The rain fell intermittently throughout the whole game - it never got too heavy but the winds at times caused havoc with some of the kicks holding up or blowing over the onrushing pack.

The Tigers surprisingly led by 1 point at quarter time, but all their goals were due to mistakes from our players - 2 turnovers in defence and 1 mix up between the defenders not handling a long ball well.

The Swans finally established a solid lead to build upon their domination of the football in the 2nd quarter. Goals to Bevan, Heath, White and Moore established a 19 point lead at half time.

The Swans shot out of the blocks after half time putting on 4 goals in quick succession and thoughts began to turn to another blowout. But to Queanbeyan's credit, they not only managed to stem the flow, but started to gain some ascendancy and more importantly got more of the football. They were rewarded with the last 3 goals of the term.

The Swans have finished very well at the matches at Lakeside this year and this 4th quarter was no different. Their dominance resulted in a fusillade of shots peppering the Paddington end, and if they had kicked straighter the margin would have been much greater. However by this stage not only the players but the coaches, supoprt staff and most importantly the supporters had had enough and the final siren was a relief to all.

Umpires were annoying in their overly technical interpretations as usual although we didn't get as many as the 8 50m penalties from last week. (I would estimate 3-4 today). One umpire in particular seemed to have it in for Lewis Johnston, he paid at least 3 free kicks against Lewis which were overly officious and didn't take into account the wet and slippery conditions.

Bevan was not a bad choice for BOG honours. He was on fire at the beginning of the 3rd quarter where he led strongly out of CHF, took marks and gave a solid contest and then when he took possession of it, used it well or unselfishly gave it off. He kicked the first goal of that quarter and then assisted in the next 3 goals to White (twice) and Moore. He played with a confidence and self-assuredness that doesn't come that easily to him in the seniors.

Currie was in superb form, he relishes the responsibility of being the leading ruckman in the side and in addition to his great tapwork, he plucked many marks with his long arms and sticky hands which were working well despite the damp conditions. It will be interesting to see how he is used next week against GWS if/when Mummy and Pyke return from their injuries.

White may have kicked six, but he's done little to reassure me that he is a power forward in the making but more of a general/medium forward. His agility and smarts go on show when the ball hits the deck and his first two goals were opportunist strikes that any crumber would have been proud of. His third goal was when he was caught playing from behind but held his ground against his backtracking opponent and took the mark. 4th and 5th goals were due more to Bevan's smart play and unselfishness and the 6th was a running shot afrer a quick Otten handball from a pack. Having said all that, he worked very hard around the ground and I think is stiff to miss out on the best list.

Heath didn't have a major defensive role today and took the opportunity to show his offensive prowess. He doesn't look to have lost any of his kicking penetration on his LARS-fixed left knee and directed the Swans attack coming out of defence with aplomb. He managed to push up the ground to find the space to kick 2 goals, assisted by Bevan and Currie respectively.

Johnston played all game in defence on their 2nd forward Ryan Quade. He messed up one kick in (probably too sharp for his intended target) that led to Queanbeyan's first goal and there were a few long balls that caused problems for the whole defence not just Lewis but in the end he neither shone nor disappointed. I particuarly loved watching him kick the ball long from such a close distance.

Kane Murphy must surely be rising in the Swans coaches thoughts and esteem, he played a lot more midfield today than he has done in previous home games (which was mainly spent across half forward). He more than compensates for his lack of height with his ferocious attack on the ball or his tackling on opposition players. Normally a beautiful kick he had a couple of shots on goal that went awry.

Moore and Meredith spent a lot more time out of the middle than expected leaving the centre square set-up to the likes of McNeil, Parker, Sumner and Murphy. I guess in Moore's case they were trying to play him in the same role that they want him to play in the seniors, instead of dominating the midfield like we all know he can, but would be very unlikely to front up as a midfielder in the seniors. He was too strong/clever when faced with pressure situation around the forward 50 area and should have ended up with a few assists to his name. Meredith did some nice things at times especially with his kicking in general play, but he doesn't do enough across a whole game. I really feel that he should win a lot more of the football and become more influential in the outcome of the game.

Parker is very clean with his hands, picks up the wet ball with ease and can handball efficiently under pressure or while being tackled. I was hoping to see him have some time in the forward line where I think he could play a role for us but alas he was at the bottom of most packs all day.

Sumner switched between half-back and on-ball constantly throughout the day. He had a quiet first half but found a whole heap more of the ball in the 2nd half where his run and carry and his ball use came to the fore in the rain.

McKaigue played in defence again, save for one small period in the third quarter where he drifted forward I suppose following his opponent down there. I don't have anything new to add about his performance today, he performed his defensive tasks okay but still looks a little lost when he has the ball.

I felt McNeil was quieter than usual but then I have a peek at the best list and I see that he was 2nd BOG. It continues my streak of picking McNeil's good games as ordinary and his ordinary ones as good. His intuitive combination with Currie is a definite highlight to look out for in the Reserves matches.

Everitt only played the first half and was presumably withdrawn for the 2nd half as a precaution for the seniors. That was surprising given how little football he had played in the last 2 weeks - basically 1 quarter of senior football. He started well in a (center?) half forward role pushing up from his starting position near the 50m line - in the first quarter had 2 set shots on goal. In what was to be an omen for the later game, he missed both chances which was surprising for such a good set shot taker. His intensity dropped after those misses and didn't have much involvement in the 2nd quarter.

Nipper Gordon played a very ROK-like role (the 05-06) version, starting at half forward but leading and presenting very high up the ground. He was very clever and effective around goals, adept at centering the ball and having the knack of finding open players while under pressure. He kicked the last goal of the game, after taking a courageous mark tumbling backwards from a Currie kick.

Otten and Spangher did a time-share role on their main deep-lying forward James Kavanagh (must have learnt it from Reg and Ted!) in the first half. Spangher didn't get out of his tracksuit in the first quarter, and even did some drills during the quarter time break but he came on in the 2nd quarter and spent all his time in defence at fullback. He competed and spoilt well and as a result Kavanagh didn't have a big impact on the result. Otten , with his new cleanly shaven head, replaced Everitt in the 2nd half in the forward line and he farmed out a couple of nice handballs that led to Swans goals. Perhaps it's just the new meaner look but this was the best game I've seen him play for us thus far.

The only glimpses of Kruger were near the end of the game when he had some touches across half-back. Not sure if this was due to the listed players restrictions.

Of the other topups, Thompson (52) showed some great evasive manouevres and used the ball intelligently. Guthrie (48) played midfield instead of his usual post in defence. Wales (54) was solid in defence and has a trusty left boot. The other topup numbers I recall are 49 and 51 and I still have 3 topups unaccounted for in Kenny, Brain and Wray. Brain usually wears 50 but this may not necessarily have been true for today's game. I didn't recognise 51's face so I assume this should be Wray but he looks well built for a kid who's meant to be younger than the other topups today.

Anyone have an idea of what numbers those 3 wore today?


Swans 3.3 7.6 11.7 15.12 (102)
Tigers 3.4 4.5 7.9 7.11 (53)

Sydney Swans
Goal Kickers: J. WHITE 6, J. MOORE 3, C. HEATH 2, P. BEVAN 2, M. THOMPSON , N. GORDON
Best Players: P. BEVAN, D. MCNEIL, D. CURRIE, C. HEATH, K. Murphy, B. SUMNER

Queanbeyan
Goal Kickers: M. Wescombe 2, S. Jensen , J. Kavanagh , M. Daniher , B. Fruend , S. Jolliffe
Best Players: R. Jaques, T. Hollis, J. Kirkwood, S. Jensen, S. Daniel, W. Griggs