Sydney Swans players Paul Williams and Ben Mathews will take time out from training today to catch an exclusive glimpse of Sydney's newest mini-cruise ship, Spirit of Tasmania III, at Darling Harbour.

With the AFL season about to begin and the new Spirit of Tasmania III sailing out of Sydney three times a week, two of the City's red and white icons will come together for preseason kick-off.

The ship's Captain, Jim Lewis will be having a kick of the football with some of the team onboard and players are invited to explore the entire vessel before it sails out of Sydney at 3.00pm. "I just hope their skills are up to scratch as out of bounds, 'on the full' will mean game over," Captain Lewis said.

The new service has grabbed the attention of the Swans' Tasmanian player, Paul Williams, who thinks the service is fantastic for both states. "I grew up in Tassie and it's a beautiful state. While I live in Sydney, I love nothing better than going home," he said.

Captain Lewis said he was excited to be involved. "We have over 35,000 bookings and it's excellent to see our Sydney neighbours supporting us," he said.

"We have many Sydney Swans supporters in our crew and they'll be watching closely to see that they sail smoothly through 2004's AFL season."

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For further information please contact:
Chelsea Kelly
Corporate Communications Assistant
Spirit of Tasmania
Tel: 03 9206 6226