Crows confirm Petrenko fit for prelim

Updated September 21, 2012 17:24:22

Tenacious Adelaide forward Jared Petrenko has survived a fitness test on his troublesome shoulder and will play in Saturday's preliminary final against Hawthorn.

Petrenko dislocated his right shoulder in the last minutes of Adelaide's semi-final victory against Fremantle last Friday night.

The 22-year-old was given a searching test on Friday behind closed doors before joining his Crows team-mates on their flight to Melbourne.

Adelaide's strategy and innovation coach Dean Bailey said Petrenko was "ready to go" for the knockout MCG final against the Hawks.

"We put him through a pretty vigorous test today, of wrestling and tackling," Bailey told reporters at Adelaide airport.

"Not that we needed too much convincing, but we just needed to see him do it at absolute top speed and we saw that.

Unless something unforeseen happens in the next 24 hours, he'll line-up."

The Crows made one change to their semi-final side, with Andy Otten replacing injured defender Sam Shaw (hamstring).

But Bailey said the Crows could make a late change, with tall forward Josh Jenkins being considered to stretch an under-sized Hawthorn defence.

"It's going to be a sunny day in Melbourne tomorrow so maybe Josh Jenkins might get an opportunity, another tall forward," Bailey said.

" ... Our tall forwards will probably be the question on their (Hawthorn) whiteboard, I would think.

"Those possibilities are still on the table for us before the game."

Bailey dismissed as irrelevant Hawthorn's hot favouritism for the match, but needled the Hawks by suggesting their weekend off may work in Adelaide's favour.

"There is no doubt that the weekend off is deserved when you win a (qualifying) final and it certainly does freshen you up," he said.

"We hope to be on our toes at the start and hopefully they might be a bit rusty at the start.

"We have got to take advantage of that - any opportunity we can, particularly in the early stages, we have got to make sure we get scoreboard pressure.

"The talk out of Melbourne is that they (Hawthorn) have got one hand on the premiership cup ... the bookies have made it very loud and clear about where they see it.

"But once the ball is bounced, it will be who can win it and who can use it and take their opportunities."

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, adelaide-5000, sa, australia

First posted September 21, 2012 16:46:16

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McGlynn set to miss prelim final

Updated September 17, 2012 13:49:16

Sydney coach John Longmire has all but confirmed Ben McGlynn will miss Friday night's AFL preliminary final against Collingwood.

It was initially suspected McGlynn's season would definitely be over after injuring his hamstring in week one of the finals against Adelaide.

However, the small forward was given the less severe prognosis of 2-3 weeks, and since then has been working on rehabilitation with a similar tenacity to what he shows on the field.

But Longmire admitted on Monday it's "highly unlikely" McGlynn will retain his spot in the side that downed the Crows by 29 points, with Heath Grundy set to return from suspension in his place.

"The scans showed it wasn't as bad as it could have been and that was the positive Benny took out of it and from that point he's been really positive about getting his rehab right," Longmire said.

"He's coming along a lot better - with the initial disappointment we thought the worst.

"He's unlikely to play this week, highly unlikely - but he's doing everything he can to be right."

Longmire, who is gearing up for the biggest game of his coaching career, does not typically play mind games with selection.

The former North Melbourne forward, who won a premiership in his last game in 1999, said Grundy was assured of McGlynn's place in the side.

But he would not rule out further tweaking the team that will battle the Magpies for a place in the grand final.

"Heath will come straight back in and what else we put around that - we're still yet to settle on that," he said.

"We'll think about it a bit today and a bit more in the next couple of days - about what the team balance looks like."

Longmire, who was at the MCG to watch Collingwood edge West Coat last Saturday, was full of praise for the Magpies, especially their fierce pressure.

The Swans completed a closed training session on Monday morning at Sydney's Olympic stadium, the venue for Friday night's clash that is predicted to draw a crowd of over 60,000.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted September 17, 2012 13:46:57

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Hawks get twilight prelim final

Updated September 11, 2012 20:56:20

Hawthorn will play a twilight preliminary final against either Adelaide or Fremantle at the MCG on Saturday week, as the AFL juggles television ratings with fairness.

The Hawks would have preferred a Friday night match, or failing that, an early Saturday afternoon fixture, to maximise their preparation time for the grand final, should they qualify.

But the AFL had to balance that against the television broadcasters' preference for night matches.

They compromised with the 5:15pm (AEST) timeslot, which also allows the visiting team time to fly home that night, limiting their disadvantage should they make the grand final.

In the other preliminary final, Sydney will meet either West Coast or Collingwood on the preceding Friday night at 7:50pm (AEST) at the Olympic stadium.

The winner of that match will have more than 21 hours head-start on their grand final opponents to prepare for the premiership decider.

