Brandon Jack: How to beat the AFL’s best midfield – the stellar Sydney Swans – via pub napkins

They score goals and turn games in only a matter of minutes. They have two of the best goal-scoring midfielders in the competition. The league leader in tackles and the best kick in the competition.

It is very clear that they are more than just good and the superlatives have run hot the last few weeks, some calling them the best midfield group we have ever seen. But what is it that makes them great? Is it just that they are better than everyone? More talented? Or is there something else?

To examine this, I want to show you how it would look if you were playing them on the weekend. I want you to sit down like most players do and do some homework on the opposition for the week ahead.

How do they really look? How daunting are they? And how can they be stopped?

The following homework is exactly as I might have done on an opposition side while playing for the Swans myself.

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Opponents

Isaac Heeney (#5 – Right foot) 

Main hit-to at stoppages. Has the licence to run forward hard. Last week started on the line for most centre bounces and had clear space in front of him to run into. Really likes to get on the move at stoppages (is a hit-to inside Forward 50), so push him through the contest. Can catch him out if you keep it in the scramble after he’s run through it. Around the ground, can’t let him jump at the ball or get a lead-up. Engage his body and force him to wrestle.

Chad Warner (#1 – Right foot) 

Starts more defensive side of stoppage and then runs through. Will give you a chance to tackle when he has the ball – loves to run and carry. Will always look to go direct to goal as well – rarely likes to take his foot off the gas. Also, quick on transition from defence to offence. He will go and go hard. Can’t let him get his tail up.

Errol Gulden (#21 – Left foot) 

Works back hard. Gets very deep defensively as a midfielder – often seen as the last line of defence coming from the off-side of the ground. You have to go with him and keep him accountable. Ideally body him to stop his run. Likes to link up chain with the hands. If he gets one, he will get two, or three. So body him after the first one. Block his run. Don’t let one become two become three. If gets into the stoppage, try and create a mismatch with a bigger body. But once the ball has gone, make sure pace is on him. Will sweep primarily though sometimes look like he’s set up to wrap onto his left behind the ruckman.

James Rowbottom (#8 – Right foot) 

Disciplined, selfless. At stoppages will sit at a spot to open up the contest for the hit-to. Whoever is on him, let’s try and dictate the space. Let’s try and drag him towards that forward lane that they want Heeney and Warner running through. He will likely stick tight. Or even whoever is on him, go stand on Heeney (or Warner, whoever has the hot hand) and force them to try use Rowbottom as hit-to instead. He is the safety net for the rest of them, so go after him, wear him down throughout the game.

Brodie Grundy (#4 – Right foot) 

Full 360-degree ruckman. Will give similar looks at stoppages but hard to tell where he’s hitting until last minute. Right-hand dominant but can use his left as well. Provides good follow-up around the ground, though sometimes he is a bit slow to react when leaving the contest. Will be chances for ruck to get forward hard on him. Does feed handball receives off if he’s marked, so don’t switch off when he’s got ball in hand.

Others: Tom Papley (#11 – right foot) will usually sweep at centre bounces, Taylor Adams (#3 – right foot) very smart, will let you get sucked into the contest. If Heeney off, Adams likely hit-to, but has less pace so won’t try and stream through the front as much.

Strengths

Ruck dominance and proactive mids - Have previously lacked a ruckman who provides more than just competition around the ground; now have someone who can do more than just nullify the contest. Now they have a ruckman (Grundy) who with his tap work can allow the midfield to set up as though they will win the ball. This is a proactive Swans midfield, rather than one that was for many years (still very successfully) reactive.

Balanced, clearly defined roles – More often than not one of Heeney/Warner surge forward. Gulden covers defensive spread (usually coming from sweeper or corridor coverage). Rowbottom provides inside cover at the stoppage, allowing the others to run with more freedom, cleaning up the scraps and laying tackles. They complement each other as a group very well and buy into their roles.

Multiple weapons at F50 stoppages – Papley/Heeney main targets at a forward 50 stoppage. We will have to work together to take the dangerous space as opposed to following them one on one. Too hard to track them that way, and they do look to block. We should have someone sitting off Grundy’s hip at these stoppages to catch the wrap-around that they try to do. Also communicate with Papley’s man if they are going to track him at the contest or not.

Weaknesses

Can get caught running forward and leaving the stoppage early – Rowbottom acts as an anchor so that Warner/Heeney can run through the stoppage. Sometimes they do this blindly, which means that if we get our pressure right around the ball, we can create a turnover and outnumber around the contest and exit before they have the time to come back in.

Elite pressure around the source can dictate the game - They are very one-way in stoppages. Geelong in the first quarter out-pressured them. So did Adelaide. If you bring the heat, you can dictate the game. If we play a +1 at stoppages (high half-forward coming in) to create more chaos at the stoppage then – we then can’t play on quick to Swans +1 in our forward line. Have to work out of stoppage with hands on, lower eyes, hit short until we can even numbers. Geelong did this effectively for first two quarters. Around the source, let’s play the game like it’s in a phonebooth. Swarming from one contest to the next. There are times where they look stagnant if this happens.

