Buddy Stars As Swans Notch 12 Straight Wins

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be going.

There were a few of us taking nervous sips at our beer during the chilly half-time break on Saturday night at the SCG, the nagging feeling that, perhaps, the Swans expected twelfth straight win wasn’t going to materialise.

Carlton, rank underdogs, with finals beyond them and mired in a disappointing season by anyone’s reckoning, were expected to be the sacrificial lambs, but someone obviously forgot to give them those instructions. Instead, Michael Malthouse’s men came out with endeavour, taking the game up to the Swans for all of the first half, and dominating for impressive stretches. A goal after the siren to end the half cut the Sydney lead to seven points: a gap that, on the form they displayed in the second term, was a very surmountable one for the surprising Blues.

Sitting there at half time, looking at the scoreboard, I – and, very few others – could have imagined what might come next. Like a hurricane spooling up across the plains of the American south, a similarly unstoppable force of nature was uncorked, and thirty scintillating minutes of football later, the Swans had padded their lead by ten goals.

That unstoppable force goes by the name Lance Franklin, and on Saturday night, when Buddy got up and going, there was no warning. Absolutely no warning. This was a sneak attack combined with a blitzkrieg, and it was scarcely believable, even to those of us who sat there and blinked, worried that perhaps this was a dream, as Franklin led the Swans to an impossibly perfect quarter of football: ten goals to Carlton’s one behind. And suddenly, Sydney’s bid for twelve straight was back on track.

Where the Swans had been wasteful, indirect and often lacking in basic football skills in the (admittedly greasy) first half conditions, they were ruthless, fast, smart and played a scintillating brand of damaging running football, precision and panache, one way traffic through the middle of the park, Carlton, like so many teams before, hapless, unable to stop the rot.

And what a rot. Franklin had been quiet, defended out of the game in the first half, but the second was a completely different story. As one of my friends said, it’s like Swans coach John Longmire has a button he can press to bring Buddy online. Well, he must’ve given it an almighty whack at half-time, and Franklin, the new face of AFL footy in Sydney, responded, as he has done so many times before, with the Swans and at Hawthorn, in kind.

If you were in attendance at the SCG last night, it was a quarter of football that you won’t soon forget it. If this was your first AFL game – and, for four of my friends last night, it was – it’s gotta be a giant hook, a command performance that’ll have recent converts coming back again and again. It’s no surprise that crowds are up.

Another attendance of nearly 35,000 is proof positive that, more than ever before, Sydneysiders are getting out to the footy in force. Even the Swans premiership years of 2005 and 2012 didn’t inspire quite as much red-and-white fervour.

I’d go so far as to say that we haven’t seen AFL obsession in this city since the days of Tony Lockett. You can draw similarities between Plugger and Buddy, both in the way they have really put AFL on the map here in Sydney, and in the way they could, with great ease, rip a game apart.

Buddy did that Saturday night, in the fierce, take-no-prisoners manner that we’ve become used to seeing. The third quarter was a master class, helped by a midfield engine that purred like a Ferrari. And then there was Buddy, taking full advantage. The man could do no wrong, whether that meant bombing balls through the big sticks from sixty meters away, or converting speculative chances on the run from a tight angle, every touch sending the crowd into delirious rapture.

It was the Port Adelaide game all over again, but arguably more devastating. The entire field opened up, and Franklin, beardless for the first time in a long time, dominated – with great support from Sam Reid, the ever improving and oft-forgotten fourth member of the Swans ‘Fab Four’ up forward – in a way that we have come to expect from #23, but, still, are struck dumb when it happens.

Franklin’s aerial game has improved leaps and bounds, as has his ability to do the important things when he doesn’t have the footy in hand: chasing, tackling, defensive pressure. It’s a hallmark of the Swans and their all-in, all-the-time culture, and obviously it’s rubbed off on their prized recruit. Of course, in that third quarter, it was a rare occasion when Buddy wasn’t in control of the Sherrin.

When it was all said and done, the Swans romped to a victory of nearly twelve goals, leapt into the history books – a twelve-goal win for twelve straight wins has a nice ring to it – and Franklin ended with 6.2, and could’ve easily had eight or nine, including a near-gimme that he handpassed off to rookie Dean Towers, who, unfortunately sprayed it wide in front of the sticks.

Crucially, the Swans, a game ahead atop the AFL Premiership ladder, have a bye week to get stars Dan Hannebery, Kurt Tippett and Rhyce Shaw back ahead of a giant clash against Hawthorn. Alistair Clarkson’s backline is undermanned, and with Tippett likely returning to join the established triple threat of Franklin, Reid and Goodes, surely there are alarm bells ringing down at Glenferrie Oval.

And in other places around the AFL.

Swans On Top Of the AFL After Victory in the West

Well, it wasn’t pretty, and at times it was enough to have me alternately biting my fingernails and pulling my hair, but the Sydney Swans did enough during a dour struggle under rainy skies in Perth, defeating the hometown West Coast Eagles by twenty-eight points.

