Key events
Who will be playing finals footy come the end of the campaign? Here’s Jonathan Horn’s picks, featuring tonight’s two belligerents.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s coverage, Swans coach Dean Cox was asked by Jason Dunstall about putting his own mark on a side that has been so successful, for so long, and John Longmire.
I was always going to have some teething problems once we tried to implement some new things. Certainly with the way we defend and on top of that, the way that we wanted to address our contest method. They were probably the two things that I wanted to touch on. And the players have bought in so far. But tonight, there’ll still be some teething problems, but we’ve just got to get it right eventually as the year progresses.
Cox was also asked by Nathan Buckley about how he was feeling ahead of his first game in the main chair.
“One thing I want to try and do is remain calm and let the players do what they’ve been practicing the whole time. I’ve challenged them about being able to adapt and problem solve all the way through preseason. So, I’ve got to make sure that I do the same. And when the decisions have to be made, I’ll make them and try and get them to change the way we play.
Late to the party and wondering who’s a contender and who’s a pretender? Who’s legit and who’s gonna quit? Then don’t worry, because Jonathan Horn has you covered with his in-depth predicted ladder for the 2025 season.
First, the ten sides that Horn expects to find themselves on the outside looking in when September rolls around. Although, as a Bulldogs man, can’t say I’m too enamoured with his predictions here.
Wet and wild conditions had been expected for tonight’s game but, for now, they’ve failed to materialise. The SCG is bathed in a glorious setting sun as the first bounce approaches, with conditions looking perfect for footy.
Tonight wasn’t supposed to serve as the opening game of the season, of course. That honour was supposed to go to reigning premiers Brisbane and Geelong up at the Gabba yesterday evening, only for that game to be postponed as Tropical Cyclone Alfred closed in on the Queensland and northern NSW coast. If you are caught up in the storm, please stay safe.
Saturday’s meeting between the Gold Coast and Essendon has also been postponed due to Alfred, with the Lions and Cats now set to meet in round three and the Suns and Bombers making up their fixture alongside their previously scheduled fixtures in round 24.
In the NRL, the Dolphins fixture with South Sydney has been relocated from Lang Park to Western Sydney stadium, with the Dolphins’ Kodi Nikorima, Mark Nicholls, and Kenny Bromwich opting to remain in Brisbane to prepare for the cyclone.
In the A-Leagues, Brisbane Roar’s A-League Women meeting with Melbourne City – where City were seeking to set a new record for the longest unbeaten run in league history – has been postponed, while the Roar’s A-League Men outfit were forced to fly out early for their meeting with Adelaide United.
Preamble
Joey Lynch
Howdy all and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the 2025 AFLM’s season opener between Sydney and Hawthorn at the SCG. It’s not the curtain raiser we were expecting at this time last week but it still shapes as a blockbuster contest between last year’s vanquished grand finalists and a side that finished 2024 on the rise. My name’s Joey Lynch and I’m looking forward to taking you through all the action.
Tonight marks the beginning of a new era for the Swans, Dean Cox given the daunting task of succeeding John Longmire after he stunned the AFL world by stepping down last November, reaching the end of his tether after 14 highly successful years at the helm of the club. The last time the Swans were in this position they handled things rather well, transitioning from one premiership coach to another as Longmire succeeded Paul Roos and went on to reach five grand finals, winning one. We now await to see if they’ll be able to pull off a similar handover with Cox.
On top of this, there’s also the matter of Sydney seeking to put behind them the last, disastrous grand final of Longmire’s tenure – a dominant home and away season counting for little as they suffered a 10-goal drubbing at the hands of Brisbane in last year’s decider. It’s been 160 days since that thrashing and now, the redemption tour begins.
Looking to spoil this, however, are the Hollywood Hawks. Starting last season with five straight losses, Hawthorn caught fire and won 11 of their last 13 matches to book a spot in the finals, a berth which subsequently saw them record a first finals win since 2015 when they beat the Western Bulldogs. They won plenty of fans with their entertaining brand of footy during this run and while they might have copped a reality brick to the face when they faced off with Port Adelaide in a semi-final last season, they’ve been widely tipped to kick on in 2025. Of course, with expectation comes pressure, and Sam Mitchell’s unit will face an early acid test against the Swans tonight.
The first bounce will be at 7.40pm AEDT and we’ll look to bring you up to speed on everything you need to know before then.
