Sydney Swans and Fremantle Dockers face AFL preliminary final

The Sydney Swans and Fremantle Dockers are set to face each other in an AFL preliminary final at the SCG. The match features a significant disparity in roster availability, as the Swans will be playing without captain Callum Mills, who is out for the season with an ACL injury, and five other players—Chad Warner, Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice, and James Jordon—who are serving club-imposed suspensions.

Despite these absences, the Swans enter the match with momentum following a dominant qualifying final victory over the Brisbane Lions. Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has urged his players to embrace an imperfect, high-intensity style of play to avoid being ambushed by the weakened but motivated Sydney side.

The matchup also highlights a family rivalry, as brothers Caleb and Jai Serong are expected to compete against one another. Jai Serong, playing for the Swans, has moved into a more central midfield role due to Sydney’s player shortages, increasing the likelihood of direct physical contests with Fremantle’s Caleb Serong.