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The Swans went into the round 5 clash against Geelong with pretty much the least ideal preparation possible - Barry Hall's brain snap costing his the better part of 2 months on the sidelines. The Cats are in the sort of ominous form that saw Brisbane thunder to 3 consecutive flags, but even that mighty Lions side bothered to lose a game every now and then.
Things only got worse before game time when Kennelly was ruled out, to be replaced by Luke Brennan. Conditions were perfect at Kardinia Park, a fact that was both unusual, exciting and yet somehow disappointing, as Mrs Wifey and I were missing our first Sydney vs Geelong game at Skilled Stadium since 1996 - For the uninitiated, Mrs Wifey is a mad keen Geelong supporter. At our wedding, the colours were red, navy and white, and we tossed footballs boundary umpire style instead of bouquets at the end. In our household, either the Swans or Cats scarf gets to take pride of place at the top of the staircase railing, depending on who won the last match between the two teams. I am in somewhat of a drought, you might say. Therefore, this was a particularly important game for us, and interesting for the two of us that we were sat in our house watching the game on TV instead of being at the ground.
Both sides started tentatively, trading misses before Jimmy Bartel kicked the opening goal. This seemed to fire up the rampant Cats as they took complete control of the midfield. The ball was being fired into the Cats' forward 50 with the speed and wrath of a vengeful parking inspector handing out tickets in a 1 hour parking zone, and when that is happening, not even the best defenders in the world can stop the Geelong forwards.
Suddenly, the Swans were down by 4 goals and looking for all in the world like they were about to cop an almighty pasting. Even though they were actually playing pretty well, Sydney were not looking like scoring, wasting opportunity after opportunity before Jude Bolton kicked the Swans' first goal from a sublime Michael O'Loughlin pass.
Geelong, however, looked like they weren't in the mood for playing, a pair of goals from Steve Johnson leaving the Swans facing a 5 goal deficit at quarter time.
The Swans had to do something to stop the rot, and Leo Barry stepped up, with a scorching run through the centre square - that particular passage of play ending up with Darren Jolly taking a mark 50m from goal and scoring with an excellent kick. The additional pressure on the Geelong midfield was starting to pay off, as the Swans won more and more clearances, and looking much more dangerous when playing on quickly. Adam Goodes was slowly working into the game after being tightly held by Cameron "Ugly Man" Ling (My wife's nickname, not mine) for the first quarter.
Young Ed Barlow snapped a quality goal to get the Swans within a couple of goals before Stokes pulled back a steadying goal for the home side. Barlow wasn't done yet though, kicking his second goal for the quarter after a great build up through the middle of the ground. The Swans had come out and given it their best, and went into the main break trailing by just 7 points. That felt pretty good, and both Mrs Wifey and I agreed that it would be a hell of a second half.
If the first half was a great exhibition of open, free-flowing football, the third quarter was a display of determination - a real arm wrestle. Both teams were unusually tentative and neither could break free of the other. Geelong did not help their cause, kicking 5 straight behinds before Paul Bevan scored a goal for the Swans near the end of the quarter. A free kick to Bartel resulted in a Geelong goal, the quarter ending at a 1-all stalemate.
Early in the last quarter, Moore received a lucky free kick for a push in the back, the resultant goal keeping the pressure on the home side. The mercurial Gary Ablett Jr finally shook off the persistent Kieran Jack to put his stamp on the game, scoring a pair of brilliant Ablettesque goals in a minute. The Geelong midfield machine once again rolled into action, with Steve Johnson scoring due to the hard work of his centremen. The Swans hit back with goals through Luke Ablett and Jarred Moore to keep things interesting, but the Cats were only just warming up. A bad miss from Martin Mattner resulted in a goal to Josh Hunt to effectively kill off the contest. Without breaking stride, Geelong piled on four further goals to eventually run out 42-point winners.
The final margin did not really reflect the competitiveness and tightness of the contest for 3 and a half quarters, but it does say something about this Cats team which is really now starting to build up a formidable reputation. The Swans did well to challenge the 2007 Premiers, but could not hold on in the end. The improvements continue to come from the rookie group of Moore, Barlow, Bird and Jack, and the debutant Nick Smith made some important contributions. The Swans' faith in the younger brigade is resulting in plenty of valuable experience for them, and it remains to be seen how some of the more experienced members of the squad will be able to force their way back into the senior side with the younger players performing this well.
Leo Barry starred at fullback with some excellent drive from the backline courtesy of his truly unpredictable runs - sometimes he gets caught with it, but most Swans fans will agree that it is usually worth the admission price. Coach Paul Roos will now have a little to think about, but he will undoubtedly be generally pleased by his side's determination against quality opposition.
Another match, and the Cats scarf returns to the top of the staircase rail......
