The Swans of Round 4 were very different to what they are today.

While the personnel is similar, after 17 wins from 19 games since, John Longmire’s men are at the top of their game.

Minus several of its starters, Sydney fell to the Tigers in Round 23. Five weeks earlier they came close to knocking off the Hawks away from home. Other than that, it’s hard to find a blemish.

Perhaps most scary is the Swans will have their best side back on the park just in time for the Preliminary Final against North.

Jay Clark – Herald Sun
“Nick Malceski sent hearts racing when he hobbled off the ground with a tight hamstring in the qualifying final but the good news for the Swans is that he is set to play on Friday night.

“The rebounding backman, who is considered a strong contender for the All-Australian team tomorrow night, is a crucial cog in the club’s devastating overlap run and carry game.

“Incredibly, it means the Swans will have their best 22 available for the clash against the Roos. Mike Pyke, Lance Franklin, Josh Kennedy, Ben McGlynn and Craig Bird have all returned from injury.”

The home team will go in as heavy favourites on Friday night, and rightly so. They boast winners across the ground.

Rohan Connolly – The Age
“For Sydney, two names stand out as capable of turning this game with an explosion of brilliance. The most obvious is Franklin, whose first year for the Swans might have started slowly, but burst into life soon enough, Buddy now with 70 goals from his 20 games, including two "specials" which helped get Sydney over the line against Fremantle in the qualifying final.”

The Franklin/Scott Thompson matchup is sure to be vital to the outcome of the game.

Jay Clark – Herald Sun
“It’s an intimidating task, but Scott Thompson will take confidence out of holding Franklin goal-less in Round 4, but that was a stone-cold Swans outfit then.

“Thompson can body Franklin in the marking contests, but he will be hard to contain when the superstar Swan gets on his bike and performs his magic wheeling around on his left boot, bombing them from 50m-plus.”

Then there’s Kurt Tippett, who has struggled this year, but is fit and firing when it matters most.

Jay Clark – Herald Sun
“… Problem is (Nathan) Grima is 9cm shorter than Tippett and (Michael) Firrito 12cm. 

“Then there is Adam Goodes and Sam Reid to contend with. The Roos’ backmen will pray the midfield puts enough pressure on the supply forward to give the Kangas a chance to spoil. Slick delivery will be impossible to stop.”

Jennifer Phelan – AFL.com.au
“There's no doubt the Swans' forward line packs a potent punch on paper with Lance Franklin, Kurt Tippett, Adam Goodes and Sam Reid proving a handful height-wise for pretty much every team.

“The Roos need to decide now how they best go about combating them. They've got Scott Thompson and Nathan Grima, and would love to have Lachie Hansen fit but he's no certainty to get up after struggling with hip/groin issues for the past month.”

Matt Murnane – The Age
“Essendon's Joe Daniher (four goals) and Geelong's Tom Hawkins (five goals) have both had good games against the Roos so far in the finals.

“But the fact that those teams have only had one key-forward option has allowed the Roos to survive and also set-up defensive rebound. The Swans have the capacity to load up with Lance Franklin, Kurt Tippett, Sam Reid and Adam Goodes to stretch the Roos' defence.”

North will take solace from its ability to apply ferocious pressure when the teams last met, ultimately the defining factor in its win.

The Roos will need a similar effort to curb the influence of some potential match-winners. 

Neil Cordy – The Daily Telegraph
“Speed kills and in Lewis Jetta, Harry Cunningham and Gary Rohan the Swans have a strike force ready to run riot over the Kangaroos on Friday night.”

Rohan Connolly – The Age
“The Swans also have a bona fide jet in Lewis Jetta, who looked ominous against the Dockers with 25 disposals and seven inside 50s, and whose pace is a big weapon.”

Then there’s the midfield brigade. The likes of Dan Hannebery, Kieran Jack and Josh Kennedy will have a point to prove after being comprehensively outpointed earlier in the season.

Rohan Connolly – The Age
“The Swans' huge army of midfielders are consistently prolific, Sydney ranked third in the AFL for total disposals, and they generate plenty of scoring opportunities for a power-packed forward line featuring Franklin, Kurt Tippett, Adam Goodes and Sam Reid, ranked second for inside 50 entries at an average of 56.3.”

Matt Murnane – The Age
“This is one area where the Roos have improved, and is a major reason why they are now a preliminary final team. Instead of relying on Andrew Swallow, Wells, Harvey and Ziebell, they have added Nick Dal Santo, plus the emergence of Levi Greenwood, Sam Gibson, Ben Cunnington, Ryan Bastinac and Shaun Atley. The depth has allowed them Sydney-like luxury, for players the quality of Ziebell, Cunnington, Wells and Harvey have been able to spend more time forward.

“But no one has more options than the Swans – Josh Kennedy, Kieren Jack, Jarrad McVeigh, Dan Hannebery, Ben McGlynn, Craig Bird, the list just goes on and on. There is a question mark on the fitness of Nick Malceski, though, which means they could be down a runner.”

In most experts’ minds, Sydney has North covered. But Brad Scott’s team has excelled as the underdog this year and there’s no reason it can’t do so again.

Open training – Thursday at Arden Street, 11.30am-12.30pm approx. Autographs, sausage sizzle and merchandise available.