Labelling something a ‘certainty’ in any sport is fraught with danger.
But we’ll attempt to find some anyway.
Here is what we consider certainties for the Swans v Cats clash:
Heeney to kick 1 goal or more and have 3+ tackles / Mills to pick up 20+ disposals
Isaac Heeney started the 2022 season in good nick, kicking three goals and laying six tackles in the win over GWS.
Against the Cats on Friday night, he could hold the key if the Swans are to win at the SCG.
With plenty of rain forecast around Sydney, it could see the ball on the deck frequently which will give him the opportunity to have high tackle numbers and he is generally a threat around goals.
Callum Mills also started the season well last week.
He picked up 21 touches, following on from season 2021 where he had 20 or more disposals in 15 of 18 games.
Mixing his time between defence and the midfield, and with the ball likely to be in a contested situation quite a lot, Mills should get the chance to reach that mark once again.
Andrew Slevison
Geelong’s defence won’t let Buddy kick his 1000th goal / Parfitt will be in the top three clearance getters
As good as it would be to see, under lights on a Friday night against a genuine contender, ‘Buddy’ won’t kick goal number 1000 against the Cats.
He was far from his brilliant best last week, well beaten by Phil Davis. However, he also wasn’t the main focal point of the dynamic Swans’ forward line.
He could certainly improve off that, but Franklin will now have to contend with Tom Stewart, Mark Blicavs and Jack Henry in the air, who were all rock solid against the Bombers last week.
If the Cats’ midfield remains as impressive as last week, Sydney will find it hard to move the ball quickly to Franklin. If their only option is to bomb it to him, it’s very hard to see him kicking four goals.
Brandan Parfitt was an unheralded part of the Cats midfield that tore apart Essendon last week, and it appears he’s starting to develop into a genuine A-grader.
32 disposals (16 contested) and a team-high 11 clearances were right up there in terms of career-best performances and he’s set to back it up again.
He’ll be up against a dominant Sydney midfield, but Patrick Dangerfield’s impressive first outing should ensure Parfitt goes somewhat under the radar as Geelong’s first inside midfielder.
Mitch Duncan returns, but Parfitt is an out-and-out midfielder. If the 23-year-old has taken the next step in his development, as it looks like he has, he’s looking very likely to be among the best midfielders on the ground again.
Seb Mottram