They give you windows – Slow starters, gave up runs of goals in the first quarter the last two weeks against Adelaide and Geelong. If we get a sense that they have flicked a switch and are riding momentum, let’s take the sting out of the game – lock it down with repeat stoppages. They can give up goals in bursts but they can also score them in bursts.

When Grundy out, can become very predictable – Their entire dynamic changes without Grundy in the ruck. With Hayden McLean/Logan McDonald, it looks like they are just trying to neutralise the contest and they become far more man-on-man at the stoppage.

Set-up 1: Heeney closed triangle

**Note: These games were watched from the pub as, despite being asked to write analysis on games, I still don’t have access to Kayo and/or FOX Sports.

WHAT THEY DO

- Most popular set-up over the last two weeks – especially with Grundy dominance in the ruck. Usually Heeney as the focal point. Read off where he is to identify the hit-to. If starts on the line, he usually likes to stream forward.

- Rowbottom’s starting position opens up space for Heeney to run into; Adelaide allowed them to dictate this set-up and were on the wrong shoulder.

- Grundy hits off-hand punch – can’t tell until last moment though. So don’t go early, or have the set-up in place that we can cover multiple hits.

- Adams starts at sweeper, ends up having a shot at goal – loses his man in the noise of the contest and sneaks out the back, takes uncontested mark inside 50.

HOW WE SET UP

- Start arm across on Heeney, goal side – Adelaide gave him goal side in this set-up too many times. The secondary danger is that he drops behind Grundy and wraps onto his right foot if we don’t play close and just try to block his run. Whoever is on him push him under the ball if he does this, he always moves with momentum, so a little push at the right time will move him under the ball. Whoever is on our sweeper can also come and meet Heeney if he gets the ball. Time it well and get the tackle.

- Whoever starts on Rowbottom, move towards a more traditional sweeper. Rowbottom usually comes with, so let’s try to drag him so that we get cover where we want. Just means that the other side of the stoppage is completely open and Grundy can do a soft off-hand hit, or even left hand, to the space for either Rowbottom to run back into or Adams to run onto. Adams man sit on his right leg and block that run. Around the stoppage it’ll always be alternating us/them, never two of them in a row.

- Let’s try neutralise, drop it in tight and play the game in a phonebooth.

Set-up 2: Open triangle, drop hit

WHAT THEY DO

- Mids are Rowbottom, Papley, Adams. No Heeney makes it a bit less predictable.

- Papley holds at sweeper, no movement while ball in air. Is just holding space. Clearly not the hit-to. His man gets way too close to the contest when the ball hits the deck, meaning Papley is on his own in the scramble. Don’t play him back shoulder, but don’t lose contact with him either.

- Rowbottom again just holding space, opening up the contest for where they want to get the ball.

- Adams starts very high and comes from forward of the stoppage trying to get a drop-hit to then feed to Papley.

- Grundy takes a lot of space early after ball is bounced, opens up the little pocket behind him. Signposts the hit with his body work this time.

HOW WE SET UP

- Geelong give Adams the open lane to run back into it and allow Papley to seal that space off as well. Let’s jump on the other shoulder of Papley so that we can impact the drop zone of the ball and Adams run.

- Before ball is bounced, try and drags Adams towards the line and see if he’ll come. Play a bit of cat and mouse to identify where he wants the hit. If he doesn’t come, then hook him back on. Rowbottom’s man can move around towards traditional sweeper a bit to provide extra cover.

Set-up 3: Split option defensive triangle

WHAT THEY DO

- Back-to-back stoppages they set up the same; Rowbottom on one side of the circle starting on the line, Heeney mirroring on the other, Warner at sweeper (not a hit-to). The first time Grundy hits straight down to Rowbottom, the second time he turns his body late and hits to Heeney. Seems unlikely to hit over his head, so whichever way his body is facing is where he will hit.

- Very simple set-up with little movement, Rowbottom being vocal and directing is the giveaway for this. Also, Heeney is always a potential option, so him starting behind Grundy on the line is the other giveaway.

HOW WE SET UP

- Crucial for our ruck to engage Grundy and not let him turn his body last minute. This closes off one half of the circle. Ideally we restrict them to the side Rowbottom is on and make it predictable to ourselves.

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- We could look to dictate by dragging Rowbottom away from the line before the ball goes up. See if we can get a traditional sweeper and watch if he comes with. If he holds, then hook him back on. If he comes with they’ll likely look to Heeney’s side. Let’s try this to establish some control over the game and prevent them from dictating on their terms.

- Watch for Warner’s spread from sweeper, very dangerous in scramble-to-scramble play.

- BRANDON JACK, author and journalist, played for the Sydney Swans from 2013-2017.