I had a bad feeling heading into this game: the combination of the arduous trip across to Perth – still the toughest and longest in footy – and the forecast of rain for Sunday in the west.

If you remember, the Swans opened their season a miserable 1-3 and those three defeats came in conditions where it was apocalyptically wet (GWS), raining and windy throughout (North Melbourne) or greasy (Collingwood), and didn’t look particularly good in any of them. The thought of this being a trap game eight days after notching ten straight wins weighed heavily on my mind throughout the week.

Those early season losses are a long way in the past now, though whether the slow start comes back to haunt the Swans remains to be seen. For the moment, it’s a case of no-harm-no-fowl because Sydney sit atop the AFL Premiership, following losses to frontrunners Port Adelaide on Friday night and Hawthorn yesterday, and seem to be primed for a run deep into September.

Yet, I was nervous, because rain is the great equaliser and a mediocre West Coast Eagles team had their best shot at an AFL-shaking win in wet conditions. It wasn’t the greatest day for big forwards, with Buddy Franklin worn like a glove – more often than not, an illegal glove – and his compatriot Kurt Tippett, with knee soreness, didn’t even make the game, replaced late by Gary Rohan.

Perhaps that was a fortuitous out, because it was the fleet of small midfielders and forwards who did the damage for Sydney – and one big guy by the name of Adam Goodes, who capitalised on the extra attention on Franklin by kicking three superb goals. It’s the mark of a brilliant player when they can make dry-weather plays in the middle of a downpour. Goodes did it time and time again today, and, also time and time again, showed amazing skill by hand and foot.

Around Goodes, the likes of Luke Parker, Craig Bird, Jarrad McVeigh, Josh Kennedy and Ben McGlynn. Parker seemed like he had his own footy out there at times, collecting a career-high 32 touches. Bird was close behind, the little man flying in the wet, netting 27 possessions, a mark equalled by the cannonball-like McGlynn, and the steady McVeigh, whose cool head under pressure never fails to impress.

It was something to see those players – and others, like Kieran Jack and his brother – throw themselves around almost with reckless abandon, swamping the Eagles midfield at times, and harassing the West Coast runners when they did have the footy. It was like watching the Swans of old, when men like Brett Kirk and Jude Bolton ruled the centre of the park, and made life incredibly difficult for opposing clubs.

Now, it’s the new breed of players, Parker, the Jack brothers, Nick Smith, Dane Rampe and others who have picked up where those famous Bloods have left off. To Sydney’s credit, they stood tall when challenged by the Eagles in the third. It was a ferocious run by the West Coast, who closed to within a goal in the shadows of three quarter time, but the combination of heavier rain and the fact that they’d obviously spent a lot of petrol tickets to get within a kick of the Swans put an end to the Eagles challenge.

The game was all over bar the shouting about ten minutes into the final term when McGlynn, a tough guy to slow down on the best of days, ran away from an Eagles defender, breaking that man’s hold on his jersey, to run into an open goal and steady the ship. Prior, Parker and Goodes had converted, and Sydney seemed destined to head to the top of the Premiership ladder.

Now, the question is: how far can Sydney’s run extend? Well, they have Carlton next Saturday night and will be odds-on favourites to defeat Michael Malthouse’s squad, who languish in the bottom half of the ladder after a disappointing season, and record their twelfth straight win, surpassing a record dating back to South Melbourne’s glory years in the 1930s.

Then, a sterner test: Hawthorn. The two teams battled through an epic game at ANZ Stadium a few months back, and there’s no reason to think that the return clash won’t be just as exciting. The way the Swans are playing, it’s not inconceivable that they will start favourites against the defending premiers down in Melbourne, and against Essendon at the SCG and maybe even in three weeks’ time against Port Adelaide at the foreboding Portress, Adelaide Oval.

After that, St Kilda, surely locks for the wooden spoon, follow, coming into the SCG, and although there’s no guarantee that the consecutive win streak will stretch past the Blues next Saturday, the Swans appear to be setting themselves up nicely for the all-important Top Four finish – and, if things fall well, maybe even a Top Two berth – for a double chance come September and finals football.

Sydney, prepare for the bandwagon to explode over the coming months. Some stern tests ahead, and a chance to be something approaching bulletproof when the finals roll around.

Swans Make History With 10-Game Winning Streak

Normal AFL service in the Harbour City has officially resumed, with the Swans handily dispatching the upstart GWS Giants at the SCG on Saturday night, thanks to a first-half master class from prized recruit Lance Franklin, who booted four goals, including one that surely will be a contender for Goal of the Week (if not Goal of the Year) to blow the inexperienced Giants away.

The seven-goal win erases the shock loss that the young Giants handed the Swans in round one at Spotless Stadium, and extends the Swans’ current winning streak to a franchise-best ten games. Not since the 1930’s has the Sydney/South Melbourne franchise notched up an even ten-game winning streak.

