Back to school: Swans star’s strange homecoming as AFL takes over Adelaide

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Captain’s runs are usually simple, straightforward affairs – if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. But Thursday’s was one out of the box for Will Hayward, who was brought right back to where it all began.

The 24-year-old forward is among a handful players of South Australian origin on the books of the Sydney Swans, who put the final touches on their preparations for Friday night’s AFL Gather Round clash against Richmond at the leafy, salubrious surrounds of St. Peter’s College – one of Adelaide’s richest and most prestigious private schools.

Sydney trio Matty Roberts, Dylan Stephens and Will Hayward went back to school at St. Peter’s College in Adelaide on Thursday.Credit: Phil Hillyard

Hayward is one of three Saints alumni at the Swans, as is chief executive Tom Harley, who helped pull some strings to get Sydney onto the school’s pristine main oval in the middle of their sprawling, Hogwarts-like grounds on the eastern fringes of the Adelaide CBD, where roughly 1000 onlookers lined the boundary to watch their last training session of the week.

“It’s great to be back,” Hayward said.

“I don’t remember my last game here. [But] I remember my last game for Saints which wasn’t too successful – I’m sure [teammate] Will Gould will tell you about that.

“We just had our team meeting where I used to do Year 12 PE classes, so that was a little bit weird. Other than that, all very good memories.

Swans players get an Indigenous performance welcome ahead of their captain’s run on Thursday.Credit: Phil Hillyard

“We’ve literally just touched down [from Sydney] and driving through the city, you can feel the atmosphere and the buzz around town. Even this – I don’t think in my seven years at the club I’ve ever seen a captain’s run like this, with this much buzz and energy. It’s awesome.”

The great irony is that Gather Round – an idea shamelessly stolen from the NRL’s Magic Round, which, in turn, was shamelessly stolen from the English Super League’s Magic Weekend – was originally conceived as an idea to help drum up support for the code in Sydney, where the Swans and the GWS Giants remain in a constant battle for eyeballs and attention.

It was diverted elsewhere for two key reasons: the Royal Easter Show, which made stadium availability in Sydney at this time of year an insurmountable challenge, and the enthusiasm of the South Australian government, who are eager to cement it as an annual Adelaide pilgrimage for footy fans, and whose initial pitch for the four-day event is said to have blown the AFL away.

The City of Churches is alive, to an extent probably not seen since the 1995 Formula One Grand Prix – the last staged in Adelaide before it was moved to Melbourne.

Six of this round’s nine games will be played at Adelaide Oval, including the Swans’ clash with the Tigers, but the historic Norwood Oval – the home of SANFL powerhouse Norwood – will host two, while a temporary venue in Mount Barker has been constructed for Saturday’s meeting between Brisbane and North Melbourne to show off the Adelaide Hills.

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas has even teased Sydney’s reputation as a fair weather sporting city by challenging Adelaide fans to get more people to Friday night’s clash than what the Swans would usually get to the SCG – although it is the only game of the nine not to sell out at this stage.

While it remains to be seen whether Sydney can coax the right to host next year’s Gather Round – John Longmire this week said it would be a “wonderful thing” to promote AFL in rugby league heartland – the Swans have serious business to attend to in the short term.

With a 2-2 ledger after the first four weeks of the season, and after a heartbreaking defeat to Port Adelaide on the siren last weekend, they come into this match desperately undermanned, with Lance Franklin (knee) sidelined and defensive pillars Paddy and Tom McCartin both concussed, amid doubts over whether the former will ever play again – while co-captain Dane Rampe is out with a neck problem, compounding their problems at the back.

Longmire has flagged that the versatile Nick Blakey may be asked to play tall in defence, although the absence of Richmond spearhead Tom Lynch (foot) and ruckman Toby Nankervis (ankle) will help them find match-ups.

“We’re coming off the back of two losses. We’re really hungry for a win,” Hayward said. “We didn’t come down here for a party, we came down to play a game of footy, and we’re expecting a hot contest.”

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