Tom Papley says the Sydney Swans are capable of giving Melbourne a run for their money on Saturday but admits they need to start the game well.
The Swans are priced at 3/1 to beat a Demons side who will looking bounce back after their seven-match winning streak was ended by Fremantle last week.
Franklin missing
Papley says the Swans can take heart from running Melbourne close last season and can do so again even without the suspended Lance Franklin.
The Swans forward says they have also watched the Fremantle game and will learn things from it as they also look to shoot down the Demons.
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"We’ve had a look and we’ll train that today. We’ve got a plan we’ll go with that plan and hopefully come out on top," he said.
"We played them last year at the MCG and we were 10 points off them. We were in the game the whole game and provided pressure. It was a bit like a finals game and we’re expecting the same this week."
Fast start needed
Sydney have got off to slow starts this season when losing seven of the opening 10 quarters and that cannot happen against Melbourne if they are to have a chance.
"We’ve spoken about it. We started well on the weekend and then the second quarter we slipped. We’re trying things," Papley added.
"On game day we changed the meeting, we used to have it earlier now we have it later. Sometimes we might have a poor warm up and start hot and then other times the energy is high and we start poor, so it’s a hard one to understand."