The Swans came close to a similar streak in 2012 – a premiership year, which augurs well for the current squad – but fell one short. This time around, with the high-flying Swans enjoying strong wins against premiership contenders Hawthorn, Fremantle, Port Adelaide and a 110-point belting of Geelong en route to this historic mark, win number ten came against Sydney’s fledgling cross-town rivals on a cold, windy and rather unpleasant winter night in front of a little more than 27,000 fans, which is a pretty good return when you take Sydney’s near-cyclonic winds into account.

What is it about Sydney Derby games that seems to bring out the worst sort of weather imaginable? We endured a fierce storm at Spotless Stadium that stopped play for the best part of half an hour in the season opener, and whilst there was no precipitation or lightning, damaging winds had howled through the city and it’s suburbs before the game, and it doubtless kept many fans away from the game.

Two weeks ago, against Port Adelaide, FOX commentator Anthony Hudson labelled Franklin “Cyclone Buddy” and on Saturday night, Mother Nature chimed in, delivering damaging wind gusts that dropped the temperature considerably, but the elements didn’t seem to worry Buddy, who has twenty-six goals in the last six games. One might argue, in fact, that the man wearing #23 on his back was the most damaging force out there all night.

Make no mistake, this was the win that the Swans needed. GWS had their collective backs up, with two straight wins coming in, and you have to imagine that Sydney circled this return clash on their calendars after the embarrassing round one defeat. It wasn’t the greatest game we’ll ever see, but the Swans did enough in the first half, thanks to Franklin’s four majors (and a few handy score assists, too) and were never really travelled after the long break. The second half was a dour contest, neither team scoring much in the way of style points. Not that it mattered – the damage had been done, and done well.

It was alluded to in the week that the Swans, by Luke Parker and others, fresh off the coup of landing Buddy, headed into the season opener against the Giants with a little too much complacency, which they paid for in a big way, but there was no repeat in the SCG clash. In it’s place was the usual Swans ruthlessness.

The star-studded Swans midfield jumped all over the young Giants at the outset – Kieran Jack, the birthday boy and Brett Kirk Medallist, had twenty-two touches to half time, and people started wondering if he’d brought his own footy – and Shane Mumford was well held by Mike Pyke, after big Mummy’s powerhouse effort in round one set the table for so much of what the Giants did offensively. It was a red-letter day for Pyke. The Canadian ruckman played one of his best games in red-and-white.

Much has changed for the Swans since Round One. Their history-making loss to the Giants was part of a 1-3 start, and there is little similarity between the team that played in those first four games – jerseys aside, of course – to the team that took the park last night. They have improved out of sight in every facet of the game.

Of course, Franklin’s grasping of the Sydney game plan and his return to form has been a big part of that, as has the return of Kurt Tippett and the improved fitness of midfielders like Jarrad McVeigh and Kieran Jack. It’s amazing the difference that fifteen rounds of football can make, isn’t it?

The gulf in class between the Swans at their very best and the still-young GWS squad was on display for all to see. So, it’s back to the drawing board for Leon Cameron and his coaching staff, who will be without Heath Shaw, who was taken to hospital for concussion tests after a sickening collision with Kurt Tippett’s knee during the first quarter.

The former Collingwood star was out cold on the turf, necessitating the arrival of the medical cart to get him off the field. The incident was entirely accidental, but still something very hard to watch. You can only imagine how Tippett must have felt in the immediate aftermath.

Ten wins is great, of course, there is still lots of football to play, and the Swans have a very narrow margin for error after their 1-3 start. With a tough road trip to Perth to play the inconsistent – but still very dangerous – West Coast next week and Carlton the week after, before return clashes against heavyweights Hawthorn and Port Adelaide, now is not the time for complacency.

Creating history is something to remember, but the real task ahead is a hard tilt at September finals action, and Sydney will need to keep up their intensity if they are to attain the ultimate success, hoisting the AFL Premiership Cup at the MCG on Grand Final Day.

Franklin The Difference As Sydney Extend Win Streak To Nine | #GoSwans

Beautiful, epic, free-flowing, spectacular – just four different adjectives that won’t be used to describe the Week Thirteen edition of Friday night footy at the MCG.

That sound you hear is the exhale-in-relief of Sydney Swans fans everywhere, following something of an escape act. As the old adage goes, a win’s a win, and despite being outplayed for long stretches of the contest by a gallant, inspired Richmond, the Swans, thanks in large part to that bloke in #23, the one they like to call the Bondi Billionaire, have won their ninth straight, to further banish unpleasant memories of that 1-3 start.

A 1-3 start, mind you, that featured losses on nights like this one, with a slippery surface dictating terms of the contest. There was no precipitation during the game, but the ingredients were there for a bad Swans loss, as there were bad losses in the rain or on wet tracks against North, Collingwood and GWS.

