Tweet
Round 22 games are strange events. Particularly for teams that already know their September fate. They can turn up switched on, like Freo or Port, knowing they've nothing to lose and little to gain but some fun and pride. They can not bother to show up at all, like Essendon, and send a set of witches hats instead. (Which, in fact, is unfair to witches hats. Any self-respecting set would surely have done better than the Bombers did on Sunday afternoon.)
So what could the Swans expect on Saturday night from a Brisbane team whose finals aspirations had collapsed in a heap during a final quarter meltdown the previous week against Carlton? Would they be freed up enough to exact revenge on the opponent who has frustrated them the most in recent years. Or would they dish up the same limp response as in recent late season games against the Swans - 2007 excepted?
Fortunately for us, the latter proved to be the go. About fifteen minutes of competitive football, as the first term found its groove, was about as much as they could muster. Maybe uncharacteristically bad kicking by Bradshaw and less surprising inaccuracy from Brown took the wind from their sails. Perhaps there were just too many younger players out there to make a stand. Maybe they just didn't care enough and had their minds on their post-season trip. Whatever the reason, from the start of the second term, the stiffest obstacles to a comfortable Swans win were provided by the Swans themselves.
When not distracted by taping and retaping Macca's anke, Doc Gibbs no doubt spent much of the match on his toes, poised to sprint onto the ground before Doc Leo could again take Tadhg's wretched shoulder into his own hands. And one wonders how Grant Brecht spent the match. Was he worried about an extra workload in the coming week, or was he relaxed in the knowledge that Hall was completely in control. In hindsight he probably had little concern, but there were times when those of us in the stands fretted just a tad.
QC Forrest, on the other hand, might not have been so relaxed. Surely the MRP wouldn't be so pedantic that Hall would need his services again. But Jude and Amon may well have had him cancel any pre-existing plans he had for Tuesday night.
And what of the coaches? Roos and Horse, reunited in the box, would not have taken long to realise they'll have a challenge or two this Wednesday night. In theory it shouldn't be this hard. Goodes and O'Keefe to come back in can only strengthen up the team, and with so many pups it shouldn't be hard to pick who to set aside. But a glance down the score sheet tells the tale. While Hall was double, triple-teamed, and showing his angst at all around, it was precisely those pups who lapped up the crumbs at his feet, providing an impressive tally of 11 goals.
Bulldog Moore is surely safe. He showed his grunt right around the ground, amassing 16 contested gets. The sole blemish on his game was that he nailed just one shot out of three before the Lions had woken up. The others may not sleep so well tonight, wondering if they'll be the one to make way. None deserves to miss out this week but having declared the salvation of Nog and Eski complete, Roos has to solve the riddle that 24 into 22 just does not go. He too has cause to toss and turn, wondering if it will be just three men and a dog or two that turns up to march down Driver Avenue if the selection news is as we fear. You have to go back to early 2003 for the last time an exuberant teenager worked the SCG crowd up in quite this style.
Which ever players get the nod, for another week it still feels great to be a Swan. Our slow and ageing, battered team has yet again defied the scribes and still keeps alive the September dream. We're realistic enough to know it surely won't last as long as 2005, that gallant as the Bloods old-timers are, the weapons are no longer sharp enough to blunt the mighty Cats or yapping Dogs. But first things first. With North supporters still crying foul over nineteen men, and an ungracious coach dredging up spurious claims of tunnelling, it finally feels right to get along on Saturday night and Boo-A-Roo with all our might.
GOALS:
Sydney: Moore 4, Veszpremi 4, Jack 2, McVeigh 2, Hall, Bird, Richards, Malceski, Everitt
Brisbane: Bradshaw 2, Henderson, Selwood, Clouston, Charman
BEST:
Sydney: Moore, McVeigh, Malceski, Veszpremi, Roberts-Thompson, Buchanan
Brisbane: Black, Merrett, Dalziell, Bradshaw
INJURIES:
Sydney: O'Keefe (flu) replaced in the selected side by Veszpremi
Brisbane: nil
REPORTS: J Bolton for rough conduct against Proud, 4th quarter
UMPIRES: James, McBurney, Chamberlain
CROWD: 24,076 at the SCG
So what could the Swans expect on Saturday night from a Brisbane team whose finals aspirations had collapsed in a heap during a final quarter meltdown the previous week against Carlton? Would they be freed up enough to exact revenge on the opponent who has frustrated them the most in recent years. Or would they dish up the same limp response as in recent late season games against the Swans - 2007 excepted?
