The Swans will begin their 2023 campaign hoping to put the demons of their grand final defeat behind them.
Four players from that heavy loss to Geelong won’t feature against the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday night, including big men Tom Hickey and Sam Reid.
The Suns will welcome back big forward Ben King for his first game in more than 570 days while Academy product Bodhi Uwland will make his debut.
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Suns coach Stuart Dew, a former assistant under Swans coach John Longmire, says he’s not expecting Sydney to have any lingering grand final hangover.
“Having known the way they go about it, particularly John, I’m not expecting a hangover,” he said.
“They’re not a footy club that dwells on the past.
“They’ve shown resilience. They lost the ’14 Grand Final, they lost the ’16 Grand Final and they’ve kept fronting up. Not dissimilar to Geelong.
“I think when your footy club is at the pointy end of questions being asked whether they’re going to bounce back from a Grand Final or prelim (loss), it’s a pretty good spot to be in, isn’t it?”
This match gets underway at 8pm AEDT from Heritage Bank Stadium
Watch it live on Fox Footy (channel 503) from 7:55pm AEDT.
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Story Credit: foxsports.com.au