Tweet
SWANS v HAWKS - MATCH REPORT
Liz Read 12 Aug 2003
Last week was a huge week in footy for the Sydney Football Club. In the midst of a taxing month, during which they were scheduled to play three genuine challengers, and coming off a creditable, if ultimately fruitless, performance against one of these teams, the club staged its biggest celebration of the season by hosting its Team of the Century night.
You would think that the publicity surrounding some of the greatest players to ever pull on the Red and White, the presence of a good smattering of these players in the rooms before the game, and the lure of a top four finish within grasp would be enough to inspire the current team to a performance good enough to account for the competent, but hardly world-beating, Hawks.
You would think wrong.
Whether it was the effect of the previous round, the week's hype, the
culmination of too many niggling injuries carried by senior players, or the weight of expectation finally starting to take its toll, the match must go down as the team's most disappointing performance of the season thus far.
The Swans started brightly enough, absolutely dominating early exchanges. Unfortunately this period only lasted a couple of minutes and the impact on the scoreboard was a lousy three behinds. Then came the first turning point of the game as the Hawks found their feet and rushed the ball down to the other end to score the first major of the game. Kicking against the wind in that opening term, the visitors looked far more assured in their use of the ball and were able to create space at will.
In contrast, the Swans were playing hesitant, static football and fumbling whenever they did get their hands on the pill. Schneider the Wunderkid finally got the Swans' first goal but from there it was all hard-work and only a Hall kick-off-the-ground from close range added to their major count. Meanwhile, the Hawks had scored 5.5 and the only saving grace was that they had maybe let the Swans off the hook with some ordinary finishing.
Still, no cause for panic. We all knew that the Swans have generally been slow starters this year and were confident that they would put things to right in the second term.
Wrong!
The gulf between the two teams became even more apparent as the game progressed, and the lead had stretched to around seven goals by the time the half-time siren sounded.
The second half saw some improvement from Sydney and the Hawks looked to have withdrawn into a shell a little. Still, the over-use of the ball was apparent, as was the uncustomary (at least for this season) fumbling. Although they did outscore Hawthorn, it was never fluent and the rapid flurry of scoring that we've become accustomed to never really looked like eventuating. When attacking moves came unstuck, the Hawks were able to clear the ball with relative ease and move the ball quickly down the ground, often to score themselves. The final margin was reduced to a mere 17 points, but the overall outcome never really seemed in doubt.
For the Swans it was a sorry tale of far too few contributors and some
canny positioning from Schwab. Kirk was always going to be assigned to play on Crawford, but with the Hawks captain playing as a half-forward, Kirk was moved away from many contests. Still, he did well, matching it with Crawford in terms of possessions, and never giving anything less than his all.
Goodes was a stand-out in my eyes, and probably the reason we didn't lose by 100 points. Particularly in the first half, he seemed to be the only Swan who wanted to win. Others have pointed out his high clanger count - I'll have to take their word on that without a review of the tape - but at least he showed a high ticker quotient.
Schneider's opportunities were limited but he made the most of the few he had. His second goal was all class - a set-shot from the 50m line on a very tight angle. Jude was another trier and was generally effective in what he did, while Bazza contributed four goals and, despite some dropped marks, had a pretty decent game. Other than these players, there wasn't really much to get excited about.
Having lost the most "winnable" game of the run home, the Swans now find themselves in a bit of a hole, and will need to dig deep to regain some form by the time September comes along. Still, it was only one game, the sun still rose the following morning, and now we get to see just how much character the team has as it faces the daunting task of the rampant reigning premiers on their home turf.
Liz Read 12 Aug 2003
Last week was a huge week in footy for the Sydney Football Club. In the midst of a taxing month, during which they were scheduled to play three genuine challengers, and coming off a creditable, if ultimately fruitless, performance against one of these teams, the club staged its biggest celebration of the season by hosting its Team of the Century night.
You would think that the publicity surrounding some of the greatest players to ever pull on the Red and White, the presence of a good smattering of these players in the rooms before the game, and the lure of a top four finish within grasp would be enough to inspire the current team to a performance good enough to account for the competent, but hardly world-beating, Hawks.
You would think wrong.
Whether it was the effect of the previous round, the week's hype, the
culmination of too many niggling injuries carried by senior players, or the weight of expectation finally starting to take its toll, the match must go down as the team's most disappointing performance of the season thus far.
The Swans started brightly enough, absolutely dominating early exchanges. Unfortunately this period only lasted a couple of minutes and the impact on the scoreboard was a lousy three behinds. Then came the first turning point of the game as the Hawks found their feet and rushed the ball down to the other end to score the first major of the game. Kicking against the wind in that opening term, the visitors looked far more assured in their use of the ball and were able to create space at will.
In contrast, the Swans were playing hesitant, static football and fumbling whenever they did get their hands on the pill. Schneider the Wunderkid finally got the Swans' first goal but from there it was all hard-work and only a Hall kick-off-the-ground from close range added to their major count. Meanwhile, the Hawks had scored 5.5 and the only saving grace was that they had maybe let the Swans off the hook with some ordinary finishing.
Still, no cause for panic. We all knew that the Swans have generally been slow starters this year and were confident that they would put things to right in the second term.
Wrong!
The gulf between the two teams became even more apparent as the game progressed, and the lead had stretched to around seven goals by the time the half-time siren sounded.
The second half saw some improvement from Sydney and the Hawks looked to have withdrawn into a shell a little. Still, the over-use of the ball was apparent, as was the uncustomary (at least for this season) fumbling. Although they did outscore Hawthorn, it was never fluent and the rapid flurry of scoring that we've become accustomed to never really looked like eventuating. When attacking moves came unstuck, the Hawks were able to clear the ball with relative ease and move the ball quickly down the ground, often to score themselves. The final margin was reduced to a mere 17 points, but the overall outcome never really seemed in doubt.
For the Swans it was a sorry tale of far too few contributors and some
canny positioning from Schwab. Kirk was always going to be assigned to play on Crawford, but with the Hawks captain playing as a half-forward, Kirk was moved away from many contests. Still, he did well, matching it with Crawford in terms of possessions, and never giving anything less than his all.
Goodes was a stand-out in my eyes, and probably the reason we didn't lose by 100 points. Particularly in the first half, he seemed to be the only Swan who wanted to win. Others have pointed out his high clanger count - I'll have to take their word on that without a review of the tape - but at least he showed a high ticker quotient.
Schneider's opportunities were limited but he made the most of the few he had. His second goal was all class - a set-shot from the 50m line on a very tight angle. Jude was another trier and was generally effective in what he did, while Bazza contributed four goals and, despite some dropped marks, had a pretty decent game. Other than these players, there wasn't really much to get excited about.
Having lost the most "winnable" game of the run home, the Swans now find themselves in a bit of a hole, and will need to dig deep to regain some form by the time September comes along. Still, it was only one game, the sun still rose the following morning, and now we get to see just how much character the team has as it faces the daunting task of the rampant reigning premiers on their home turf.