Arabic version: سيدني وفريمانتل تستهدفان أفضلية في النهائي التمهيدي

According to The Guardian, Sydney and Fremantle will meet in Friday’s AFL preliminary final with the Swans chasing a third grand final appearance in five seasons and the Dockers seeking to keep their first-premiership campaign alive.

Sydney reached a home preliminary final after a commanding qualifying-final victory over Brisbane, despite the club-imposed suspension of five players for breaching club standards. Captain Callum Mills sustained a serious knee injury against the Lions, adding to the Swans’ absences. Dean Cox’s side recorded 141 points, its highest score in a final, with Logan McDonald kicking six goals, Charlie Curnow and Tom Papley five each, and Hayden McLean three.

The Swans led the home-and-away season for points scored and have also excelled at stoppages. They limited Brisbane to one goal from the source in the qualifying final while scoring 39 points from centre clearances. Sydney has a 14-0 record when it outscores opponents from clearances.

Fremantle responded to its qualifying-final loss by defeating Geelong in a semi-final. The Dockers scored 45 points from centre clearances but conceded 36 from the same source. Luke Jackson had a game-high eight clearances, while Shai Bolton, Hayden Young, Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw and Murphy Reid form a midfield group set to test Sydney’s depth.

Fremantle’s tall forwards Josh Treacy, Jye Amiss and Patrick Voss combined for seven goals against Geelong, with Voss kicking four. Bolton finished that match with 26 disposals, four clearances and eight tackles after kicking the opening two goals. Sydney’s Errol Gulden has averaged 39 disposals, seven clearances and nine score involvements across his past six matches, making both midfielders potential game-changers.