WHERE AND WHEN: ANZ Stadium, Saturday June 25, 7.10pm
HEAD TO HEAD: Sydney Swans 79 wins, Collingwood 136 wins, Draws 1
LAST TIME: Collingwood 13.18 (96) d 10.11 (71), round 13, 2010 at ANZ Stadium
TV, RADIO AND BETTING: Click here for broadcast guide and odds
A full replay will be available on afl.com.au 12 hours after the completion of the match
FORM: Sydney Swans: LWWWL Collingwood: WWWWB
SUMMARY
The Swans hit their first roadblock in a month on Sunday when they were easily beaten by the third-placed Carlton, which was hell bent on solidifying its spot in the top four. It was their first loss since their round nine defeat by Hawthorn with wins over North Melbourne, the Brisbane Lions and Richmond coming in the three weeks afterwards.
Sunday's loss at Etihad Stadium came after the Swans kicked the three opening goals of the game but were then left stunned as the Blues piled on 14 of the next 15. After trailing by 58 points at the final change, the Swans were able to fight back slightly in the final stanza to eventually go down by 34 points, with Jesse Smith and Josh Kennedy among their best players.
The Pies had their second bye on the weekend and took the opportunity to send four players - Darren Jolly, Dane Swan, Brent Macaffer and Nathan Brown - overseas across the break to get in some training at altitude, which ended in tears for the latter after he slipped on the final day and cracked his kneecap in half. They'll get back possibly three of them this week and Dale Thomas from suspension.
They will embark on their first of four interstate trips for the season this week but it's to a venue - and to face an opponent - that doesn't traditionally evoke a lot of fear in them. Collingwood has beaten the Swans in the last nine clashes between the sides, and hasn't lost at ANZ Stadium since round 13, 2005 - one of just two defeats at the Sydney ground in eight starts.
QUESTION MARKS
Carlton big man Matthew Kreuzer was the dominant big man in Sunday's game and was the leading ball-winner at halftime only to finish with 24 touches, seven tackles and two goals. With Shane Mumford out suspended, the Swans must again turn to the Mark Seaby-Lewis Roberts-Thomson combination. Will it stand up to Jolly, in what will likely be his first game since Anzac Day?
On the topic of big men, what do the Magpies do with Jolly and Cameron Wood? Wood has stood up well in Jolly's absence and hasn't really done anything to warrant being dropped but the former Swan is the No.1 big man. Is there room for two?
The Magpies were stunned after their round seven bye and started slowly against Geelong, only to lose by three points. Will they be better prepared this time around, and how will Jolly, Swan and possibly Macaffer fare after their mid-season altitude training trip to the US?
PREDICTION
Collingwood by 17 points.
TOYOTA AFL DREAM TEAM WATCH
At $341,300, Adam Goodes remains good value. The dual Brownlow medallist fell another $5000 on the weekend despite scoring 91 points, but you might want to hold your fire on him for another week as two out of three of his last three games against Collingwood have been quiet and he may drop again.
Double premiership ruckman Jolly has played just four games this year and his form before he conceded to his knee injury was patchy, meaning he's dropped to $300,500. He was convincing on Tuesday when asked about his fitness and the state of his knee, and could be a good consideration.
Follow the game live in the AFL Match Centre on afl.com.au and join the conversation on Twitter using #aflswanspies.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
