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GOALS:
Sydney: Hall 3, Moore 3, Veszpremi, Jolly, Jack, Goodes
Collingwood: Cloke 5, Davis 2, Anthony 2, O?Bree, Medhurst, McCarthy, Pendlebury, Cox, Goldsack, Lockyer, Swan, Clarke
Best: Kirk, Hall, Jolly, J. Bolton, Buchanan
Collingwood: Davis, Swan, Cloke, O?Brien, O?Bree, Pendlebury
INJURIES:
Sydney: McVeigh (leg)
Collingwood: Brown (soreness) replaced in selected side by Cox. Burns (bruised calf).
REPORTS: Nil
UMPIRES: Jeffery, Rosebury, Vozzo
CROWD: 45,570 at Telstra Dome
In Beijing this weekend the world?s finest athletes paraded in the Bird?s Nest to conclude the Olympics for another four years. In Melbourne the Swans? best 22 fumbled around Telstra Dome to bring down the curtain on the club?s gold medal era.
After the sixth loss in eight games, Paul Roos said the squad could no longer match it with top sides and foreshadowed the axe would fall on club veterans.
Before the game he had promised new approaches against the Swans bogey, but in the end both sides kept to the familiar script; the tentative and error-ridden Swans were no match for the purposeful Magpies.
Under a closed roof on a mild Melbourne evening, Collingwood ran up a six-goal lead at quarter-time.
In fact, the sizzling Pies settled the matter in the first 11 minutes, racking up 5.1 while Sydney collect just six kicks.
The Swans don't get on the scoreboard until 18 minutes when Vespa wins a free, but Collingwood reply immediately. The Swans? second comes five minutes later in a telling passage where quick hands bring the ball to LRT, who fumbles but toes it forward, and it comes to Hall who runs and snaps our best goal of the night.
The two sides duke out it in the closing period of the quarter, but more horrendous mistakes in defence gift the Pie two easy majors.
Sydney?s turnovers, fumbles and poor decisions are almost comical. Collingwood are full of confidence and why not? Wouldn?t you turn up to play if you were a Magpie with the Swans on the paddock?
Sydney begin the second quarter with purpose, winning the first clearance. Goodes kicks it deep into the forward line but it turns over. Cloke wins a free at the other end and goals, followed by another to O?Bree.
The Swans are showing endeavour but with little return. Hall?s brain half-snaps as he pulls a high tackle on Cox and is invited to join coach on the bench.
The first five minutes after the main break is the only time when the Swans, nine goals in arrears, threaten to make a contest. They drive forward three or four times but are turned back.
Then Cloke easily pushed off LRT to mark and put the Pies eight goals up. A few minutes later Dawes does the same to Grundy, though only a point ensues.
It?s hard to credit that our back six was the tightest in the league for the first half of the season.
Grundy gives away frees. Leo Barry in his first game back makes little impact. Kennelly gets hold of the ball but even he has trouble making yards.
My game notes are a lowlights reel. In ten minutes Moore, O?Keefe and Jack drop simple marks. Teddy Richards, playing up forward, marks on the boundary and kicks straight to a black and white jumper. Jolly marks at centre half forward, plays on and after a farcical exchange of handballs turns over again. Richards makes a good break down the wing, can?t see a target and kicks to touch.
The games stats show that the Swans actually won the inside 50s 52 to 51. Sydney had more possessions, 334 to 331, but it?s telling that we got smashed on kicks, 213 to 177. Sydney ran up 157 circuitous handballs to 118. The Swans were only just behind on clearances 35-38 and were out-tackled 61 to 53.
The Swans win the last quarter, 4.6 to 3.2, finding space in the forward line. Jack coolly slots one from 45 out. Carlton have beaten Brisbane, ground announcer tells us, and the final eight is set. Despite all our efforts of the last eight weeks, the Swans can?t miss the finals.
But there?ll be no gold this year, or silver or bronze.
The positives: Veszpremi looked ready to take the game on in the first quarter, but was quiet after that. Kirk and B1 were as game as ever. Hall kicked three and took the honours against Wakelin. Jolly was a contributor.
We are left to ponder. Who will be moved on, and who will replace them?
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