After beating Carlton by 24 points last week, the Sydney Swans face Fremantle in Saturday’s cut-throat preliminary final at Paterson’s stadium in Perth.

In last week’s game Jarrad McVeigh starred for the Swans with 42 disposals and two goals, 20 of his possessions coming in the second quarter when the match was there to be won. Luke Parker also was one of their best on ground by kicking three goals for the Swans, but last week’s victory against the Blues took its toll, with Kurt Tippett doing his knee, Mitchell unable to see out the first quarter and Dan Hannebery pulling up lame in the last ten seconds of the game.

There is no doubt that the Swans are entering this game with injury concerns, especially to their midfielders. On the plus side, there is a remote possibility that seasoned Swan stars Adam Goodes and Lewis Roberts-Thompson, who have been out almost half a season with knee injuries, may return and play tonight. One aspect to keep in mind is that whatever their concern, the Swans have the uncanny knack of defying the odds by pulling unlikely victories out of a hat.

The Dockers are listed as favourites to win this one, but would prefer to go into the grand final as the underdogs. The week’s rest after beating Geelong at home benefited Fremantle in their quest to play in their first grand final.

Despite their injuries, the Swans will have to make the long and tiring coast to coast trip to Perth for the game. Fremantle coach Ross Lyon is not underestimating Sydney and says the game could be won or lost in the midfield, expecting Sydney’s All Australian midfield (Jarrad McVeigh, Kieren Jack and Daniel Hannebery) to present his team with a huge challenge during the match. The Dockers captain Matthew Pavlich, Hayden Ballantyne, Zac Clark, Nathan Fyfe and ruck man Aaron Sandilands will pose a barrier for Sydney.

The Dockers have their injury worries as well, however they are not quite as severe, with Johnson, who missed the qualifying win over Geelong with a calf injury, restricted to light duties at training early this week and Nick Suban expected to be fit after a minor calf knock. The only Docker to miss out is Garrick Ibbotson, due to his lingering Achilles tendon injury.

It will all come down to which team has the outside spread ascendancy and more run in their legs, especially in the second half of the game. I suspect that after Sydney faded badly last week, lacking run and remaining scoreless in the last quarter, a similar fate awaits them tonight, and Freo will not be as forgiving in running over the top of the Swans.