At times, this game was downright unwatchable, with both the Swans and the Tigers putting more effort into defending than scoring, as the final score – 62-51 – suggested, but, as good teams do, and as good players do, when there was a moment to be seized, when the game was on the line, it was those in red and white who snatched it, and capitalised, leading to the win.

Mark it in the books: that’s two weeks in a row where Lance Franklin has been the difference between a win and a loss for the Swans. On both occasions, he picked up a sagging team and basically carried them across the line on his own back. Not bad for a guy whose best, said the Melbourne press, is well behind him. Perhaps that was more wishful thinking than hard fact?

If the last two weeks have taught us anything, other than that the Swans are legitimate Premiership contenders, it’s that reports of Buddy’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. He’s still as dangerous a player as there is in the AFL. Last week, he was sublime and superb, clunking goals from all over the ground.

Fast forward six days, and though he wasn’t all that dominant, well-held (and, at times, somewhat illegally, it seemed) by Richmond key defender Alex Rance, Buddy managed to get produce when he needed to, kicking four straight and maintain close contact with Richmond’s Jack Riewoldt in the Coleman Medal race,

All four kicks were the type you would use as an example for young kids learning how to play the game: dead-on shots that never, ever looked like missing. It’s a funny thing, because, by most statistical markers, you’d venture to say that Rance won the battle against Franklin, and he did, for the most part, but with someone as lethal as the Swans spearhead is at the moment, it only takes a momentary lapse or a bad free kicks, as led to Buddy’s last goal, the match-winner for the Swans, for him to get on top.

To their credit, Richmond were very good. I saw them in person three weeks ago for the Dreamtime Game at the MCG, and although the Tigers of Friday night were wearing the same colour jerseys, there was little comparison between the hapless, uninterested team I saw get belted by Richmond and the team who came out tonight, full of fire and belief.

The Tigers jumped the Swans early, getting out to a four-goal lead (and, soon thereafter, a game high lead of twenty-six), and were it not for some inaccuracy and poor decision-making, the Tigers would have been even further ahead. Perhaps they should have been further ahead, such was their domination everywhere but where it counts the most: on the scoreboard.

As good teams do, the Swans found avenues to goal. Franklin took a spectacular juggling mark on about the fifth attempt and goaled. Kieran Jack, despite sustaining a hand injury during the second half, capitalised on a Richmond mistake and suddenly the Swans were only down by a manageable fourteen points at the half.

In the second stanza, the big names stood up for the Swans. One can only imagine the fearful spray John Longmire must’ve delivered at half-time. It’s fair to say that the Horse wouldn’t have been doing that much whispering. Whatever he said, however, seemed to work wonders. Important players who were quiet in the first half – Jarrad McVeigh, Luke Parker, Jake Lloyd and Adam Goodes – were suddenly right amongst the action.

As good teams do, these Swans found a way back through these big names, who got more of the football, and were able to, if not have a huge impact on the scoreboard, at least get the Sherrin moving in the right direction.  That left Buddy to do his thing, and though the goals weren’t all of the highlight reel variety – except for his snap off one step in the fourth to snatch back the lead for Sydney – they were equally as important as last week's show-stoppers.

The Swans persevered despite the injury to Rhyce Shaw, whose verve and dash from half-back was missed by the Swans. News of Shaw’s condition will be a big talking point in Sydney as the Swans head into a week that will end with a battle against the Greater Western Sydney Giants next Saturday night at the SCG, a game that the Swans surely have had circled on their calendar ever since the five-goal defeat in round one.

Rest easy, Swans fans: this was an eminently forgettable win, but with Tippett, McGlynn and Hannebery to come into this team, the hunt for ten consecutive victories, and a top-two finish, is still alive and well.

Lance Franklin Decisive As Swans Win Heavyweight Battle | #GoSwans

If this was a taste of September, then bring on September.

As far as football matches go, they don’t come much better – especially not in June – than the one we witnessed today in Sydney. In front of more than 41,000 fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground (the biggest football crowd in seventeen long years at the city’s most storied sporting venue), the Swans held off a surging, gallant Port Adelaide side to pull within one win of the Power, who remain atop the AFL Toyota Premiership Ladder.

Be that as it may, it will likely be the Swans who are installed as premiership favourites, at least with the bookmakers, but almost certainly with a lot of AFL pundits and scribes, for they were nearly at their best today, and their best, with some notable players not in today’s side, seems pretty damn good at the moment.

Two weeks after putting Geelong to the sword on the same ground, the Swans were faced with a team eerily similar to their own: blessed by a brilliant midfield, electric forwards and a sturdy defence. No matter where you looked, there were good players, and tough match-ups. No matter that Port Adelaide have a dismal record at the SCG, winning only 3 of 12 coming in. You sensed this one was going to go to the wire.

