Swans shut off the Power

Sydney 10.17 (77) def. Port Adelaide   7. 8 (50)

Sydney remained on track to continue their defence of the 2005 premiership with a hard-fought 27-point victory over Port Adelaide at AAMI stadium tonight.

The Swans put on an impressive defensive display on a damp surface as they constantly shut down Port Adelaide’s forward thrusts. The scoreboard perhaps flattered Port Adelaide as Sydney failed to take full advantage of their 27 scoring shots.

Amon Buchanan (28 possessions), along with Adam Goodes and Ryan O’Keefe who had 24 touches each, rebounded strongly for the Swans off the half-backline and Brett Kirk (28 disposals) provided a hard presence in and under the contests to out fight Port away from home.

For Port Adelaide, youngster Danyle Pearce again showed great signs collecting 22 possessions and dashing through the lines to excite the fans who braved the cold and rain. Kane Cornes also played well but his 25-possession game was a lone hand in the crucial midfield battle.

Despite Port Adelaide looking shaky with their entry into the forward fifty, they managed to stick with the heavily favoured Swans for most of the opening term.

Sydney’s dominance off the half-back line was evident, with Barry Hall out-positioning his opponent Daryl Wakelin and earning himself five shots on goal through their quick forward entry. Fortunately for Port Adelaide, Hall was only able to capitalise twice in the early stages.

Swans speedster Amon Buchanan finished the first quarter with a goal after the siren to put the visitors up by a deserved 15 points at quarter-time.

The second term saw both sides making crucial errors in front of goal. But when dangerous Sydney forward Ryan O’Keefe was moved into the forward line late in the quarter, he was able to convert two snaps on goal to extend Sydney’s lead to 26 points at the long break.

Despite Sydney looking far stronger in the opening half, they failed to put the game beyond doubt. Buchanan continued his driving run off the half backline and with eighteen scoring shots to seven, the Swans looked set to continue the trend as the game went on.

The challenge was set for Port Adelaide in the third term, but they failed to make use of their early control, and with the rain beginning to close in on AAMI stadium their task became even more difficult.

Hall ended the run of misses in front of goal with his third for the game and seemingly cut the enthusiasm displayed by a resurgent Port in the early stages of the quarter.

Sydney utilised their patience in the wet conditions and when ruckman Darren Jolly floated forward and kicked his second goal for the game, the Swans led by 37 points which was reduced to 31 at the final change.

Port utility Josh Mahoney opened the scoring in the final quarter, pulling the margin back to 25-points, though the staunch Sydney defence shut the game down and never allowed Port Adelaide a chance to get back into the game.

Port Adelaide travel to the Telstra Dome next Sunday to tackle the Kangaroos, whereas the Swans head back home to meet Essendon at Telstra Stadium.

•  Have a view on this story? Send us your feedback!