An alarming recent slide has seen Sydney's three-game lead at the top of the AFL ladder evaporate. Tonight, the ladder leaders face Collingwood, with the reigning premiers needing a win to keep their slim finals chances alive.
Follow the live blog below, keep up to date with all the latest stats in our ScoreCentre, and tune in to our live radio coverage.
To leave a comment on the blog, please log in or sign up for an ABC account.
Tonight's clash will be the second time the Swans and Magpies have faced off this season.
The first meeting between the two teams came back in Round 1, where the Swans emerged 33-point winners at the MCG.
Here's how the last five meetings between Sydney and Collingwood have gone, with the Swans holding a 4-1 edge in those clashes.
Round 1, 2024: Sydney 15.12 (102) def. Collingwood 10.9 (69) @ MCG
Round 8, 2023: Collingwood 11.11 (77) def. Sydney 6.12 (48) @ MCG
PF, 2022: Sydney 14.11 (95) def. Collingwood 14.10 (94) @ SCG
Round 22, 2022: Sydney 11.11 (77) def. Collingwood 7.8 (50) @ SCG
Round 9, 2021: Sydney 10.12 (72) def. Collingwood 5.12 (42) @ SCG
Both Sydney and Collingwood are set to line up as originally selected tonight.
Here are the subs for both sides.
It's amazing just how much things can change in a month of football.
After Round 15, the Swans seemed like unbackable premiership favourites and were earning comparisons to all-time great sides such as the 2000 Bombers, who famously lost just one game that season.
Since then, here's how the Swans have gone:
Round 16: lost to Fremantle by one point
Round 17: lost to St Kilda by two points
Round 18: beat North Melbourne by 79 points
Round 19: lost to Brisbane by two points
Round 20: lost to the Western Bulldogs by 39 ...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]