Swans Review: Collingwood (June 25, 2011)

COLLINGWOOD 5.5  7.10  11.15  13.21 (99)
SYDNEY 4.3  5.5  11.6  14.9 (93)

Goals - Collingwood: T Cloke 6 C Dawes D Swan J Blair L Ball S Pendlebury S Sidebottom S Wellingham. Sydney: J McVeigh 4 A Goodes 3 J Bolton 2 R O’Keefe 2 J White K Jack M Mattner.

Umpires: Jacob Mollison, Brett Rosebury, Luke Farmer.
Official Crowd: 38,053 at ANZ Stadium.

Almost but not quite this evening at ANZ Stadium, but no true Swans fan should be at all disappointed with the way the game went. 

Thanks in part to some woefully inaccurate kicking that will probably see Dale Thomas – at sea for most of the night, and never looked comfortable in front of the sticks – and Travis Cloke – he kicked six, but could’ve had nine or ten – spending some extra time taking set shots on the training paddock this week, and to the tenacity of a young, rising football team, the Swans took the reigning premiers Collingwood on at their own game, and very nearly came away with perhaps the upset of the season.

After many years of watching the Pies completely shut the Swans down, and take them to school, this contest was a breath of fresh air, and the best evidence yet that the red-and-whites aren't far away from beating Collingwood. Perhaps this will be the nucleus of players who finally get the watershed victory. They showed resilience tonight, coming back from 30 points down in the third quarter to be within a kick of victory.

Ultimately, the Swans went down by one straight goal, 13.21 (93) to 14.9 (93), in what was an electric final quarter, definitely one of the best of the year. It’s sad to report that the Collingwood win streak against the Swans stretches to six years, and ten games, but unlike in previous years, when we haven't been anywhere near close to notching a victory, a lot of supporters

There were passages of brilliance, the midfield cranking nicely even without Kieran Jack, whose ankle injury is of great concern, but there were the blinding moments of madness and indecision, fumbling the football in front of goal and the fact that it seemed to take a herculean effort to kick the ball. A risky chain of handpasses was apparently more appealing. But not so much of us with nervous tendencies.

Unfortunately, Collingwood had Travis Cloke who kicked 6.4 and Sydney just didn't have a comparable tall target. Sam Reid, who gets better with every game and will be a superstar pretty soon, was almost completely smothered by his brother, Ben, and Jesse White was mostly a non-factor. Goodes and McVeigh led the goal-kicking for the Swans, but it would’ve been nice to have another tall forward.

I wrote in this blog earlier in the week that losing by 6-8 goals would be almost acceptable, given the beatings we’ve taken from the Pies in the past. Tonight’s game was a wonderful example of this football club heading in the right direction. It wasn't a win, but we came close and showed a lot of heart and guts. They had a crack, fought hard to the end and, most importantly, we didn't wilt in the face of Collingwood, as we’ve done in the past. The walk back to the train station wasn't nearly as disappointing as it’s been in previous years.

If the Swans come out and play like they did tonight for the rest of the season, we’ll win more than we lose, and we’ll get to play finals football. With a young team, that’s a great thing. We’re constructing a jigsaw puzzle, if you will, and tonight, a large piece damn near fell into place for us tonight. We had Collingwood rattled tonight. Mick Malthouse’s final quarter expressions and actions were priceless, and indicate exactly that. He was worried. And Mick isn’t one given to unnecessary theatrics. Next year, maybe? Hopefully...

Should be interesting next week, the Collingwood vs. Hawthorn match.

Go Swans! You did us proud tonight!