The Swans host Collingwood at the SCG tonight in the Friday night opener for Round 10, week one of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, played as the Marn Grook fixture. Sydney are 8-1 and the form team in the competition after Saturday's road win over North Melbourne. Collingwood are 4-1-4, dragging a 122-68 belting at Geelong's hands into this fixture and missing the four players who would normally be the spine of their week. The team news has tightened the line and the head-to-head, and the talking point is Scott Pendlebury, rested at 432 games tonight so that his 433rd, the one that surpasses Brent Harvey's all-time VFL/AFL record, lands at the MCG next Saturday against West Coast in Round 11 proper.
Pendlebury Rested for the Record, Moore Out with Concussion
Craig McRae confirmed on 8 May that Pendlebury would sit this one out on a five-day break and play the record-breaker in the home fixture against the Eagles on Saturday 23 May. He is not the only senior Pie missing. Captain Darcy Moore is out with concussion, midfielder Patrick Lipinski is also concussed, and ruckman Darcy Cameron is out with an ankle. Will Hayes, Charlie West, Ed Allan and Wil Parker are the four ins. The structural problem is the ruck, where Cameron's absence leaves an undersized hand to deal with Brodie Grundy in his return game to a Sydney lineup that is the highest-scoring side in the competition since Round 5.
Curnow, Serong and McCartin Back for the Swans
Sydney bring three back. Charlie Curnow, Jai Serong and Tom McCartin all return after missing last week's 105-97 road win over North Melbourne. Hayden McLean, Matt Roberts and Dane Rampe are the three outs, the McLean call the most significant given the Swans' midfield depth is tested against any Collingwood look but lighter when Roberts is out. The last time these two met at the SCG, Sydney prevailed by three points in a low-scoring grind. The form line since then favours the Swans by some distance, with Errol Gulden, Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner and Rowan Marshall all in form, and the recent first-half blitz against the Dees still the league benchmark for early-game scoring rate.
Where the Markets Land
Sydney opened heavy in the head-to-head and the line drifted out steadily through the week as more Pies were ruled out. Our reviewed bookmakers dabble, Ladbrokes and bet365 are all sitting within a point of each other on the line, which has moved beyond a four-goal start and points at the bigger end of the totals market. The head-to-head has Sydney short in the $1.20 range and the Magpies out toward the $4.20 mark, with the game total trading high to reflect the Swans' first-quarter scoring rate and the Pies' depleted midfield. The futures move that matters tonight is the Coleman, where Logan McDonald 3+ goals has shortened since the team list dropped. For Pies backers the line under is the only sensible angle, on the bet that Hayes and West can hold up the contest in the centre square. Pendlebury's record-breaker against West Coast lands at the MCG next Saturday 23 May. AFL Round 10 fixture and team news via AFL.com.au.