Swans women aim for redemption after 'kick in the guts'

In what captain Jess O'Brien described as a "kick in the guts" the Swans had to forfeit their game against the Gunnedah Bulldogs after only 10 players were available on the day.

"Due to COVID and work commitments, we couldn't get around it," O'Brien said.

"[Coach Andrew Donohue] and I unfortunately had to make that decision to pull out of that game. We were looking to the back end of the season and coming into finals, we needed to take the smart option."

If there is a silver lining to be found in the disappointment around their forfeit, it is the motivation the Swans now feel to make a statement against the Inverell Saints this Saturday.

Coming off a "really good" training session on Tuesday night, O'Brien believes the team will carry that energy into game day.

"The Saints have always been so strong in our competition," she said.

"To me, they've always been a team that I really want to beat, and it's always a competitive match when you're up against them. The crowd gets right involved."

That energy will be crucial in a game that could prove definitive for the rest of the Swans' season. It is one that O'Brien said "we want to win, we need to win."

The women will play at 2.30pm on No. 1 Oval this weekend for the women's feature round, which O'Brien expects will turn into a Ladies Day.

It will be preceded by the men's game at noon, which co-coach Josh Jones expects to be played in a similarly bruising style to the women's.

"It's definitely going to be a tight game," Jones said.

"I think things might be a little bit different after last time [when the Saints became the first team to beat the Swans in 2022].

"It was quite a physical game, which it always is against Inverell."

Given their recent history against the Saints, and the fact that they are one and one for the season, the Swans are particularly keen to tip the record in their favour on Saturday.

"We know that if we happen to have our best team on the park, we can win it," Jones said.

"If we're going in with a full list, it makes us a lot more confident, but the thing about this league is you can't assume you're going to travel well and beat the other team.

"We've done that this year, we travelled to Inverell and lost, then travelled to Armidale and the same thing happened. I think both of those games were a wake-up call."

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