Swans and GIANTS Academy Teams ready for Game 2

The QBE Sydney Swans Academy and GIANTS Academy will play their second games in as many weeks against each other this Saturday as part of the NAB AFL All Stars Program.

Following a wet and muddy affair last weekend where the Swans Academy took the honours in both the Futures and U18 matches, both groups will line up for a second hit out at North Dalton Park, Wollongong.

QBE Sydney Swans Academy Head Coach Jared Crouch said that after a rocky 2020, the young Swans were thrilled to get the chance to play and praised top end players Errol Gulden, Pierce Rosebery and Braeden Campbell for their performance in the midfield.

‘I thought that after no practise games, we played a pretty entertaining style of footy. It’s something we will look to build on and it was good to see some players in pretty good form. And it was great to play in the wet conditions!’

Crouch was also impressed with the efforts of several key position players.

‘Jackson Barling took a number of marks up forward and made the most of his opportunities kicking three goals. In defence, Kyle Pfrengle and Max Geddes led from the front and rebounded well.’

GIANTS Academy Head Coach Cameron Bernasconi is in his first year in the role and was pleased with the efforts of both the Futures and U18 sides last weekend despite not taking the win.

‘In the U18s game we went down by a few goals but we were very pleased with how the guys implemented the GIANTS brand of footy and competed after a big day of travel. Most of our group travelled between three and five hours to get to the game and we were very pleased with the effort the boys displayed. We are hoping we can fix a few things this week and go a few goals better on Saturday.’

Bernasconi was pleased with the performance of a number of players in the U18s game.

‘Harry Grant was super in the middle with 14 tackles and he competed hard for four quarters. Sam Frost who is our Captain this year stood up and played an important role down back all day. Josh Green showed once again how versatile he can be, playing well as an inside mid and also showcasing his strong marking ability at either end of the ground.  Josh also finished with a GIANTS game high of 25 disposals, 15 of them contested.’

Bernasconi is looking forward to another hit out this weekend with several new players for the GIANTS set to take the field.

‘We are playing some New South Wales based Murray Bushrangers players this week.’ Bernasconi said.

‘Since the NAB League in Victoria has been cancelled, we can offer some New South Wales based players a game to expose their talent in front of recruiters. I’m really looking forward to seeing Cam McLeod, Charlie Bryne, Logan Berryman and Daniel Turner run around this weekend.’

Crouch is hoping that some drier conditions benefit some of his players to show what they can do.

‘As much as I loved the wet conditions I am hopefully for a drier day so that players like Marc Sheather and Sam Gadden can show their marking prowess.’ Crouch said.

‘I am also looking forward to the continued development of Frane Babic and Lachlan McAndrews in the ruck, two boys that have come from other sports and have just started playing Australian Rules Football.’

Match Schedule
12:30pm: Futures – Sydney Swans v GWS GIANTS
2.45pm: U18 – Sydney Swans v GWS GIANTS

Team Lists
Click here for the Futures team lists
Click here for the U18 team lists 

Live Stream Details
The matches will be steamed live on Cluch TV here.  To view, you will be required to subscribe with an email address and create a new password. Subscription is free.