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PRELIM FINAL: SWANS v LIONS
Liz Read - 21 Sept 2003
I?ve written a few match reports this year, some after stirring victories, others after disappointing losses. Sometimes the challenge is to find something positive to say, other times it?s trying to reign in the hyperbole. But how do you begin to portray the excitement, exasperation, exhilaration, despair - and the pride ? that were all rolled up in this game?
Chances are that the overwhelming majority of people reading this report have seen the game. You don?t need me to tell you that we lost. Nor that the final margin of 44 points was a cruel reflection on a team that fought and fought for three quarters, before being overrun by a strong-willed and seasoned outfit.
At times it seemed that the bounce of the ball and the sight lines of the umpires were conspiring against the result we were all hanging out for. When, early in the third term, Ashley McGrath intercepted a Willo pass and launched a torpedo from the centre square into a deserted fifty-metre arc, and the ball tumbled and juggled like Kennelly?s rabbit before lurching over the goal line ahead of a desperate Leo, it seemed that maybe this was just not going to be our night. Yet, to the lads? credit, for a short 10 minute period in that quarter they found something of the run and risk-taking that was missing for much of the match, and it looked as if maybe the fairy tale might continue on for one more chapter at least.
Alas, it was not to be. The Lions found something more as the final quarter opened and slowly but surely they broke the spirit of the Swans. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what changed, why the Swans were unable to patch up the dam wall as they had done earlier in the game and force the Lions onto the back foot. Maybe it was that Goodes, as magnificent as he has been all year, was finally spent. Or possibly the enormity of the occasion finally caught up with the players. Or maybe it was just that we were watching the last hurrah of one of the finest teams pulled together in recent years. For ultimately the Lions were just too good and deserved their win, fair and square.
Apart from Goodes, Sydney?s stand-out player was Barry Hall who put in a powerhouse performance of running, marking and, dare I say it, bustling. It was a shame that the Swans were not able to get the ball to him quickly and often, because, with the mood he was in, he could have kicked us into the grand final all on his own.
Kirk and Kennelly were creative at times, while Williams and Maxfield led from the front, throwing their bodies headfirst into the contests, even when the game had slipped away. Ablett?s cameo was encouraging and he may well have played himself onto the list for next year, while rookies Roberts-T and Schneider certainly didn?t look out of place on the biggest stage of their short careers.
So where to from here? Surely there can only be one way, forwards and upwards. For despite our bitter disappointment that the team fell short at the end, we have been treated to a brave and exhilarating ride this season. There are a few holes to be plugged but the foundations are there. Measured against the Swans? objectives at the start of the season, the year can surely rate only an A.
In Adam Goodes we have witnessed the emergence of a real star, while Hall has matured into a truly topline forward. And although he was missing from this match, O?Loughlin has reminded any doubters that he too is a skilful and versatile matchwinner. Around them they have a group of athletes who play for each other and play for their coach, and must surely believe that they have what it takes if they want it badly enough next year.
The final word must go to Cressa. As he was chaired off the ground on the shoulders of Williams and Davis I hope his young team mates took the chance to look at a player who epitomises how determination, fearlessness and a love for the guernsey can compensate for any deficiencies in speed or skill. Like Kelly and Dunkley before him, he will not be forgotten but the team can ? and will - move on.
Bring on 2004.
Liz Read - 21 Sept 2003
I?ve written a few match reports this year, some after stirring victories, others after disappointing losses. Sometimes the challenge is to find something positive to say, other times it?s trying to reign in the hyperbole. But how do you begin to portray the excitement, exasperation, exhilaration, despair - and the pride ? that were all rolled up in this game?
Chances are that the overwhelming majority of people reading this report have seen the game. You don?t need me to tell you that we lost. Nor that the final margin of 44 points was a cruel reflection on a team that fought and fought for three quarters, before being overrun by a strong-willed and seasoned outfit.
At times it seemed that the bounce of the ball and the sight lines of the umpires were conspiring against the result we were all hanging out for. When, early in the third term, Ashley McGrath intercepted a Willo pass and launched a torpedo from the centre square into a deserted fifty-metre arc, and the ball tumbled and juggled like Kennelly?s rabbit before lurching over the goal line ahead of a desperate Leo, it seemed that maybe this was just not going to be our night. Yet, to the lads? credit, for a short 10 minute period in that quarter they found something of the run and risk-taking that was missing for much of the match, and it looked as if maybe the fairy tale might continue on for one more chapter at least.
Alas, it was not to be. The Lions found something more as the final quarter opened and slowly but surely they broke the spirit of the Swans. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what changed, why the Swans were unable to patch up the dam wall as they had done earlier in the game and force the Lions onto the back foot. Maybe it was that Goodes, as magnificent as he has been all year, was finally spent. Or possibly the enormity of the occasion finally caught up with the players. Or maybe it was just that we were watching the last hurrah of one of the finest teams pulled together in recent years. For ultimately the Lions were just too good and deserved their win, fair and square.
Apart from Goodes, Sydney?s stand-out player was Barry Hall who put in a powerhouse performance of running, marking and, dare I say it, bustling. It was a shame that the Swans were not able to get the ball to him quickly and often, because, with the mood he was in, he could have kicked us into the grand final all on his own.
Kirk and Kennelly were creative at times, while Williams and Maxfield led from the front, throwing their bodies headfirst into the contests, even when the game had slipped away. Ablett?s cameo was encouraging and he may well have played himself onto the list for next year, while rookies Roberts-T and Schneider certainly didn?t look out of place on the biggest stage of their short careers.
So where to from here? Surely there can only be one way, forwards and upwards. For despite our bitter disappointment that the team fell short at the end, we have been treated to a brave and exhilarating ride this season. There are a few holes to be plugged but the foundations are there. Measured against the Swans? objectives at the start of the season, the year can surely rate only an A.
In Adam Goodes we have witnessed the emergence of a real star, while Hall has matured into a truly topline forward. And although he was missing from this match, O?Loughlin has reminded any doubters that he too is a skilful and versatile matchwinner. Around them they have a group of athletes who play for each other and play for their coach, and must surely believe that they have what it takes if they want it badly enough next year.
The final word must go to Cressa. As he was chaired off the ground on the shoulders of Williams and Davis I hope his young team mates took the chance to look at a player who epitomises how determination, fearlessness and a love for the guernsey can compensate for any deficiencies in speed or skill. Like Kelly and Dunkley before him, he will not be forgotten but the team can ? and will - move on.
Bring on 2004.