Boy, did it ever. Early on, it was the Swans. They kicked the first two, and were it not for inaccurate kicking might have flown away from the slow-starting Power like they flew away from Geelong two weeks ago. Had Sydney lost, they might have rued their early kicking gremlins. As it was, they allowed Port Adelaide a sniff. The visitors from South Australia soon found their legs, and got right back into the contest.

The lead flipped back and forth a few times, and no lead felt like a comfortable one. Not the way momentum was slipping and sliding. Not even when the Swans went ahead by twenty-one points in the third, and appeared ready to march onwards to victory. It turned out to be a false dawn, the game going right down to the final half-minute, when Sydney relied on a rushed behind after a frenzied exchange in the shadow of their own goal to ice the victory. The subsequent kick-out allowed Swans fans to breathe a sigh of relief and to preserve a narrow four-point win.

I saw today why Port Adelaide are such an exciting team. Their brand of football is a brave, impulsive, fast-flowing one, and it’s great to watch. Sydney, of course, match them in that area, but it was the Power late who looked the goods. A nervous buzz seemed to circulate the SCG, because the visitors were on top. They were coming home with a wet sail, the Swans with a limp one, their midfield visibly sagging under the onslaught, which is to be anticipated after a short six-day turnaround coming on the heels of a tough battle against the Gold Coast and their fleet of blue-chip midfield stars.

Of course, it would have been no injustice for the Swans to have lost to the Power on Saturday afternoon. Not when the Power sat – and still sit – atop the AFL Premiership ladder. And especially not because Port are known for coming home hard, for their ability to finish, for their ability to run harder and for longer than the other team, and for running the other team ragged. It was all on display today.

So, too, was the worth of Lance Franklin’s off-season recruitment, a move that has been scrutinised more than any other player transaction in Sydney’s history. The power forward stepped to the plate when his side needed him the most. On perhaps the biggest stage there’s been in footy so far this year, the superstar strutted his stuff. And, let me tell you, that’s some strut.

After a slow start, Franklin cut loose, kicking the last five Sydney goals of the game to give the Swans an impressive win, another win against a league heavyweight, following wins over Geelong, Hawthorn and Fremantle on a winning streak stretched now to eight.

To say that Buddy kicked five goals scarcely does his performance today the justice it deserves. This was one from the top shelf. We’ve all seen Franklin do magical things on the footy field before, and it’s not a stretch to imagine that we will remember this day – well, the second half, anyway – as one of the greatest when his glittering career is all said and done.

When Franklin got off the chain, there was no stopping him. There were times there where it seemed like he was toying with the Port Adelaide defenders. A 50m bomb as the game ticked into time on in the final quarter was something extraordinary, bettered only by a thumping 70m goal that brought the SCG fans to their feet that’ll surely be replayed a thousand and one times over the next week. There’s nothing more exciting and, for opposing teams, fearsome, than Buddy in full flight. When he’s up and about, when that trademark strut is on, watch out.

Earlier in the game, it was Adam Goodes. The two indigenous superstars filled the void left by Kurt Tippett, who underwent knee surgery in the week. Goodes was superb in the first half, taking advantage of Port Adelaide’s double-team on Franklin to turn back the clock, showing off some vintage skills, enthralling a crowd, in whose eyes Goodes can do no wrong. His career may be winding down, but the last few games have proven that the Australian of the Year can still turn a game on it’s head.

Port Adelaide have lost few admirers after today’s narrow loss and Buddy, who has not exactly experienced a unanimous welcome to the harbour city, certainly gained a few more admirers tonight. The Buddy Show, it’s a hell of a thing, isn’t it? I look forward to a September rematch.

Swans Beat Gold Coast & Extend Win Streak To Seven

The frustrating early-season moments seem a long time ago now. In fact, it’s hard to think of the Swans team that’s just won it’s seventh straight win – a handy thirty-five point win over the Gold Coast Suns – with the outfit that lost to GWS, Collingwood and North Melbourne to open their season a miserable 1-3.

At that point, you may remember, alarm bells were ringing across Sydney, as article after article appeared in newspapers and talking head after talking head queried whether the recruitment of Lance Franklin (and, to a lesser extent) Kurt Tippett had ruined the vaunted Bloods Culture. Stats were thrown up, showing a downward trend over the Swans’ last twenty games, stretching back to last season, yet did not make mention

Now, the Swans are the form team of the competition - amazing what an injection of class players can do, right? The inclusions of handy players like Adam Goodes and Kurt Tippett have helped, and the re-emergence of form for guys like Kieran Jack, Dan Hannebery and Rhyce Shaw have made a giant difference. As, of course, has Franklin settling in and rediscovering the sort of form that made him such a huge threat at Hawthorn and such a sought after free agent.

The Swans are on the march now, warm-to-hot premiership favourites in most people’s eyes, thanks to the nature of their most important wins: Fremantle, Hawthorn and Geelong. They were dominant against the Dockers at the SCG, beating Ross Lyon’s men at their own game, skipped away from Hawthorn on the back of two last-quarter Franklin specials, and absolutely belted Geelong by 110 points, teaching the Cats a lesson in football that they won’t soon forget.

