Swans Review - St Kilda (22 July 2012)

SYDNEY SWANS:     1.6    5.13    9.13    15.15 (105)
ST KILDA:     5.1    5.4    7.9    10.16 (76)

GOALS
SYDNEY SWANS: Goodes 2, Jack 2, Bolton 2 Reid, Bird, O'Keefe, Jetta, Roberts-Thomson, Grundy, Kennedy, McGlynn, McVeigh
ST KILDA: Milne 5, Koschitzke, Dunell, Gilbert, Saad, Dal Santo

BEST
Sydney Swans: Kennedy, O'Keefe, Bird, Richards, McVeigh, Shaw
St Kilda: Milne, Fisher, Montagna, Dempster, Gilbert, Jones

INJURIES
Sydney Swans: Mumford (knee)
St Kilda: TBC

Umpires: Findlay, Pannell, McInerney

Official crowd: 26,834 at the SCG

Well, it wasn't pretty. Perhaps that's being nice. It was a display of inaccurate kicking and a scrappy game like we haven't seen from the Swans in quite a while. As far as a close, low-scoring game went, it was a page out of the Book of Paul Roos on Sunday afternoon at the SCG. But, at the end of the day, against a team in the top eight and likely to be playing footy in September, the Swans managed a win. Not as authoritative or domineering as last week in Perth, but a win nonetheless. A win's a win, as the old saying goes, and in this case, a scrappy win will allow the Swans to remain on top of the Toyota AFL Premiership once the weekend's slate of - very interesting - games are concluded.

Thankfully, there are enough players in red-and-white who remember the old way of getting a win, of clawing and scratching and fighting for the football, kicking a few timely goals, and relying on a sturdy defensive effort. There was a sturdy defensive effort today, and it was what won Sydney the game. The Saints would likely feel stiff, for they had a weight of possession for the second half, after dominating in the first quarter, too, but no amount of entries into the 50m arc proved enough for Nick Riewoldt's men to come away with the win. They had their chances to do just that. 

For large stretches of the second half, it seemed like the game was being played almost exclusively inside the St Kilda attacking zone, simply didn't materialise on the scoreboard. The Saints had all the pressure, but poor options - bombing the football long on a hope and a prayer, a long string of Hail Mary attempts - is not the way to do it, but the Saints continued to do just that, providing, most of the time, easy fodder for the Swans defensive corps. At other times, their judgement let them down. A kick instead of a handpass would've resulted in a goal. A handpass rather than a kick might've resulted in a goal, too. Misses at one end went back the other way, six points for the Swans, and, effectively, a twelve-point turnaround. 

Poor kicking was a problem for the Saints and also for the Swans. It wasn't a game that will be remembered for anything more than a win, but it was one similar to what we've come to expect from a contest between these two teams. It's always tight and hard, with big collisions and desperate struggles from one end of the field to the other. Cliched, yes, but also true. The earlier clash, in May at Etihad Stadium, when the Saints midfield ran roughshod, was the exception rather than the rule.

The Swans owe the game to their defensive players. It was a brilliant effort from a group who were, at times, under siege from all corners. Ted Richards continues his brilliant season, and surely must seriously be in the frame for All Australian honours - and if not, some hard questions should be asked - and he was ably supported by the usual suspects: Grundy, Mattner, Johnson and the horrible-bearded Rhyce Shaw. I lost track of how many times those Usual Suspects got their team out of trouble, effectively quelling the influence of St Kilda's twin tall threats, Riewoldt and his running mate, Justin Koschitzke. They were barely a blip on the radar. The midfield did a job on their dangerous St Kilda counterparts, neutralising all the dangerous weapons that proved too big a task in Melbourne, back in May.

Defence, good. Offensively, not so good. Wayward kicking cost the Swans. They survived a serious case of the yips early in the first quarter, had all the run in the second and could've built a match-winning lead, were it not for a 4.7 performance in that frame. Emblematic of their struggles was Ben McGlynn, who couldn't buy a goal early on. Sam Reid regressed a little today, but he wasn't alone. No one seemed to be on song, but players took their opportunities where they could, booting important goals.

The one worry from the 29-point win - a larger margin than looked likely with about 5 minutes left to play - was the apparent injury to Shane Mumford, the ruckman subbed out after half time. It was left to back-up Mike Pike to carry the load in the second half. The Pikelet performed admirably, but the Swans will be anxiously awaiting word of the severity of Mumford's injury as they prepare for a daunting run down to September action and a quest to cling to their top four spot, and that all-important double chance.

Gold Coast next week. Hopefully with Mumford in the ruck. Go Bloods!