Sydney Swans vs GWS Giants

SYDNEY SWANS

Club Founded 1982 (formerly South Melbourne FC 1874-1981)
Base Sydney Cricket Ground (Moore Park), capacity 44,000
Coach John Longmire, 41, a 200 game player for the Kangaroos now in his second-season as Sydney’s senior coach 
Captains Dual Brownlow Medal-winner Adam Goodes and sentimental hero Jarrad McVeigh
Colours Red and white, aka ‘The Bloods’
Fans 17,000+ members in Sydney and 10,000+ based in Melbourne
Squad Sydney picked up Tom Mitchell (son of Swans champion Barry) and Jordan Lockyer (son of former West Coast player Andrew) in the draft, but it’ll be Goodes leading the way – the 32-year-old, 300-game legend won 2011’s Best & Fairest and, barring injury, will break Michael O’Loughlin’s club record of 303 games in April. Look for big career-defining seasons from emerging stars Lewis Jetta , Sam Reid, Daniel Hanneberry and Jesse White
Prediction Consistently faulty goal kicking radars doomed the Bloods to fall one game short of a successful 2011 season, ultimately finishing seventh. It means that since 1995 they’re the only team in the AFL not to have missed the finals in consecutive seasons… but also that they’ll need a big 2012 to keep Sydney’s fickle fans from defecting to the youthful wildcards out west 
Time Out’s tip Eighth



GWS GIANTS

Club Founded 2009, inaugural AFL season 2012
Base Skoda Stadium (Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush), capacity 25,000 with three games to be played at Manuka Oval ACT and one at Blacktown Oval. 
Coach Four-time premiership-winning coach, 251-game legend player and one man publicity machine Kevin Sheedy, age 64
Captains Ex-Bulldogs midfielder Callan Ward and recently un-retired Brisbane legend Luke Power are the men most likely
Colours Orange, charcoal and white
Fans 4424 signed-up for 2012 (half of them from Canberra) aiming for 17,000
Squad A dream draft has delivered GWS a curious mix of established stars – Phil Davis (Adelaide), Callan Ward and Sam Reid (Bulldogs), Rhys Palmer (Fremantle) and Tom Scully (Melbourne); Veterans lured from retirement – James McDonald (Melbourne), Chad Cornes and Dean Brogan (Port) and Luke Power (Brisbane); and young tyros like Rugby League convert Israel Folau.
Prediction Doomsayers and bookies have the $200 million Giants franchise at long odds to taste victory in 2012 (1001-1 at last glance) but even last year’s newbies the Gold Coast Suns snuck a couple of shock wins. Will Eddie Maguire’s gripe about AFL basing its 18^th team in “the land of the falafel” prove prescient or will the Giants woo west-Sydney footy fans away from League and start a slow march to September glories? 
Time Out’s tip: 17th