On Sunday afternoon, Sydney faced a different test: that of a determined and young Gold Coast outfit. The Suns are on the rise, chock-full of talent, and don’t yet know where their ceiling is. With Sydney potentially looking ahead to next Saturday’s showdown with Port Adelaide, there was always the potential for this to become a trap game.

Needless to say, any team featuring Gary Ablett is not one to be taken lightly, and the Brownlow medallist’s sparkling form continued on Sunday (37 touches and a goal), despite being closely shadowed by nuggetty Swan Ben McGlynn, who copped a nasty whack late in the game and had about as much knowledge of his presence on the turf at Metricon as I have knowledge about rocket science. The Swans love his dependable presence, and will be hoping there are no lingering concussion symptoms to keep him out next week or into the future.

You can see where the Suns are going to improve. Already, they’re very good, but occasionally their lack of experience lets them down. In two or three years, that won’t be a problem and the Suns will be a powerhouse unit – Harley Bennell, Kade Kolodjashnij, Charlie Dixon and the imposing Zac Smith all look set for long careers in the AFL.

On Sunday afternoon, however, it was the Swans own group of elite performers who were the difference: Dan Hannebery, Kieran Jack, Jarrad McVeigh, Rhyce Shaw and Martin Mattner stood up when it was necessary, and helped pave the way for the nearly-six goal win. These guys continue to be in a rich vein of form, and at times the midfield was so good that they sometimes do too much and outsmart themselves.

Pleasingly, some of the second-tier players were part of the win. Forward Harry Cunningham had a career day, booting four goals, picking up the slack created by Kurt Tippett being well covered by Gold Coast’s Rory Thompson. Cunningham was lethally accurate, doing what so many of the fringe players on this red-hot Sydney team must do to hold their place: take the most of every opportunity presented. Tick that box for Cunningham today. He was as good as he’s ever been in the red-and-white.

Sam Reid, often the forgotten fourth man in the celebrated Swans forward line alongside Tippett, Franklin and Adam Goodes, booted three goals, all in the third quarter, capping off a blistering run, a scintillating few minutes earlier, when the Swans really flexed their muscle, and pulled away. Franklin’s effort on the run from the boundary outside of fifty was highlight reel-worthy.

I still maintain there’s no better guy in the game when he’s up, about and dominant than Buddy. He finished with 3.2 for the day, and could easily have kicked five straight. I’m fairly happy, though, that he’s getting five or more opportunities a game to shoot at the sticks. That means the ball’s residing deep in the Swans forward line, which never hurts.

Crucially for the Swans, Tippett was subbed off late in the third with knee soreness, making way for Jake Lloyd. You can guarantee that his knee will be a major talking point this week, but early signs are good, in that Tippett didn’t seem particularly hobbled by the injury. Swans fans everywhere hope that it was a case of better to be safe than sorry. If not, at least we’ve just witnessed Cunningham find his best.

So, too, will Franklin’s somewhat late bump on Clay Cameron midway through the second term. It didn’t seem too bad at first blush – and, certainly, there was no free kick paid – but there is no real form guide to tribunal decisions being doled out this year, so we must hold our breath and wait.

Franklin, Tippett and McGlynn aside, a solid afternoon for the Swans in gaining victory at Metricon Stadium, a joint, you figure, will become as much as desolate boneyard for visiting teams in coming yeas as the SCG is currently for Sydney.

I’m already anticipating the belter of a game that awaits us on Saturday afternoon in Sydney, with the high-flying Port Adelaide coming up for a possible Grand Final preview. 

It promises to be an epic. Go Swans!

Opinion: The Swans Need To Get Out Of Their ANZ Stadium Deal ASAP

It’s the contract threatening to break the back of the Sydney Swans. ANZ Stadium has never been a good hunting ground for them – it’s their home ground that really isn’t a home ground.

Aside from Friday night’s win against Hawthorn and the 2012 Preliminary Final victory over Collingwood, I can’t think of a game in recent memory where the Swans have come out and played scintillating footy. On the other hand, the last few years’ fixtures at the SCG have been littered with commanding performances against good teams.

Right now, the Swans are locked into a contract that dictates they play regular season games – Hawthorn and Collingwood so far in 2014 – and all finals. It’s fast becoming a disaster for them, both on the field and off it. From a fan’s point of view, there’s little to like about it.

As such, the Swans faithful have voted with their feet: crowds are on a downtick now, and have been for years. You can’t blame a lot of Swans fans, who face a long trek across the Harbour Bridge or out from the Eastern Suburbs to Olympic Park, and the return journey is, more often than not, made longer because the Swans have lost. Or, worse, been totally embarrassed. They don’t play like it’s their home ground. Perhaps because it isn’t, in all but name. The SCG is the Swans’ home, the club’s spiritual centre, and it always will be.

