A quick tip for tonight

I didn't have enough time to write up a real preview for tonight's game between the Swans and Kangas, so a few quick thoughts will have to suffice.

• I think it's pretty important that the Roos have never played at ANZ Stadium before. Playing football myself, it is difficult to adjust to a new ground straight away. These guys are professionals and everything, but still you can't deny that the inexperience is going to have an impact.
• The conditions will favour the Swans. Rain has hit hard, so we're going to see a sloppy low-scoring game. Sydney will thrive on this. They're older and slower than the Roos, so the rain will aid them. What is key for Sydney though is this - North's four best players (arguably) are all dry weather players. Brent Harvey thrives on space to run and carry, there won't be much of that tonight. Same goes for Daniel Wells. David Hale and Drew Petrie are both big guys, and really do the big men have a significant impact in the wet. It's obviously a lot harder to hold a mark.
• Something that no one has really mentioned, but has anyone considered how lifeless next week's clash is going to be between the Bulldogs and the winner of this? On one hand we'll have an absolute blockbuster between Collingwood and St. Kilda/Geelong, and then we'll have the Dogs vs. Sydney/Kangaroos in a match that will struggle to get 40, 000 people. The Collingwood match will be a lock for twice that.
• It's a tough game to peg, but based on last week's form, the conditions and North's lack of experience with the ground all the signs point to Sydney. Neither of these team's is going to make anything happen in September, so this is basically the Grand Final for both these teams. Sydney 67 Kangaroos 49