Red-hot Swans sweep aside Roos

Sydney   101 defeated Kangaroos   64

The Sydney Swans rich vein of form has continued with an emphatic 37-point victory against the Kangaroos this afternoon at a sun-drenched SCG.

The Swans were never troubled, booting 10 of the first eleven goals to sprint to a 55-point lead by midway through the second quarter, before easing to their 14th win of the year and 12th triumph in their 14 starts. Sydney’s impressive display has allowed them to jump above St. Kilda on the ladder and they only need to beat Hawthorn next week in Melbourne to hold third place.

In another consummate team performance, Nick Davis kicked five brilliant goals, Barry Hall added three, while Ben Mathews, captain Brett Kirk and Luke Ablett were excellent all day.

For the Roos, they struggled to counter the Swans’ run out of the defence and hard tackling, succumbing meekly in the first half before adding respectability towards the end of the game. Shannon Grant kicked four goals to be the forward focal point for the Kangaroos, while Leigh Colbert, Brady Rawlings and Adam Simpson could hold their heads high but the visitors had too many passengers to compete with a barnstorming Sydney.

From the opening bounce, it became very apparent the Kangaroos’ defence would be hard pressed to stop the Swans’ multi-pronged and in-form forward line.

Michael O’Loughlin was everywhere in the early stages, taking three marks and converting one of those for Sydney’s first goal. Leigh Brown was having all sorts of trouble with the red-hot Barry Hall, who booted the Swans’ second and when Nick Davis slotted another from a tight angle minutes later, the home side once again had the all-important fast start.

Shannon Grant swooped and snapped accurately on his left to get the Roos on the scoreboard, but there was no let-up from the pumped up Swans, as they hunted the ball with ferocity, while their Roo counterparts seemed more concerned with shutting down an opponent.

They were failing dismally however, and another smooth passage of play this time finished with Ryan O’Keefe, who goaled from directly in front. On the next foray forward, the versatile left-footer added another from deep in the pocket as the beleaguered Roos struggled to stay in touch.

The visitors were under extreme pressure all over the ground, which only intensified when Hall found Nic Fosdike free with seconds to go in the quarter and the South Australian made no mistake from 40m to give Sydney a substantial 37-point lead at the first break.

Roos coach Dean Laidley rang the changes at quarter-time, in particular shuffling his defence, but the adjustments seemed to have little impact as the second quarter got underway.

A quick clearance from the centre fell into the arms of O’Loughlin, who took advantage of new opponent Michael Firrito’s stumble to kick his second. Hall outpositioned reinstated full-back Shannon Watt moments later to extend the Swans lead, before Davis compounded the Roos’ misery by converting from the boundary to stretch the margin to a mammoth 55 points just 10 minutes into the second term.

The Kangaroos were staring at an humiliating loss but gradually they regrouped, tightening up in defence and restricting the Swans’ run through the middle. A Corey Jones goal stemmed the tide, Grant added another on the run and when Jones slotted his second, the Roos had kicked three in a row and trimmed the deficit back to a manageable 35 points.

But a Davis purple patch to end the second quarter ensured there would be no Houdini act this week from the Shinboners, as the goalsneak jagged two majors in time-on to restore a commanding eight-goal break at half-time.

Davis was leading the way for Sydney with 15 disposals and four goals, teaming up with Hall (two goals from seven marks), while the breathtaking run from defence generated by Tadgh Kennelly, Ben Mathews and Paul Williams was a major factor in the Swans’ ascendancy.

For the Kangaroos, captain Adam Simpson, Brady Rawlings and Jess Sinclair were part of the workmanlike midfield that got the Roos momentarily back into the contest, while Grant and Jones were doing well from limited opportunities up forward. But they would need more help from Brent Harvey, Daniel Wells and Glenn Archer who thus far were ineffectual in the face of the Swans avalanche.

Any hopes of another Roo comeback were snuffed out within minutes of the restart by the laser-like boot of Nick Davis, as he kicked his fifth goal of the game from outside 50.

The Roos fought hard as they always do, adding the next three majors in a grinding display, before Barry Hall re-emerged from his slumber to run in and kick his third with seconds left to give the Swans a 43-point lead at the last change.

The final quarter degenerated as neither side looked to extend itself, the match well over as a contest and nothing left to find but the end margin. With both teams sporting injuries on the bench, the focus seemed to be firmly on next week, the Kangaroos slotting an additional two goals to Sydney’s one, cutting the margin back to 37 points.

In the final round of the home and away season, the Swans face Hawthorn the MCG on Saturday, while the Roos take on the bottom-placed Blues at Telstra Dome on Sunday afternoon.

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