Swans Review - Semi Final vs. Hawthorn

HAWTHORN 3.5  10.5  12.6  19.8 (122)
SYDNEY 0.1  4.1  9.6  13.8 (86)

Goals - Hawthorn: L Franklin 4 P Puopolo 3 C Bateman 2 D Hale 2 C Rioli J Lewis L Hodge L Shiels M Bailey M Osborne M Suckling S Burgoyne. Sydney: A Goodes 3 R O’Keefe 3 C Bird G Rohan J McVeigh M Spangher S Mumford S Reid T Kennelly.

Umpires: Chris Donlon, Shaun Ryan, Mathew Nicholls.
Official Crowd: 55,198 at MCG.

The Swans lost, but in the first quarter - first half, really - it looked like the Hawks might run out by a hundred or more points. At least it wasn't that bad in the end. There was nothing worthwhile coming out of that first half, except for the occasional flash of brilliance from Adam Goodes in his three hundredth game. Early on, there were more passengers than drivers on the Swans' bus, and that was the problem; a complete contrast to a full team effort six days ago.

It's a shame that the Swans spotted Hawthorn such a big head start. And that was always the problem. A disastrous opening meant that they were playing catch-up football from almost the outset. It's hard to play from behind against a team as good as Hawthorn. The third quarter comeback showed heart, but it was tonight for the Swans as it had been for St Kilda last Saturday night: they used all their strength to claw somewhere close to the lead in the third, and could not sustain through the fourth. At least they came back and started having a crack. That's what matters. Capitulating in Goodes' three hundredth would've been a great shame.

To their credit, Hawthorn bounced back in the last frame, and showed their credentials. It will be an interesting preliminary final vs. Collingwood next week, and I certainly hope that the Hawks can beat the Pies. Anything's possible. I mean, seven nights ago, it didn't seen even remotely likely that Buddy Franklin would be playing tonight, but there he was, mostly-well held by Ted Richards, but still injecting himself into the game at times. Buddy is very much a barometer of the Hawks fortunes, and they are certainly better with him there.

So the 2011 season comes to an end, and the Swans appear to be fairly well placed heading into the future, with a core group of young players - Hannebery, Rohan, Reid, Spangher, Mumford, Smith, Parker, Johnson - to go along with the veteran leadership of Goodes, Bolton, Shaw and co. And with the continued ability of the Football Department to pluck fringe guys from other clubs - McGlynn, Kennedy, Mattner Richards - and turn them into dependable players in Sydney, along with a lot of common sense at draft time, you figure the Swans will be around and competitive, hovering somewhere around the top four, hopefully pressing for that September double chance.

There've been some frustrating moments this year, but it's hard to be unhappy with the season as a whole. This is a baby team, still, and they will get better. With experience comes consistency. The problem with some of the losses this year was that you knew they could play so much better than they were playing when recording those losses. One week we almost beat Collingwood and lay an absolute egg vs. Adelaide a week later. Same team, different story. Just like this week and last.

Sad to see Tadhg Kennelly finish up tonight. It's been a great ride for the guy from Ireland whom many thought had come to the club as part of a practical joke in 1999. Since then, he's become a fan favourite, a reliable backman and the springboard for so much attack from the back half of the field. We'll never forget his highlight reel goals - remember the pirouette vs. Brisbane at ANZ a few years back - or the jaunty jig on the premiership dais. Thanks for the memories, Tadhg!

Thanks for the season, Swans. Have a great summer, see you in 2012! Go Bloods!!