Written by Megan Taylor, sports reporter covering international sports since 2020
Braeden Campbell will make his first AFL appearance of the season when the Sydney Swans host the Adelaide Crows at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday night. His return gives the second-placed Sydney Swans added speed as they seek a response following their heavy loss to the Fremantle Dockers.
The 24-year-old has not played at AFL level since suffering a shin stress fracture in February. Braeden Campbell returned through the Victorian Football League last week and completed 90 minutes in his first match of the year.
For more AFL news, read how Rowan Marshall trade talk has linked him with the Geelong Cats and follow the official AFL news page for competition updates.
Sydney Swans Welcome Two Key Returns
"Braeden will play. It's a great story for the footy club," Sydney Swans coach Dean Cox said.
"He played 90 minutes last week, looked really sharp. He's trained with the main squad for a long time."
Key forward Logan McDonald will also return after missing two weeks with a quadriceps strain. The pair strengthen a Sydney Swans team that surrendered a 25-point lead before losing to the Fremantle Dockers by 38 points last week.
Adelaide Crows Present Defensive Test
The Sydney Swans hold a 13-4 record and remain six points clear of the third-placed Hawthorn Hawks. The fifth-placed Adelaide Crows are 11-6 after winning four of their past five matches.
Dean Cox expects Braeden Campbell’s running power and ball use to help the Sydney Swans break through a well-organised Adelaide Crows defence.
"They're (Adelaide) the best team defensively, defending length of the ground chains - the way they set up, how quickly they locate a man ... we need to make sure that we're under no illusion that's what the game's going to look like."
The Adelaide Crows won by 90 points on their previous visit to the Sydney Cricket Ground, which came during the Sydney Swans’ celebration of the 2005 premiership.
"This is a different team. We'll look at what Adelaide have done in the last month or six weeks of footy and prepare them for that."