The ANZ Stadium contract worked well in those early years, when there were crowds upward of 50,000 at the former Olympic venue, but even the prelim final two years ago only just surpassed that number, and regular season games have become embarrassing affairs from an attendance point of view, with the television cameras showing far too many empty seats.

Not just scattered seats, either, but great big blocks of them. The fact that the Swans frequently stink up the joint doesn’t help, obviously, but nor does so many fans coming from a long way away – fans for whom free public transport means nothing, because public transport is not expeditious – having to battle the notorious Homebush Bay Drive, particularly on a Friday night, as was the case before the Hawks game.

Then, there’s the distinct and complete lack of atmosphere at ANZ. With anything less than 60,000 people, the atmosphere is almost non-existent. It’s a shame, considering a crowd of half that would have their real home, the Sydney Cricket Ground, absolutely rocking. I mean, that joint would be quaking from the foundations on up.

Nor is the surface. I’ve seen drought-stricken horse paddocks in the alpine country in better condition than the ANZ Stadium pitch. Those overhead shots of the surface are shocking, showing giant welts on the wings, where the moveable grandstands are dragged backward to make the bigger AFL ground, as opposed to the rectangular configuration needed for rugby league. Footing is always an issue – games are chock-full of embarrassing skill errors, a lot of them due to do with the surface. That, also, isn’t a good look.

Let’s face it, with the advent of the GWS Giants, who play just across the street from ANZ Stadium, the Swans don’t need to be there. They shouldn’t be there. Particularly now when you consider that the SCG has been renovated to within an inch of it’s life, and it looks absolutely fantastic. The new grandstands with supreme spectator facilities ring a surface that’s always immaculate.

When the current deal with ANZ Stadium ends, the Swans need to do the right thing. That, of course, involves turning their back on the money that the stadium is obviously going to throw their way – something rugby league clubs haven’t been able to do, resulting in even more embarrassing attendance figure than the Swans, and ensuring that all games are played at the SCG, where there is a genuine home ground advantage, and where you’re going to be able to take advantage of a fantastic atmosphere.

The SCG is and has been a fortress, a graveyard where other teams have very little success. It is a shame that the Swans have to go out to a ground that levels the competition for a handful of times a year, playing in front of meagre crowd. Given the situation now, you can only imagine that the AFL would be very receptive to the Swans abandoning their ANZ Stadium foray.

Leave playing in the west of Sydney to the team from the west of Sydney, the team called Greater Western Sydney. I know it’s a lot of cash to turn down for a club that, even when winning premierships, isn’t exactly a giant money-spinner in an NRL-centric city, but it’s a move that has to be made. Swans fans have suffered for too long.

Let’s reclaim the SCG as our one and only home. We don’t need anywhere else.

Sydney Edge Hawthorn in a Friday Night Epic | #GoSwans #AFLSwansHawks

It seems strange to call a game where poor kicking was a major factor an epic game, but Friday night’s contest on the always-challenging ANZ Stadium surface certainly ticked all the boxes: two great teams, two premiership contenders, the Buddy Franklin story…this one had everything that you could want in a compelling football game. Despite the poor kicking at goals, this was a high quality game, exactly what the AFL would have been hoping for when they scheduled this intriguing match-up for prime-time.

There’s few things better in footy than watching two very good teams – especially two very good midfields – go at it. The momentum swings back and forth were huge, making for a stressful night for fans of both teams.

In the end, despite a shocking first three quarters of kicking, the Swans escaped with a win. And what a win! The Swans did so much well:, hunting the footy in packs, tackling like their lives depended upon it. They clawed and struggled and somehow found a way to prosper, breaking a recent run of inept performances at ANZ Stadium, in which they’ve mostly not played the way they played tonight. Just quietly, whilst most people perhaps haven’t been looking, have won four straight., defeating the reigning premiers 15.17 (107) to 13.10 (88) in front of about 34,000 fans.

It’s a curious thing, sport, and our fandom, isn’t it? It can drive you to the edge of insanity time and time again, but those post-siren moments, bathing in the reflected glory of an important win, there’s nowhere else you’d want to be than at the ground or in front of your television. Rarely has that been truer than it was Friday night.

Perhaps we should thank the Swans’ first quarter inaccuracy and then their continued inaccuracy in the second and third quarters, for the way they dominated the first quarter and a half, they should have led by eight or nine goals. Instead, the stage was set for a brave Hawthorn comeback, and my concerns about kicking inaccuracy costing the Swans a win nearly came true.

The Hawks were brave. It can’t have been easy, missing Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell before the bounce. Then, they lost Cyril Rioli, subbed off with hamstring issues, and Josh Gibson wasn’t himself after sustaining an arm injury late in the third.

To their credit, the Hawks kept coming. They hit the lead, and it was Nervous Central for those in red and white. They were unstoppable for a while in that third, but, as often happens, the supreme effort required to drag themselves back into the game, and take the lead, eventually took it’s toll.

