HEAD TO HEAD: Carlton 126 wins, Sydney Swans 84 wins, Draws 6
LAST TIME: Carlton 12.15 (87) d Sydney Swans 10.11 (71), round six, 2011 at the SCG
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A full replay will be available on afl.com.au 12 hours after the completion of the match.
FORM: Carlton: WLWWW Sydney Swans: WLWWW
SUMMARY
There hasn't been much wrong with the Blues' last three weeks with wins over Melbourne (47 points), Port Adelaide (62) and on Sunday, the Brisbane Lions (61), taking them to third on the ladder. The Blues turn for home this week as the mid-point of the season passes with just losses to Geelong and Collingwood - the two ladder leaders - and a round four draw with Essendon blighting their record.
The Blues were buoyed on the weekend by the successful return of Matthew Kreuzer, who came in for his first senior game since he sustained a serious knee injury in round 13 last year. They also continued to benefit from the contribution of Andrew Walker, who was their most impressive attacking player with five goals on the back of the six he booted against the Power, and they should get back Jarrad Waite this week to further boost their attacking stocks.
With such easy wins against struggling sides, the Blues could have easily entered Sunday's game against the Lions and simply gone through the motions. But they maintained their focus and even upped their aggression, which was reflected in their tackle count that was up from 49 against the Power to 77.
The Swans have also been enjoying a rich vein of form with five wins from their past six games. After two consecutive defeats ending in round six, the Swans fell to ninth on the ladder but are now knocking on the door of the top four with Hawthorn just half a game in front.
Under John Longmire this year, the Swans have been serial escape artists. Five of their seven wins have been by margins under 13 points, with Sunday's 10-point triumph over Richmond coming in soggy conditions and after the Tigers led by a point early in the final term.
Longmire said afterwards he was pleased with where they were placed at the mid-season mark. With Kieren Jack back from injury and Shane Mumford to return this week, all the pieces are coming together after early concerns with the retirement of Craig Bolton in March and long-term hiatus of Daniel Bradshaw.
QUESTION MARKS
Will Michael Jamison play after being subbed out against the Lions on Sunday with an ankle injury? And how important will his presence be if proven fit given the recent emergence of Sam Reid and gelling of the rest of the attack?
The second game back is considered harder than the first and all eyes will be on Kreuzer to see how he handles the occasion, while Mumford is rated likely to return from a knee injury for his first game in a month. The big Swan's potential return will see the coaches bunker down for a tough selection committee this week where they debate the worth of keeping Mark Seaby and playing two rucks or continuing with Lewis Roberts-Thomson's new hybrid role and dropping the former Eagle to the reserves.
The Swans' recent form over the Blues is convincing with 14 out of their last 16 head-to-heads going the way of the red and white, while this match will be viewed by both sides as a chance to strengthen top four credentials. Can the Swans make a statement a week after the fourth-placed Hawthorn's own aspirations took another serious hit with Jarryd Roughead's season-ending Achilles injury?
PREDICTION
Carlton by 11 points.
TOYOTA AFL DREAM TEAM WATCH
It could be a good time to bring in Chris Judd. His score of 69 against Port Adelaide dropped his price by more than $10,000, and his 112 against the Lions saw him fall even further to $394,300, which is $32,300 less than he started the season at. With an average of 103 and plus-100 scores on seven occasions, you could do a lot worse.
Ben McGlynn has also dropped in price from his round one value of $356,200 to $303,000 after returning 55 against Richmond. His second-best game for the season was against Carlton in round six, where he scored 100 points with four goals. He showed two weeks ago against the Lions he still had the ability to clear 100 points so perhaps another good game against the Blues will signal a turning point in his consistency.
Follow the game live in the AFL Match Centre on afl.com.au and join the conversation on Twitter using #aflbluesswans.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