Fortunately for us, the latter proved to be the go. About fifteen minutes of competitive football, as the first term found its groove, was about as much as they could muster. Maybe uncharacteristically bad kicking by Bradshaw and less surprising inaccuracy from Brown took the wind from their sails. Perhaps there were just too many younger players out there to make a stand. Maybe they just didn't care enough and had their minds on their post-season trip. Whatever the reason, from the start of the second term, the stiffest obstacles to a comfortable Swans win were provided by the Swans themselves.
When not distracted by taping and retaping Macca's anke, Doc Gibbs no doubt spent much of the match on his toes, poised to sprint onto the ground before Doc Leo could again take Tadhg's wretched shoulder into his own hands. And one wonders how Grant Brecht spent the match. Was he worried about an extra workload in the coming week, or was he relaxed in the knowledge that Hall was completely in control. In hindsight he probably had little concern, but there were times when those of us in the stands fretted just a tad.
QC Forrest, on the other hand, might not have been so relaxed. Surely the MRP wouldn't be so pedantic that Hall would need his services again. But Jude and Amon may well have had him cancel any pre-existing plans he had for Tuesday night.
And what of the coaches? Roos and Horse, reunited in the box, would not have taken long to realise they'll have a challenge or two this Wednesday night. In theory it shouldn't be this hard. Goodes and O'Keefe to come back in can only strengthen up the team, and with so many pups it shouldn't be hard to pick who to set aside. But a glance down the score sheet tells the tale. While Hall was double, triple-teamed, and showing his angst at all around, it was precisely those pups who lapped up the crumbs at his feet, providing an impressive tally of 11 goals.
Bulldog Moore is surely safe. He showed his grunt right around the ground, amassing 16 contested gets. The sole blemish on his game was that he nailed just one shot out of three before the Lions had woken up. The others may not sleep so well tonight, wondering if they'll be the one to make way. None deserves to miss out this week but having declared the salvation of Nog and Eski complete, Roos has to solve the riddle that 24 into 22 just does not go. He too has cause to toss and turn, wondering if it will be just three men and a dog or two that turns up to march down Driver Avenue if the selection news is as we fear. You have to go back to early 2003 for the last time an exuberant teenager worked the SCG crowd up in quite this style.
Which ever players get the nod, for another week it still feels great to be a Swan. Our slow and ageing, battered team has yet again defied the scribes and still keeps alive the September dream. We're realistic enough to know it surely won't last as long as 2005, that gallant as the Bloods old-timers are, the weapons are no longer sharp enough to blunt the mighty Cats or yapping Dogs. But first things first. With North supporters still crying foul over nineteen men, and an ungracious coach dredging up spurious claims of tunnelling, it finally feels right to get along on Saturday night and Boo-A-Roo with all our might.
| GOALS OF THE DAY In truth this was a game that never hit great heights, what with light rain persisting for much of the match and the soggy response from the Lions. Some of the skills around the ground verged on the scrappy side but we were blessed with a number of memorable individual kicks at goal. It's too hard to pick a stand-out, so I'll remind you of a few and let you make your own choice. - Malceski's speculative bullet from 65m. Was he kicking at goal or searching for Jolly? Who cares! (The lead up work was pretty impressive too, with Vez' long kick finding Hall for his best mark of the game, before he fed off to Moore.) - That curling kick on the run as Vez swerved a defender and let loose. It was never going to miss. - Richard's super kick from the boundary line. Have you ever seen Teddy kick the ball so sweetly as that? - Moore's equally impressive kick from almost the same spot. It moved like a guided missile. - And to end things, that 50+m bomb from young Veszpremi. If there was more than an element of luck in his earlier 50m goal, there was none in this one. By this stage even he was too exhausted to celebrate it properly. To be gracious I should also mention an impressive kick at just inches of daylight from the Lions' Clouston, which registered his first ever AFL goal. |
GOALS:
Sydney: Moore 4, Veszpremi 4, Jack 2, McVeigh 2, Hall, Bird, Richards, Malceski, Everitt
Brisbane: Bradshaw 2, Henderson, Selwood, Clouston, Charman
BEST:
Sydney: Moore, McVeigh, Malceski, Veszpremi, Roberts-Thompson, Buchanan
Brisbane: Black, Merrett, Dalziell, Bradshaw
INJURIES:
Sydney: O'Keefe (flu) replaced in the selected side by Veszpremi
Brisbane: nil
REPORTS: J Bolton for rough conduct against Proud, 4th quarter
UMPIRES: James, McBurney, Chamberlain
CROWD: 24,076 at the SCG
Comment