacement for Tom Papley following his concussion against St Kilda in the last round of the home-and-away season – but otherwise, the Swans have been in tip-top shape, enabling their players to bed in combinations and reinforce the understanding of tactical plans.
“It’s probably not something we’ve been used to over the last couple of years. There were a few years there where we went through a pretty lean run, in terms of getting some important players out in the park,” co-captain Rampe said.
“But our injury management team and our fitness staff have been unbelievable for the last couple of years since they’ve come on and put us in a position to challenge.
Dane Rampe can feel the benefits from Sydney’s settled selection situation.Credit:Getty
“Going into games towards the back end of the season, particularly in big finals, as an unchanged line-up is crucial – not only for the confidence of the group but just the cohesion as well.
“I think we can see the results of that, of working together. We seem to be playing as one, and continuing to build that belief and unity.”
The sole injury concern – that the public knows about, at least – which Longmire has had to grapple with over the past fortnight was that of Ollie Florent, who sprained his foot late in their qualifying final win over Melbourne but has since made a full recovery.
Some believe that since the introduction of the pre-finals bye, there is a downside to finishing in the top four and winning in the first week of the finals because it means that teams like the Swans have played just once in three weeks. Since it was introduced in 2016, only one time have the two teams that won their qualifying finals also won in the prelims.
A well-rested Rampe sees things differently.
“We’ve played plenty of footy this year, mate,” he told reporters on Thursday before Sydney trained at the SCG. “We earned that week off and had a chance to freshen up, and had a pretty solid session on Saturday. We’re ready to go.”
Another reason the Swans will go in confident is that they have already done the business against Collingwood at the SCG. That was just four weeks ago, in a high-pressure match played with finals-like intensity.
“We’ve shown that we can match it against the best, and Collingwood are right up there with the best this year,” Rampe said.
“Not going to lie, it is in the back of your mind. But at the same time, Collingwood have changed. They’ve got [Jordan] de Goey back in, who’s an important player for them.
“Just because we beat them last time, doesn’t give us the right to rock up here and think it’s going to happen again. We’re going to have to make the decision to come here and compete on Saturday afternoon.”
Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