Things only got worse before game time when Kennelly was ruled out, to be replaced by Luke Brennan. Conditions were perfect at Kardinia Park, a fact that was both unusual, exciting and yet somehow disappointing, as Mrs Wifey and I were missing our first Sydney vs Geelong game at Skilled Stadium since 1996 - For the uninitiated, Mrs Wifey is a mad keen Geelong supporter. At our wedding, the colours were red, navy and white, and we tossed footballs boundary umpire style instead of bouquets at the end. In our household, either the Swans or Cats scarf gets to take pride of place at the top of the staircase railing, depending on who won the last match between the two teams. I am in somewhat of a drought, you might say. Therefore, this was a particularly important game for us, and interesting for the two of us that we were sat in our house watching the game on TV instead of being at the ground.
Both sides started tentatively, trading misses before Jimmy Bartel kicked the opening goal. This seemed to fire up the rampant Cats as they took complete control of the midfield. The ball was being fired into the Cats' forward 50 with the speed and wrath of a vengeful parking inspector handing out tickets in a 1 hour parking zone, and when that is happening, not even the best defenders in the world can stop the Geelong forwards.
Suddenly, the Swans were down by 4 goals and looking for all in the world like they were about to cop an almighty pasting. Even though they were actually playing pretty well, Sydney were not looking like scoring, wasting opportunity after opportunity before Jude Bolton kicked the Swans' first goal from a sublime Michael O'Loughlin pass.
Geelong, however, looked like they weren't in the mood for playing, a pair of goals from Steve Johnson leaving the Swans facing a 5 goal deficit at quarter time.
The Swans had to do something to stop the rot, and Leo Barry stepped up, with a scorching run through the centre square - that particular passage of play ending up with Darren Jolly taking a mark 50m from goal and scoring with an excellent kick. The additional pressure on the Geelong midfield was starting to pay off, as the Swans won more and more clearances, and looking much more dangerous when playing on quickly. Adam Goodes was slowly working into the game after being tightly held by Cameron "Ugly Man" Ling (My wife's nickname, not mine) for the first quarter.
Young Ed Barlow snapped a quality goal to get the Swans within a couple of goals before Stokes pulled back a steadying goal for the home side. Barlow wasn't done yet though, kicking his second goal for the quarter after a great build up through the middle of the ground. The Swans had come out and given it their best, and went into the main break trailing by just 7 points. That felt pretty good, and both Mrs Wifey and I agreed that it would be a hell of a second half.
If the first half was a great exhibition of open, free-flowing football, the third quarter was a display of determination - a real arm wrestle. Both teams were unusually tentative and neither could break free of the other. Geelong did not help their cause, kicking 5 straight behinds before Paul Bevan scored a goal for the Swans near the end of the quarter. A free kick to Bartel resulted in a Geelong goal, the quarter ending at a 1-all stalemate.
Early in the last quarter, Moore received a lucky free kick for a push in the back, the resultant goal keeping the pressure on the home side. The mercurial Gary Ablett Jr finally shook off the persistent Kieran Jack to put his stamp on the game, scoring a pair of brilliant Ablettesque goals in a minute. The Geelong midfield machine once again rolled into action, with Steve Johnson scoring due to the hard work of his centremen. The Swans hit back with goals through Luke Ablett and Jarred Moore to keep things interesting, but the Cats were only just warming up. A bad miss from Martin Mattner resulted in a goal to Josh Hunt to effectively kill off the contest. Without breaking stride, Geelong piled on four further goals to eventually run out 42-point winners.
The final margin did not really reflect the competitiveness and tightness of the contest for 3 and a half quarters, but it does say something about this Cats team which is really now starting to build up a formidable reputation. The Swans did well to challenge the 2007 Premiers, but could not hold on in the end. The improvements continue to come from the rookie group of Moore, Barlow, Bird and Jack, and the debutant Nick Smith made some important contributions. The Swans' faith in the younger brigade is resulting in plenty of valuable experience for them, and it remains to be seen how some of the more experienced members of the squad will be able to force their way back into the senior side with the younger players performing this well.
Leo Barry starred at fullback with some excellent drive from the backline courtesy of his truly unpredictable runs - sometimes he gets caught with it, but most Swans fans will agree that it is usually worth the admission price. Coach Paul Roos will now have a little to think about, but he will undoubtedly be generally pleased by his side's determination against quality opposition.
Another match, and the Cats scarf returns to the top of the staircase rail......
| Goals: Geelong: S.Johnson 4, Stokes 4, G.Ablett 3, Bartel 2, Hunt, Mooney, Wojcinski Sydney: Barlow 2, Moore 2, Ablett, Bevan, J.Bolton, Davis, Jolly, O'Keefe Best: Geelong: G.Ablett, Bartel, S.Johnson, Scarlett, Chapman, Stokes Sydney: Jolly, McVeigh, Mattner, Kirk, Moore Injuries: Geelong: None Sydney: Kennelly (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Brennan Reports: Nil (Phew) Umpires: McBurney, Rosebury, Ellis Crowd: 24,368 at Skilled Stadium |
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