Thursday’s AFL 2018 Round 16 match is between Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats. The opening kick is set to commence at 19:20 local time with the game to be played at SCG. The home team Sydney Swans are the favourites for the match.
View our preview and teams for the game between Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats.
When: 19:20 | Thursday 05/07/2018
Where: SCG
Preview:
Both sides coming off a loss, so they will be hungry and Geelong will lose touch with the eight if they go down. Swans were competitive against the Tigers for much of the game, only falling away late. They would be concerned with how they were unable to score when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter.
Sydney are too reliant on Buddy still and some of their midfielders are out of form. Geelong have been defensively sound for most of the year but were poor in this area last week allowing the Dogs to score 103 points against them.
They will try and tighten this up.
KEY BATTLE: Joel Selwood v Josh Kennedy
Both captains are courageous and are in form. A head-to-head battle would be enthralling.
The Verdict
I’m favouring Sydney because the game is at the SCG and in three of the last four matches between Sydney and Geelong at the SCG, the highest scoring quarter has been the first. The Swans have won seven consecutive matches following a loss.
Unibet Odds:
Sydney at $1.42
Geelong at $2.80
Odds:
Tip: Sydney Swans at $1.50
Value Bet: First Goal Scorer: Will Hayward at $12.00
More Info:
Teams:
Sydney Swans: 
B: Nick Smith, Heath Grundy, Zak Jones
HB: Jarrad McVeigh, Dane Rampe, Jake Lloyd
C: Kieren Jack, Josh Kennedy, Oliver Florent
HF: Will Hayward, Lance Franklin, Harry Cunningham
F: Dan Hannebery, Tom McCartin, Ben Ronke
R: Callum Sinclair, George Hewett, Luke Parker
I/C: Aliir Aliir, Dean Towers, Robbie Fox, Daniel Robinson
EMG: Darcy Cameron, Harry Marsh, Nic Newman, Colin O’Riordan
IN: Dean Towers, Robbie Fox, Daniel Robinson
OUT: James Rose (Injured), Isaac Heeney (Injured), Gary Rohan (Injured)
Geelong Cats: 
B: Jed Bews, Harry Taylor, Tom Stewart
HB: Zach Tuohy, Jake Kolodjashnij, Mitch Duncan
C: Mark Blicavs, Joel Selwood, Jordan Murdoch
HF: Sam Menegola, Patrick Dangerfield, Lachie Fogarty
F: Jamaine Jones, Tom Hawkins, Quinton Narkle
R: Rhys Stanley, Gary Ablett, Tim Kelly
I/C: Cameron Guthrie, Jack Henry, Brandan Parfitt, Scott Selwood
EMG: Wylie Buzza, James Parsons, Sam Simpson, Jackson Thurlow
IN: Jamaine Jones, Scott Selwood
OUT: James Parsons (Omitted), Jordan Cunico (Omitted)
AFL News:
Sydney are likely to be without young gun Isaac Heeney when they face Geelong in Thursday night’s AFL clash at the SCG.
Heeney still has symptoms resulting from the concussion he suffered during the Swans’ top-two showdown against Richmond last Thursday.
“He’s in doubt, but we’ll make that call a little bit later in the week,” Swans coach John Longmire told reporters on Monday.
“He’s not back to 100 per cent … (he won’t) do a lot of training tomorrow.”
Heeney’s head hit the turf during the second quarter last Thursday at Etihad Stadium, but he was cleared to return at halftime.
The Swans insist it was a case of delayed concussion, with Heeney bringing himself off early in the third quarter when he started to feel unwell. The 22-year-old played no further part in the game.
“He did a test at halftime, completed the test and was OK then,” Longmire said.
“I spoke to Isaac this morning and he said that’s what happened. It was a little bit delayed in the third quarter.”
Heeney isn’t the only Sydney player feeling the effects of what Longmire termed a “bruising” loss to the reigning premiers, with many having been on more restricted duties than usual.
“That’s what the game is these days, you spend a lot of time on recovery. Particularly – that was a tough game,” he said.
“We expect another tough game against the Cats. We expect it to be really fierce.”
Longmire confirmed small forward Tom Papley, who missed the clash with Richmond because of a hip injury, will spend at least one more week on the sidelines.
Sam Reid and Lewis Melican, who both returned from long-term setbacks via the NEAFL last weekend, also aren’t ready for the rigours of the AFL yet.
Key forward Reid (quad) and young defender Melican (hamstring) were both injured in round three of the AFL season, almost three months ago.
“Five minutes into the reserves game, I thought he (Reid) might play this week against the Cats … he was playing really well,” Longmire said.
“But it was essentially a pretty light session compared to the jump up they’d face this Thursday.
“It’s too big a risk to take, even though they both went well and pulled up OK.”
Longmire, who is yet to name an unchanged team this year, is likely to tinker with his side even if Heeney makes a sudden recovery.
The 2012 premiership coach admitted one of Richmond’s strengths last Thursday was they had “22 contributors”.
“We were a little bit short in that regard,” Longmire said.