Sydney Swans' top tackler Ryan O'Keefe gets tackled by the Eagles' Matt Priddis. Source: News Limited
WIN the inside 50 count, win the game.
With a 77 per cent success rate, getting the ball inside your 50m arc more often than the opposition is a statistic all AFL clubs desperately want to win.
It usually means walking away with the four premiership points.
That is unless you are playing Sydney.
One of the reasons the Swans won last year's premiership and are flying high in third spot this season is that they win more games when they lose the inside 50 count than any other team.
They are the Suffocating Swans.
Just because the opposition gets the ball inside its attacking zone against Sydney doesn't mean it will score.
In the past two seasons, the Swans have won a remarkable 66.7 per cent of games where they have lost the inside 50 count.
They have been beaten in the key stat 18 times but have won 12 of those matches.
Essendon was the latest victim last week.
The Bombers won the inside 50 count 61-56 but were smashed by 44 points, kicking only 10 goals.
How does that happen?
Put simply, Sydney is the master of stifling the opposition's attacking threats, winning the ball off them in the back half and then counterattacking with clinical effect.
The Swans are so efficient that in the past two years they have converted 15 of 17 inside-50 wins into victories on the scoreboard.
But unlike many other teams, they are not reliant on getting the ball inside their attacking 50 more than the opposition.
If the game isn't played on their terms, it isn't over.
Sydney's 66.7 winning percentage when losing inside 50s is 11 per cent better than nearest rival Geelong in the statistic and a whopping 26.7 per cent better than the next three teams, Collingwood, Fremantle and the side it beat in last year's grand final, Hawthorn.
The grand final result was classic Swans football. Amazingly, Sydney lost the inside 50 count 61-43 but still got its hands on the premiership cup.
The reason the Swans are so successful at stopping their rivals scoring when within sight of goal is that they don't allow the opposition much free ball.
They lay 16.5 tackles a game in the defensive 50 ranked No.th1 in the competition.
Last year they conceded a goal 20.7 per cent of the time when the opposition went inside 50, the lowest percentage since Champion Data started recording the stat in 1999.
This year Sydney is also ranked No.th1 in the league, conceding a goal 21.9 per cent of the time.
To highlight the Swans' deep defensive qualities, there have been 158 throw-ins/ball-ups in their defensive 50 this season 23 more than any other club.
But they have conceded the fifth-fewest points from opposition forward 50 clearances and are the second-hardest team in the competition to score against from this source.
A key reason is that Sydney is relentless at winning the ball, with five of its men ranked in the league's top 30 for defensive 50 tackles veteran Ryan O'Keefe (16 tackles), Heath Grundy and Nick Smith (14), rookie Dane Rampe (12) and Luke Parker (11).
Crows coach Brenton Sanderson is aware of what awaits his side at AAMI Stadium tomorrow and has stressed to his players the need to beat the Swans at their own game by winning the contested ball.
``The thing we admire with Sydney is that there are no tricks, it's just hard, contested footy and they suffocate you,'' Sanderson said.
``They play a very unique brand and definitely put pressure on and bring the heat to every contest. But that suits us too. We like playing a contested style, playing contested ball has always been our brand, so we won't shy away from that.
``We won't be fearful of them, we'll be in there having a crack and we'll certainly throw everything at them because Sydney is the envy of the rest of the competition in that they play hard, ruthless footy for 120 minutes every week for 22 rounds.
``And they go up a gear in September.''
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