Struggling Sydney need to beat their AFL bunnies Brisbane at the SCG on Sunday to avoid the ignominy of their longest losing run this century.
Languishing last on the ladder with a 0-6 record, Sydney last week equalled their longest losing streak of the 21st century, which occurred back in 2002 and prompted the resignation of coach Rodney Eade.
Brisbane have nothing to crow about as they have the second worst form line behind Sydney.
Their opening round win over Gold Coast seems like a distant memory following five straight defeats.
The Lions will be playing their first match at the SCG in four years in the fixture.
They haven't beaten Sydney since 2009, with the Swans nine-match winning streak against Brisbane their longest run of recent wins against any club.
The consecutive losses aren't something Sydney and coach John Longmire are used to - prior to this season Longmire had never presided over more than three successive defeats in his first six years in charge.
The Swans went through all of last year without ever losing consecutive games and have already dropped more matches at the SCG than they did in all of 2016.
Sydney vice-captain Dan Hannebery said a win on Sunday was vitally important for his club.
"We've got to get our season going," Hannebery said.
"We've talked about if for a few weeks now.
"They (Brisbane) have certainly got a lot of talent throughout that list.
'You've got to respect your opponents. We respect Brisbane immensely and we know we're going to have to really lift our effort and intensity over that four quarters."
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan isn't surprised his side will start underdogs despite Sydney's inferior record.
"The expectation around Sydney is that they are going to bounce back at some point in time," Fagan said.
"They've got a lot of good players, a lot of experienced players, no (being outsiders) that doesn't surprise me."
Brisbane will be without captain Dayne Beams due to a quad injury.
Among Sydney's five inclusions is former co-captain Jarrad McVeigh, who will play his first game of the season.
Share
