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Swans' runaway train shapes win
By Patrick Smith
18aug03
JONATHAN BROWN runs into on-coming trains for practice. About three or four times a week. Sits by the railway line until he sees one coming then just runs and crashes into it. There is now a severe shortage of trains in Brisbane.
It is a simple training routine the Lions centre half-forward uses to fine-tune his playing style.
At the 'Gabba yesterday he showed us that his meticulous approach to training is being rewarded. He ran in the direction of an oncoming pack, never let his eyes veer from the footy, and grabbed the ball to the chest. The pack was derailed.
This match against Sydney looked as though it was going to be dominated by Brown, who his coach Leigh Matthews has said could be one of the greatest big forwards in history.
Now this must be taken seriously, for Matthews' words are now football gospel. The AFL according to Matthews, Mark, Luke and John.
As influential as Brown was, it was another centre half-forward who shaped the outcome of this game. Barry Hall, a large locomotive himself.
The big bloke has more presence than a toy shop. He appears faster than Brown and able to cover more ground. He is a leading forward, where Brown stands like a large rock and opponents fall off him like abseilers who forgot their rope. Hall is under-rated.
He kicked two goals in the final term, both from marks. The first put Sydney three points up, the second seven up and victory out of reach for Brisbane.
At one stage late in the final quarter when it was critical that the Sydney forward line hold the ball in, Hall went for a loose ball. Ruckman Jamie Charman crashed into him, so did Ashley McGrath. Mal Michael made sure he was surrounded. Hall withstood the force of the double blow, wrestled himself free and managed a handpass to a team-mate who kicked a point.
This win by Sydney may have put a third premiership in a row out of the Lions' reach. Victory yesterday would have pushed them into second place, the very spot from which they won the consecutive flags in 2001 and last year.
Now they have slipped out of the top four to sixth. Stay down there and there will be no three-peat for Matthews and his men.
This was a fierce game. Jason Akermanis played with flair and ferocity. It is a mix he does not always get perfectly balanced but it reflected the passion of the match.
Matthews has said he would like to develop a rivalry between the two clubs that could perhaps somehow capture some of the interest and obsession generated by rugby league's State of Origin.
It won't take much. Sydney have beaten the Lions twice this year and it was the defending premiers' third loss at the 'Gabba this season.
Brisbane are so well run and coached they will remain a force. Sydney are an emerging one. They have a critical lack of height in defence which must be addressed at the end of the year but Paul Roos is shaping as coach of the year. He can only get better.
Sydney now play Collingwood at Telstra Stadium. That will be some game, for Mick Malthouse has his team striding towards consecutive grand finals.
Both teams are in the top four. A loss is likely to see one tumble out. Like Sydney-Brisbane matches, the Swans chairman Richard Colless and the Magpies' Eddie McGuire have grand plans for these games.
In his more optimistic moments, Colless even thinks it could become the AFL's Bledisloe Cup. The AFL is doing its best to help out. The game will be played next season as the only game in the week of the quasi bye. That certainly will draw the nation's eye.
Collingwood must play Essendon in the last round. Sydney face Melbourne. Brisbane have two easy assignments against Geelong at the Gabba and the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome. The top four will be volatile until the very last round.
Not so the final eight. Surely it is settled. Essendon and West Coast are both on 48 points, two games clear of Hawthorn and St Kilda. No matter how the results fall, the poor percentages of the Hawks and the Saints will not allow them to play in the finals.
"Cornflakes" Thomas has his team playing tingling football. Peter Schwab has Hawthorn as classy as they are hard. They have come with a rush. They have built momentum for next year. Memberships, sponsors and supporters will be more easily wooed. They have momentum if not September.