Cheer, cheer the red and the white! Out come Sydney. McVeigh has his daughter in his arms as they run through the banner.
Ground looks fantastic given the torrential rain in Melbourne earlier today. Gone the days of the late-season bog.
Shayne Hope 📰
(@shayne_hope)Fair bit of rain today, but the @MCG deck is in great nick. Here’s hoping the wet stuff stays away now. pic.twitter.com/UYmNvLif4X
Welcome to Geelong vs Sydney at the MCG!
Huge night at the People’s Ground and I have some BIG news with you off the top. Tom Lonergan, Geelong’s champion defender is out. Retiring at season’s end, he may have played his final game, withdrawn with food poisoning. But the more immediate issue here is the fantastic record he has playing on Lance Franklin, keeping him to under a couple of goals a game in their stoushes over the better part of a decade. Wow.
As for food poisoning?! What happened to fish and chips the night before a game like KB in his pomp? Or a big bowl of pasta like every 1990s gun? Some questions to be asked of this at Corio Bay if it all doesn’t go to plan over the next few hours and the Cats are bundled out in straight sets for the second time in the space of four years.
It would also make their eighth loss in the space of ten finals, the side that finished second at the end of regular season walking into Tiger Time at the ‘G last weekend now requiring this double chance for progress to Adelaide next weekend. On the evidence of that performance, and Sydney’s remarkable streak of 15 wins in their last 17 games since sitting last in April, they look shot. But you don’t write champion teams off for a reason.
Sydney did as they pleased last week at home, knocking off Essendon by 13 goals in their elimination final. Buddy had a bung leg early on, but when he got into the zone was unstoppable, as he has been for the bulk of the season. Harry Taylor now has the job on him, another man with vast experience but someone the Cats wanted to play up forward tonight.
Daniel Menzel is also back for them, Rhys Stanley is the late inclusion for Lonergan and Cam Guthrie will be there as well to give the midfield some badly-needed grunt.
Sydney also have form on their side against the Cats, accounting for them four of the last five times they met, including a thrashing at Kardinia Park in round 20. Then, Sydney piled on seven goals in the first term. Much as it was in last year’s Preliminary Final, when the Swans raced out of the blocks. You get the feeling if that repeats here again tonight, especially in the soggy conditions, it could be messy. Jarrad McVeigh’s 300th tonight too, I should add. They love him in Sydney.
Both sides love the scrap, shown in their contested possession rankings. Sydney’s corresponding semi-final victory last season against Adelaide was just that. A true bone-crunching affair. For those at home on the couch, let’s hope for something equally as compelling tonight.
Righto, we’re about 15 minutes away from the bounce. Strap in, this should be fun. Let’s chat throughout? On the email, on the twitter. I can’t wait.