The 2012 premier is about to turn an already power-packed forward line into the most attacking force in football, and Adam Goodes will be part of it. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun
A WEEK after Adelaide was seen to escape lightly for its salary cap cheating, Sydney is about to pull off a brazen heist.
Don't look now, but the 2012 premier is about to turn an already power-packed forward line into the most attacking force in football.
And if you thought offering pick 23 and fringe forward Jesse White to Adelaide for Kurt Tippett was laughable, the Swans will effectively get the Crows star for free.
That muffled sound you hear from north of the border is a club giggling at the sheer improbability of securing Tippett for nothing.
Greater Western Sydney yesterday cleared the way for the Swans, saying it would not pick Tippett at Tuesday's pre-season draft.
It means Sydney boasts a forward line brimming with emerging stars (Sam Reid, Gary Rohan, Lewis Jetta), veteran matchwinners (Adam Goodes, Ryan O'Keefe) and unlikely finals heroes (Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Mike Pyke, Mitch Morton). Add Tippett and it becomes close to unstoppable.
Yet somehow beaten Grand Final opponent Hawthorn has opened premiership betting at $3.50, while the Swans are $7.
And there are other reasons the Swans are laughing.
Not only do they get Tippett, but they used their first-round pick (22) on mature-aged VFL flanker Dean Towers, and saw projected first-round pick Tim Membrey slip through to their second pick at No.46.
Key forward Membrey kicked 16 goals in three TAC Cup finals with Gippsland Power.
Tippett may be overrated, but he still kicked 39 goals from 80 shots last season.
Instead of giving up an early pick for Tippett, the Swans sacrificed nothing and get Tippett, keep White and, with a first-round pick they never expected to retain, selected Towers, a 22-year-old midfielder from VFL club North Ballarat who is ready to roll straight away.
So Reid (31.19 this year) plays the lead-up centre half-forward, Goodes (37 goals) has his usual roving commission, and Tippett gets 11 weeks' rest to ensure his concussion issues are solved.
Alongside that trio are brilliant half-forward Jetta (45 goals), Ben McGlynn (30 goals) and, in a pinch-hitting role, the ungainly but effective Roberts-Thomson (25 goals).
Then throw in the effervescent Rohan, and goalkicking midfielders such as O'Keefe (20 goals), Josh Kennedy (29), Kieren Jack (27) and Jarrad McVeigh (18). It is a fearsome sight.
Tippett may be overrated, but he still kicked 39 goals from 80 shots last season.
Argue all you want about the validity of Sydney's extra salary cap dispensation and the bizarre circumstances that have thrown Tippett into the pre-season draft.
But the harder you work, and the more cunning your recruiting team, and the more irons you put in the fire, the luckier you tend to get in the AFL.
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