‘Bloods’, bookies and support from a legend: How Leigh Matthews’ Sydney Swans call doesn’t match the odds
AFL legend Leigh Matthews reckons there is precedent for another Sydney uprising, but the always crafty sports bookmakers think the Swans’ horror run to the finals may be too much to correct.
Such is the concern about arresting one of the most dramatic form slumps in recent years, bookmakers have gone soft on the Swan’s chances to claim the flag, ironically sticking solid with Matthews’ old club, Brisbane, as clear favourites to hold the premiership aloft.
But Hawthorn premiership winner and former Brisbane super-coach, Leigh Matthews, has leapt to the Swans’ defence and holds the belief that the mid-season slump for Sydney can be overcome as the race for top eight spots heats up.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.‘No one can explain why they (Sydney) could get beaten by 112 points,’’ Matthews said in his exclusive column for The Nightly.
‘In 1990 when I was coaching Collingwood, Hawthorn beat us by 83 points in round 20, but we recovered from that to win the flag.’
Sydney has been locked in the ‘bookie battle’ with Brisbane ($3.50) throughout the season, and the markets’ unwavering support for the Lions has been proven correct as the Swans ($6) continue their worrying slide and the Western Bulldogs now hold down the second favourite spot ($5.50).
Swans coach John Longmire must be feeling like a stockbroker on Wall St watching the markets ebb and flow this week, such has been the rise and ultimate ladder collapse of his powerhouse Sydney club this season.
The Swans still sit atop the AFL premiership standings but are on shakey ground as they head into a must-win blockbuster against reigning premiers Collingwood, who are looking to reboot their season and a finals charge at the SCG on Friday night.
A sea of green in the Sydney win column has very quickly been eroded and almost exclusively replaced with red loss crosses as they reel from successive ‘beats’ to the Brisbane Lions, Western Bulldogs and then that last-start 112-point drubbing at the hands of Port Adelaide, which Longmire described as ‘utterly unacceptable’.
On that occasion the hapless Swans failed to bother the scorer until midway through the second quarter, acquiring a forced behind from Port to go a staggering 70 points down.
“You can try and shift players around which we’re trying to do but in the end, you have the very essence of trying to win the contest and put pressure on the opposition,” Longmire said after the 22.16 (148) to 5.6 (36) loss.
“If you do that, it leads to better skills and leads to better everything, but it’s just we had nothing out there to show.
“It’s completely and utterly unacceptable. It’s not up to standard.
“We’ve been in every game this year until last week, and we dropped away last week, and today didn’t seem like it had a baseline to it. “That was the disappointing aspect. There’s got to be a fiercer pushback than that,’’ Longmire added.
Brisbane holds solid for punters at the top of the pack on the back of a surge that sees them heading into another significant clash with fellow top-four running mate, the GWS Giants, at the Gabba on Saturday.
AFL fans across the board are also starting to feel the nervousness and pressure of a run to the finals after AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon released a final-round do-or-die fixture update.
The league confirmed a schedule of matches for round 24, which will no doubt decide the top eight ahead of the finals with up to a dozen teams potentially in the finals hunt that weekend.
A Melbourne-Collingwood Friday night clash will open round 24 at the MCG, while finals contenders Geelong, Hawthorn and Sydney are all in action on Saturday.
Brisbane host Essendon at the Gabba on a Saturday night in a contest that could have finals ramifications for both sides.
The Sunday fixture is the highlight of round 24, starting with the Western Bulldogs hosting GWS in Ballarat.
Finals hopefuls Carlton host St Kilda at the MCG before Fremantle takes on Port Adelaide at Optus Stadium in the last of the 207 home-and-away matches.
