At that point, you may remember, alarm bells were ringing across Sydney, as article after article appeared in newspapers and talking head after talking head queried whether the recruitment of Lance Franklin (and, to a lesser extent) Kurt Tippett had ruined the vaunted Bloods Culture. Stats were thrown up, showing a downward trend over the Swans’ last twenty games, stretching back to last season, yet did not make mention
Now, the Swans are the form team of the competition - amazing what an injection of class players can do, right? The inclusions of handy players like Adam Goodes and Kurt Tippett have helped, and the re-emergence of form for guys like Kieran Jack, Dan Hannebery and Rhyce Shaw have made a giant difference. As, of course, has Franklin settling in and rediscovering the sort of form that made him such a huge threat at Hawthorn and such a sought after free agent.
The Swans are on the march now, warm-to-hot premiership favourites in most people’s eyes, thanks to the nature of their most important wins: Fremantle, Hawthorn and Geelong. They were dominant against the Dockers at the SCG, beating Ross Lyon’s men at their own game, skipped away from Hawthorn on the back of two last-quarter Franklin specials, and absolutely belted Geelong by 110 points, teaching the Cats a lesson in football that they won’t soon forget.
On Sunday afternoon, Sydney faced a different test: that of a determined and young Gold Coast outfit. The Suns are on the rise, chock-full of talent, and don’t yet know where their ceiling is. With Sydney potentially looking ahead to next Saturday’s showdown with Port Adelaide, there was always the potential for this to become a trap game.
Needless to say, any team featuring Gary Ablett is not one to be taken lightly, and the Brownlow medallist’s sparkling form continued on Sunday (37 touches and a goal), despite being closely shadowed by nuggetty Swan Ben McGlynn, who copped a nasty whack late in the game and had about as much knowledge of his presence on the turf at Metricon as I have knowledge about rocket science. The Swans love his dependable presence, and will be hoping there are no lingering concussion symptoms to keep him out next week or into the future.
You can see where the Suns are going to improve. Already, they’re very good, but occasionally their lack of experience lets them down. In two or three years, that won’t be a problem and the Suns will be a powerhouse unit – Harley Bennell, Kade Kolodjashnij, Charlie Dixon and the imposing Zac Smith all look set for long careers in the AFL.
On Sunday afternoon, however, it was the Swans own group of elite performers who were the difference: Dan Hannebery, Kieran Jack, Jarrad McVeigh, Rhyce Shaw and Martin Mattner stood up when it was necessary, and helped pave the way for the nearly-six goal win. These guys continue to be in a rich vein of form, and at times the midfield was so good that they sometimes do too much and outsmart themselves.
Pleasingly, some of the second-tier players were part of the win. Forward Harry Cunningham had a career day, booting four goals, picking up the slack created by Kurt Tippett being well covered by Gold Coast’s Rory Thompson. Cunningham was lethally accurate, doing what so many of the fringe players on this red-hot Sydney team must do to hold their place: take the most of every opportunity presented. Tick that box for Cunningham today. He was as good as he’s ever been in the red-and-white.
Sam Reid, often the forgotten fourth man in the celebrated Swans forward line alongside Tippett, Franklin and Adam Goodes, booted three goals, all in the third quarter, capping off a blistering run, a scintillating few minutes earlier, when the Swans really flexed their muscle, and pulled away. Franklin’s effort on the run from the boundary outside of fifty was highlight reel-worthy.
I still maintain there’s no better guy in the game when he’s up, about and dominant than Buddy. He finished with 3.2 for the day, and could easily have kicked five straight. I’m fairly happy, though, that he’s getting five or more opportunities a game to shoot at the sticks. That means the ball’s residing deep in the Swans forward line, which never hurts.
Crucially for the Swans, Tippett was subbed off late in the third with knee soreness, making way for Jake Lloyd. You can guarantee that his knee will be a major talking point this week, but early signs are good, in that Tippett didn’t seem particularly hobbled by the injury. Swans fans everywhere hope that it was a case of better to be safe than sorry. If not, at least we’ve just witnessed Cunningham find his best.
So, too, will Franklin’s somewhat late bump on Clay Cameron midway through the second term. It didn’t seem too bad at first blush – and, certainly, there was no free kick paid – but there is no real form guide to tribunal decisions being doled out this year, so we must hold our breath and wait.
Franklin, Tippett and McGlynn aside, a solid afternoon for the Swans in gaining victory at Metricon Stadium, a joint, you figure, will become as much as desolate boneyard for visiting teams in coming yeas as the SCG is currently for Sydney.
I’m already anticipating the belter of a game that awaits us on Saturday afternoon in Sydney, with the high-flying Port Adelaide coming up for a possible Grand Final preview.
It promises to be an epic. Go Swans!
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