Ex-Hawthorn premiership player Campbell Brown has labelled Sydney as the most overrated side in the top eight, suggesting they need one player to stand up every week and win them the game.
The Swans currently sit in sixth place, but could go as high as third if results go their way on Sunday, or as low as seventh.
Brown believes the Swans have been saved from losses by big performances from Lance Franklin, Ben Ronke and Josh Kennedy over the course of the season so far, and says they aren't winning the big games they need to.
“I think they’re the most overrated side in the top eight at the moment, Sydney,” Brown said on SEN’s The Sunday Recovery.
“I looked deeper into Sydney because they’ve been frustrating this year. Every time I’ve thought they’ve got a game they should win, they’ve dropped it.
“They’re depleted with injuries, they really have battled and it got me thinking, yes they’ve won plenty of games this year, but if you go back and look at how they’ve won, they’ve relied on star performances.
“Round 1 versus West Coast, it was an eight-goal haul from Lance Franklin that won them that game, they knock off the Hawks at the MCG on the back of Ben Ronke kicking seven, they beat Geelong down in Geelong, they were gone at three quarter time and it was a seven-goal last quarter on the back of Josh Kennedy’s work in the middle.
“It just gets me thinking they’re too reliant on their stars and collectively they’ve been ordinary.”
The Swans will look to prove Brown wrong on Sunday afternoon against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, in a game that could see the Roos leapfrog the Swans should they get the win.
