Sydney’s predicted Round 1 line-up: Konstanty to debut, Gould to miss out

Not a lot has changed with last season’s beaten grand finalists Sydney despite their heavy loss in the decider, but there is one potential Round 1 debutant looming.

Honeyball’s Ben Somerford takes a look at their likely Round 1 line-up.

Defence

It’s hard to see much changing in the backline for the Swans, with Nick Blakey expected to recover from glandular fever in time to be fully available for Round 1.

New recruit Aaron Francis probably is a back-up unless there’s an injury to one of the key defenders, with Will Gould waiting in the wings too.

Midfield

The Swans on-ball brigade looks very similar to last year as well. Josh Kennedy has retired but barely played in 2022 anyway. Callum Mills, Luke Parker and Chad Warner may be popular Fantasy or SuperCoach picks and it’s hard to see their roles changing much, but there is some randomness about Mills’ position at times, potentially dropping into defence.

Forward

Sydney’s forward line also looks very familiar, although Sam Reid could come into the mix for Logan McDonald having been working on an individual pre-season training program following his grand final injury.

Ryan Clarke played some tagging roles from the forward line last year but has suffered a hamstring injury in pre-season, so likely misses out. Joel Amartey (hamstring) and Hayden McLean (quad) also had injuries in pre-season.

Bench

Pick 20 in the 2022 AFL Draft, Jacob Konstanty, looms as a Round 1 debutant, having impressed coach John Longmire in pre-season. He’s a small forward type, who’ll likely rotate into their forward mix. James Rowbottom will rotate through the mids and Peter Ladhams likely plays as second ruck if Reid, Amartey and McLean aren’t ready.