Traditionally the Hawks, as the minor premiers, would have been given the Friday night slot to give them that advantage.

But the Olympic stadium is booked by the NRL on the Saturday night and the AFL considered the SCG capacity too small for a preliminary final, meaning the Swans had to play on the Friday night.

Hawks chief executive Stuart Fox says while not their first choice, the preliminary final timeslot is acceptable.

"We always knew it was going to be Saturday day or night, this is a compromise in the middle," he said.

"We're happy with it and obviously getting ready for it."

Fox says broadcasters the Seven Network and Foxtel have a right to significant influence.

"They put a huge investment into the game," he said.

"The AFL have tried to balance the needs of the clubs, but also have a timeslot that will get people through the gate and get good viewership on TV."

Further compromising the schedule's fairness, should the Eagles beat Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday night, they will meet the Swans on the back of consecutive six-day breaks.

Sydney will have had a 13-day break from their qualifying final win over Adelaide.

The Eagles were forced into playing their qualifying final against North Melbourne at Subiaco Oval last Sunday.

It would have made the AFL's fixturing job easier had that match been on Saturday, but the Perth venue was pre-booked for a rugby union Test between Australia and South Africa.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, hawthorn-3122

First posted September 11, 2012 20:53:11

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Swans shock Crows to seal home prelim

Updated September 08, 2012 19:10:54

Sydney has beaten its danger team and grabbed back home advantage for the finals with a stunning 29-point win over Adelaide at Football Park on Saturday afternoon.

Adelaide had beaten Sydney in 12 of their last 14 meetings, but that stat counted for nothing as the Swans out-ran, out-tackled and out-manoeuvred their favoured opponents to win 11.5 (71) to 5.12 (42).

Sydney co-captain Jarrad McVeigh told Grandstand the Swans had confidence in their ability to get the job done in the finals.

"We think we play finals footy every week and our game plan does stand up in that type of scenario," he said.

"We started well, which you have to do when you're (playing) away, (it was) just a super effort throughout the whole game."

Sydney came out full of fire, restricting Adelaide's space and opportunities and kicking two goals - both from Adam Goodes - to one in the first quarter.

The Swans made the break in the second term, booting five goals to one as Adelaide failed to match Sydney in attack, in particular failing to convert scoring opportunities through dropped marks and poor kicking.

McVeigh said even though Adelaide was well on top in forward entries at half-time, there was no big concern from the Swans.

"They weren't really hurting us (with inside 50s), our defence was doing it really well and forcing them into tough shots," McVeigh said.

"Then we were working them back the other way ... and hurting them ourselves."

Crows captain Nathan van Berlo said the Swans had targeted areas where Adelaide had prided themselves on during the season.

"Contested possessions, clearances, and spread from stoppages have been among our highlights for the year," van Berlo told Grandstand.

"Today we were really outplayed in that area which is really disappointing."

In an incredible third term, both sides failed to kick a goal until the final two minutes.

Suddenly the Crows went forward, and David Mackay's kick inside 50 took a crazy bounce into the arms of Rory Sloane, who snapped a precious goal to put the Crows back within 18 points.

Sydney responded, however, with a mark and goal to late inclusion Mitch Morton to restore the Swans' four-goal lead at three-quarter time.

Adelaide got the start it needed in the final term, with an early goal to Graham Johncock, and Sydney was forced to use its substitute as Ben McGlynn came off with a hamstring injury.

Sub Luke Parker had an immediate impact, kicking a goal to push the lead back to four goals.

Ian Callinan sharked another goal for the home side, but Adelaide struggled to get enough clear shots on goal and when Lewis Jetta drilled another goal Sydney was headed for a home preliminary final.

The Crows will now face the winner of Saturday night's match between Geelong and Fremantle in an elimination final in Adelaide next Friday night.

"Obviously the boys are shattered at the moment," van Berlo told Grandstand.

"We've got to regroup pretty quick and turn it round.

"We had a good enough year to give ourselves the double chance. We've got that chance next week and we need to take it."

In injury news, Adelaide's Rising Star award-winner Daniel Talia is expected to be out for the year after suffering a suspected broken arm.

McGlynn's injury - while not believed to be as serious as first feared - will still make it a struggle for the midfielder to come up for the Swans' next game in a fortnight's time.

Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield took a blow to the jaw near full-time but was cleared of serious injury.

Adelaide: 5.12 (42) - Walker, Van Berlo, Sloane, Johncock, Callinan

Sydney: 11.5 (71) - Goodes 3, Morton 2, Jetta 2, McGlynn, Reid, Kennedy, Parker

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, sydney-2000, nsw, adelaide-5000, sa, australia

First posted September 08, 2012 17:53:36

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