The only game on Thursday for Round 11 of the AFL home and away season is between Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats. The match is to be played at SCG with the opening bounce set to commence at 7.10pm local time with home team Sydney Swans currently holding favouritism in the market. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats.
Round: Round 11 , May 29, 2014, Thursday 7:10 PM
Stadium: SCG
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Odds Comparison:
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| Sydney Swans | 1.42 | 1.40 | 1.38 | 1.40 | 1.42 | 1.40 |
| Geelong Cats | 3.00 | 3.05 | 3.15 | 3.05 | 3.00 | 3.05 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Tips: Sydney Swans to win.
Teams:
SYDNEY SWANS
B Dane Rampe, Ted Richards, Nick Smith
HB Jeremy Laidler, Heath Grundy, Rhyce Shaw
C Nick Malceski, Josh Kennedy, Kieren Jack
HF Adam Goodes, Lance Franklin, Jarrad McVeigh
F Ben McGlynn, Kurt Tippett, Harry Cunningham
FOL Tom Derickx, Dan Hannebery, Luke Parker
I/C Craig Bird, Lewis Jetta, Jake Lloyd, Sam Reid
EMG Tom Mitchell, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Dean Towers
GEELONG CATS
B Andrew Mackie, Jared Rivers, Jed Bews
HB Cameron Guthrie, Harry Taylor, Steve Johnson
C Mark Blicavs, Joel Selwood, Mitch Duncan
HF Travis Varcoe, Jordan Murdoch, Steven Motlop
F Jesse Stringer, Tom Hawkins, Jimmy Bartel
FOL Hamish McIntosh, James Kelly, Mathew Stokes
I/C George Horlin-Smith, Jackson Sheringham, Billie Smedts, Dawson Simpson
EMG Taylor Hunt, Brad Hartman, Darcy Lang
In the news:
Sydney will again be without Mike Pyke for Thursday’s AFL match against Geelong as the first-choice ruckman struggles to overcome a hamstring strain.
Pyke has been on the sidelines since sustaining the injury in round seven, missing the Swans’ subsequent wins over Hawthorn and Essendon.
Despite being initially told by medical staff that it was just minor, coach John Longmire said the Canadian big man was still “not quite right” and would not be fit to play at the SCG.
“He still hasn’t come along to the point we’d like him to,” Longmire said on Monday.
“It’s a bit back-related as well.
“What we initially thought would only be one week has turned into four weeks.
“We’re hoping that he’ll be right next week.
“He’s running, but he’s not able to take the next step in the sprint work and change the direction that he needs to do before the ball work.
“We’re hoping to get that stage into him over the weekend so he’s ok for next week.”
Inexperienced recruit Tom Derickx has been shouldering the burden in the ruck for the Swans, battling through what Longmire described as a very steep learning curve for the 26-year-old.
“After playing only two games at the (Richmond) Tigers and then coming up to us, even though he was a bit more mature as far as age is concerned, he’s still learning the game very much,” the coach said.
“He’s been good, he’s been solid. He’s been doing his job and keeping it pretty simple and creating a contest in the middle of the ground.
“This week, once again, he gets another challenge up against (Dawson) Simpson and (Hamish) McIntosh – two quality ruckman and two big blokes as well.”
After enduring a poor start to the season with a single win in the opening four rounds, the Swans have strung together five successive wins and now sit just outside the top four behind Gold Coast.
While the 2012 premiers head into Thursday’s game coming off a bye, Longmire put his troops through their paces in an intense training session on Sunday.
The match-break had particularly benefitted stars Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett, Longmire said, who are still recovering from injury.
“They’ve been able to train right through this two-week block, so that’s been the pleasing thing,” Longmire said.
“Up until then, they’ve been on a limited training program.”
Long says racism much rarer in AFL
Michael Long, who has done more than anyone to address the issue of racism in Australia’s only indigenous football code, says even though there is no room for complacency, the fight is being won.
In the lead-up to this weekend’s annual indigenous round, it was revealed that Australian of the Year and two-time Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes and Melbourne’s Neville Jetta had both been racially vilified by fans this season.
Goodes took heart from the fact that it was other Essendon supporters who alerted authorities to the man who abused him.
Long has been an outspoken advocate against racism in sport since he was vilified by Collingwood ruckman Damian Monkhorst during the 1995 Anzac Day clash, prompting the AFL to tackle the issue seriously for the first time.
“We’ve come on in leaps and bounds,” Long told the inaugural Dreamtime luncheon in Melbourne on Thursday.
“The game has come so far and the positives outweigh the negatives.
“Given what’s happened (with Goodes and Jetta) we’ve still got to be just as diligent with our supporters and … influence what happens on the boundaries of our great game.
“There still needs to be a lot of work done on the education side of things.
“You can never lose sight of that.”
Long is the face of the Long Walk charity, which this year celebrates the 10th anniversary of his walk to Canberra to confront then prime minister John Howard about the plight of indigenous Australians.
Nathan Lovett-Murray told the Dreamtime luncheon he was inspired to become an AFL player by Long’s heroics in the 1993 grand final, when he was awarded the Norm Smith Medal in Essendon’s win over Carlton.
Lovett-Murray, who was at the MCG that day as part of the halftime entertainment show, went on to play 145 games for the Bombers before retiring at the end of the 2013 season.
His appreciation for the sacrifices made by the indigenous trailblazers in the VFL/AFL increased greatly when he learnt more about his great grandfather Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls, who played for Fitzroy in the 1930s after being shunned at Carlton.
Nicholls went on to become a Churches of Christ pastor, reconciliation advocate and the Governor of South Australia, making him the first indigenous Australian to hold vice-regal office.
“He was like the Martin Luther-King of Australia for all the work he did in the community,” said Lovett-Murray.
The Dreamtime at the G clash between Essendon and Richmond on Saturday night will again be the showcase of the AFL indigenous round which will feature all 18 clubs wearing indigenous-inspired jumpers for the first time.