Late in the fourth, the Swans wrestled back the ascendancy. Two important goals from Franklin, who had kicked seven straight behinds prior to that, a nice running goal from Nick Malceski – how much did you think of the 2012 Grand Final winner? – a heaven-sent snap from Dan Hannebery, another from Captain Courageous Jarrad McVeigh and the final, game-sealing slammer from Lewis Jetta, who sent the ball twenty rows back after a perfect hand-pass from McVeigh. What hadn’t looked too likely an hour earlier suddenly became reality.

Perhaps the Swans, in the end, deserved to win. They had five of the six best players on the field. Hannebery found the footy at will – any doubts that #4 isn’t all the way back should be cast aside now. Kurt Tippett enjoyed a four-goal haul upon his return. Josh Kennedy and Ben McGlynn continued their rich vein of 2014 form, and their destructive form against Hawthorn.

Elsewhere, McVeigh was brilliant, Luke Parker tough, Kieran Jack enterprising, Sam Reid a marking powerhouse, Ted Richards solid matched up on Hawthorn’s dangerous Jarryd Roughead and Rhyce Shaw his usual, dependable self. I thought Shaw looked gone and dead a few weeks back. Like the team he anchors, there’s been quite a resurgence.

Special mention for the bearded Tom Derickx who was a mountain of a man tonight, a workhorse in the ruck in the absence of Mike Pyke. Perhaps his contributions will be lost in the glow of the efforts of Messers Hannebery, McVeigh and Kennedy, but they shouldn’t be, because he was supreme against the Hawthorn pair of David Hale and Ben McEvoy. In Derickx, the Swans might’ve unlocked another diamond in the rough.

Much of the spotlight will be shined on Franklin, whose early kicking at goal was nothing short of horrendous – though he certainly wasn’t alone on that front. However, the big forward turned up when he needed to, taking the goal-kicking mantle from Tippett in the last quarter.

Franklin’s two goals definitely helped the Swans along. His freakish bouncing, bouncing, bouncing effort almost defied belief. Indeed, Buddy seemed to have not quite believed his own eyes. Two late goals will help balance the narrative, on a subpar night for the champ. Here’s something interesting: the combined total of Buddy’s 2.7 return was the final margin of victory.

The good thing is there’s always next week – Essendon in Melbourne for the Swans, and the Bombers appear eminently beatable. If Buddy can get his kicking boots on, he and Tippett figure to be a dangerous duo, with Goodes and perhaps Reid on the fringes of the forward line.

It’s a scary thought, destined to give opposition coaches sleepless nights. The former Adelaide Crow was superb in his return, kicking goals when he needed them the most. Crucially, there was plenty of silver service delivery into the Swans’ attacking 50m from the smooth-moving midfield. That means opportunities galore.

Friday night was a wonderful advertisement for AFL. How pleasing to check my Twitter feed to see even NRL types in Sydney – the always-controversial Phil Rothfield of the Daily Telegraph amongst them – making comment, in 140 words or less, on the game, and how they were enjoying it. Good night for the AFL to stage a big Sydney game when the NRL’s contest between the Roosters and Tigers wasn’t anywhere near as pulsating.

What a night – let’s hope the return clash between these two sides in Melbourne in Round 16 is just as good.

My #GoSwans Tweets: Melbourne Demons (26 April 2014)

Some of my best (or, is that worst?) Tweets from the Swans vs. Melbourne game!

Melbourne were good tonight. That's good for footy. #goswans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

Headband getting in Derickx's way! #goswans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

THE AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR! MIRACLE MAN!!!!!!! MANUFACTURER OF GOALS!!!! #goswans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

Hey, Melbourne kicked a goal! Sydney should try to do the same! What tactics Roosy is employing!!! #goswans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

Horse needs to schedule a few extra kicking practice sessions this week! #goswans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

This Australian of the Year is a decent footy player! #goswans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

McGlynn!! Finally an accurate kick! Nice feed from Goodes and Ben makes no mistake! #goswans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

Channel 7 coverage dipping to shocking new lows tonight. Juvenile stuff, and that's me being nice! #goswans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

Does the guy who punched Buddy get off with nothing? If it was the other way around, there'd be hell to pay! #goswans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

Pretty rough when Horse needs binoculars to see the game! Get the man a flat screen!!! #goswans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

Brian Taylor disgracing himself again tonight with his biased commentary! #goswans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

My doppleganger Ted Richards looking machine-like on the MCG tonight! Primed for a big one! #GoSwans #AFLDeesSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

Peter Parker with the spidey senses and the first goal of the game! Nice snaaaaaap! #AFLDeesSwans #GoSwans

— Andrew Kitch (@akitchener) April 26, 2014

My favourite Re-tweet:

@TitusOReily Entire Melbourne side ran over to Salem to ask him what it feels like to score a goal.

— John Separovich (@FreoSeppo) April 26, 2014