Adelaide and Sydney have met 39 times. The Crows are ahead on the overall ledger 23 – 16.
However, recent history favours the Swans who have won six of the last seven meetings between the teams by an average margin of 43 points.
The SCG is a happy hunting ground for the Swans, who have lost just 11 of their last 50 games at the venue.
Adelaide’s most recent win against Sydney was at the SCG in Round Six, 2012. Taylor Walker kicked five goals to help guide the visitors to a thrilling five-point victory.
The two teams have met just once previously on a Friday night, at the SCG way back in 1993. On that occasion, five goals from high-flying forward Tony Modra and 40 touches from captain Chris McDermott led the Crows to a 44-point win.
The Crows and Swans last clashed in an epic encounter at Adelaide Oval in Round 22 last season. Four goals from Mitch McGovern wasn’t enough to get Adelaide over the line, as the Sydney held on for a thrilling three-point win.
Swans captain Josh Kennedy, who amassed 31 disposals and a goal, received the three Brownlow votes in Round 22, with Rory Sloane (two) and Lance Franklin (one) also catching the eye of the umpires.
Sydney (3 – 1) currently sits in sixth position on the AFL ladder, while Adelaide is ninth with a record of two wins and two losses.
Swans star Lance Franklin leads the Coleman Medal race after four rounds with 17 goals.
He also ranks equal-first in the League for unique score involvements (39). Recruit Bryce Gibbs has the most for Adelaide (31).
Franklin is the most targeted forward in the game this season, with the Swans having looked for him on 46 occasions.
Adelaide defender Rory Laird has gathered 151 disposals this season - ranked No.2 in the competition and No.1 of any Crows player in history after four rounds. The previous best was 127 touches by Mark Bickley in the opening month of the 1994 season.
The Crows average the most long kicks per game (77), and also the highest percentage of effective kicks per game (71.3) of any team.
Sydney is the best team in the League when it comes to scoring early in quarters. Across all games, the Swans have scored a total of 154 points in the first 10 minutes of quarters. Adelaide’s heaviest scoring time is the 10 – 20 minute periods (132) of quarters.
Swans wingman Dan Hannebery has averaged 34 disposals and a goal in his last four games against Adelaide.
Crows forward Tom Lynch also has a good record in these games. Lynch has averaged 21 disposals, seven marks and two goals in his last four battles with the Swans.
Full-back Daniel Talia ranks top 10 in the League for one percenters this season (32). Talia has a career total of 1,095 one-per cent efforts – ranked first all-time at Adelaide since the statistic has been recorded.
