It was a case of no Goodes, no Mumford, no LRT, and absolutely no worries for the high-flying Sydney Swans.
For the first time since 1998, the red and whites have opened the season 4-0 and look to have really arrived on the scene with a solid, six-goal thumping of the highly-fancied North Melbourne Kangaroos - North were bookies favourites going in, and were well-liked by much of the AFL media - at a damp and boisterous SCG this afternoon.
There was so much to like about the Swans' effort this afternoon. They played like men possessed, right from the outset, and all the way through. The attack on the football was as strong as I've seen it in a long time. For mine, there was only one dark moment on an afternoon where the Swans announced themselves as potential top four finishers, and that was the horrific injury to youngster Gary Rohan, who snapped an early goal, and then saw his ankle snapped. It was ugly footage to watch, on a weekend where we've seen some horrible injury footage - Port Adelaide's Robbie Gray had his knee bent completely backward, providing chilling pictures - but not quite as ugly as seeing Rohan stretchered off, a promising season seemingly cut short by an injury from which it will be a long road back.
If it was a mantra amongst the Swans to win it for Rohan, they certainly showed their class, and sent a nice message to the rest of the AFL. This wasn't the GWS Giants or a rising Port Adelaide, but a team, North, who had handily and impressively taken down Geelong a week before, and looked to have themselves arrived back in the spotlight after a few years wandering off Broadway. Instead, it was Sydney who grabbed centre stage, led by Ben McGlynn and Lewis Jetta and fifty-gamer Andrejs Everitt, who had three goals each, and by the hard-working quartet of Jude Bolton, Jarrad McVeigh, Luke Parker and Daniel Hannebery. Those guys always shine, but particuarly in the wet. They were ably assisted by Craig Bird, who had a game-high 11 tackles. Surely, it must be said that the Swans possess one of the finest midfield units in the entire Australian Football League?
Defensively, there were some gems played. Ted Richards locked down on the focal point of the Kangaroos attack, Drew Petrie, and Rhyce Shaw did a similar job on North live wire Brent Harvey. That, as many defenders will tell you, is far from an easy job. Ted Richards and Marty Mattner and Heath Grundy continued their spectacular starts to Season 2012. If there was a boil to be spoiled inside the Kangaroos attacking zone, it invariably was.
There was desperation football played, even when the game was well and truly decided. That, as we know, is true Bloods football. A finer example of that brand of football I have not seen in quite some time. Aside from a brief moment in the last quarter, when it seemed that the Swans were happy to let North back in, it was a complete effort, and with Mumford and Goodes and LRT to come back, the future is definitely bright.
What a day, Rohan's injury aside, and now the Swans look forward to what looms as a solid test of their credentials - premiership or otherwise - next weekend in Tasmania against a Hawks teams that, while they struggled to find the big sticks last night in Perth, are to be written off only at an opposing football team's peril. Hawthorn are good, Hawthorn are dangerous and Hawthorn will be a solid test of where the Swans are as the talk perhaps begins to bubble about them being an outside shot at their first premiership flag since the 2005 season.
A week from now will tell us more. Go Bloods!
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