Well, it had to happen last night, and it was probably better to have it happen by a close margin than in a major blow-out.
Finally, the Sydney Swans have been beaten in Season 2012, and it was only after a pulsating game of football that surely ranks amongst the best played in the six rounds thus far. Once more, the Adelaide hoodoo at the SCG continues - the Swans have not beaten the Crows in Sydney since 2005 - but only just, in a game full of intensity, courage and some wonderful goals. It was, as they say, a game that could legitimately have gone either way.
The end result may have been different had Adam Goodes been in the game for the last quarter. He wasn't, subbed off due to injury, when, previously, the Crows had found it difficult to contain him. It was vintage Goodes through three quarters. The games record holder for the Swans booted five majors, and was ably supported by a player so many of the Swans faithful hope will take over the mantle as resident football wizard when #37 hangs them up, Lewis Jetta. Without a doubt, it was Jetta's best game in a red and white jumper, and a shame that the end result wasn't what everyone wanted.
Even in a loss, there were other positives. Ryan O'Keefe appears back to his best form, and the midfield - the midfield battle tonight was extraordinary - continues to tick along, though there were less mentions of Messrs McVeigh, Bolton and Jack than in previous weeks, though they seemed to follow the Adam Goodes line and pop up when needed to make a critical play. They have a good role model in that. Richards, Grundy and Mattner were less solid tonight than usual. I thought that they went the spoil more than the mark down back more than they should have. Alas, even very good players have a bad night, and it wasn't as though they were failing against a bottom-feeding team. They were beaten tonight by a very good Adelaide Crows team, whose resurgence under Brenton Sanderson, the former Geelong assistant, seems almost complete now.
There is one thing that needs to change: the Swans seem to have developed this fascination with letting teams get out to a twenty-odd point lead before switching on and playing football. It was somewhat lucky that this didn't cause a problem last week against Hawthorn in Tasmania, and to have it happen against this Saturday night was more than enough to have the natives restless. You can't spot good teams such leads and expect to always be able to reel them in. That much was proven true tonight, and Longmire will likely point it out during the week.
The Crows deserved their victory, and you could sense how big it was for them by the powerful embraces post-game. On the flip side, you could sense how much the Swans had invested in their comeback from the sputtering first quarter start when you saw them laid out on the SCG turf after the final siren, which came when they were on the Crows' doorstep, perhaps about to kick a goal to win the game. We shall never know. Even so, the drama was high, and it was an example of how gripping and brilliant Australian football can be when played as well as it was tonight.
Yet it isn't all doom and gloom. All is far from lost. The Swans were beaten by a good team tonight, but not embarrassed as they have been in the past in Sydney by Adelaide - I cam remember some ugly ones in the last few years - and there are good lessons to be learned ahead of next week's meeting with Richmond, in the Saturday twilight slot at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Make no mistake, 5-1 is still an impressive mark, and it keeps the Swans well ensconced in the upper echelon of the AFL, and most likely amongst those mentioned when the question of premiership contenders is raised.
Go Bloods!!
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