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Summary by Liz Read - 30 March
The Swans have opened their 2003 account with a pleasing win over an, admittedly pathetic, Carlton side, running out 74 point winners. The margin fell just a few points short of beating Sydney's greatest ever winning margin against the Blues, set in the round 2 rout last year. If anything, the scoreline slightly flattered Carlton because, after quarter-time, the Swans were allowed to do pretty much as they wanted.
The first quarter was tight and low-scoring, with both teams squandering several opportunities. For Carlton Fevola was presenting himself well and looked like he might be dangerous, while for Sydney Leaping Leo was excellent as a spare man in defence as he continuously weaved his way through the packs to clear the ball from the back half.
However, an 8 goals to 1 second quarter by Sydney meant that the game was practically won by half-time. They kept the scoreboard ticking over nicely for the remainder of the game, adding 5 in the third and a lazy 7 in the final term when all semblance of resistance from the Blues had evaporated.
For Sydney there were many positives to emerge from the game. It was a solid team performance and it is hard to pick any players who did not make some kind of contribution. Adam Goodes continued his excellent pre-season form and clearly had the better of French in the ruck. Only wayward kicking for goal let him down.
Williams and Maxfield were prime movers in the midfield, while Jude Bolton finally played the kind of match we've been waiting for for a couple of years. Up forward Hall was looking sharp and focussed, while Davis' contribution was pleasing, despite being shaded in the first half by the veteran McKay.
The defence held its own even without Schauble. Admittedly it was helped by Carlton's tactic of just bombing the ball long and the "disappearance" of Whitnall and McKernan, but the tackling and desperation were good and the rebound from the half-back flanks excellent all night.
A highlight of the game was the debut of Adam Schneider, who seems to be an attractive package of pace, skill, tenacity and not a small dose of confidence.
On the negative side, a knee injury to Doyle is a concern, although it was reported he could have returned to the field had he been needed. Williams and Fosdike both limped off late in the final quarter, while Davis received treatment to his foot during the game, but hopefully there are no serious problems with any of these players.
The soft turnovers we have become used to in recent years were not completely eliminated, and against a better team the Swans might have been punished more often. However, these became fewer as the game progressed, and overall the skill level was reasonably pleasing.
It will be hard to gauge how competitive the Swans will be this season until they are pitted against a team prepared to tackle and fight for the ball. But it was a decent way to start the season - bring on Round 2!.
THE WRAP
With all the pre-season talk about how the Swans' middle-tier players needed to perform this year following the retirement of some of the club's stars, Jude Bolton, Jared Crouch and Jason Saddington showed they were up to the task. Those who have written off the Swans as serious finals contenders will insist this was only a win against last year's wooden spooners, but Sydney totally dominated.
Adam Goodes in the ruck was a standout best afield. He took his opponent, Barnaby French, out of the game with clever work in the centre square and hard running around the ground. Goodes racked up 28 touches and Jude Bolton 29 while Matthew Nicks, and Tadhg Kennelly were also influential. Adam Schneider was impressive on debut with two goals and 14 possessions. Leo Barry was strong early in defence despite his limited pre-season - he dominated in the first quarter with 9 possessions.
Carlton were forced to replace Mick Martyn with Glenn Manton in their starting line-up. Anthony Koutoufides had a quiet night for the Blues with just nine touches while Brendan Fevola kicked five behinds and two goals. The only bright light for the Blues was the debut of Jon McCormick, who booted a brilliant goal under pressure and off balance from 45m out with his first touch in senior football, and then backed up with another major from a set shot 40 metres out in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
Carlton constantly bombed the ball long into their 50-metre arc to try to exploit their height advantage in the forward line. The Blues looked badly prepared and appeared as though they knew little about Pagan's favoured long-kicking game plan. What it really boiled down to was that Whitnall, McKernan and Fevola just can't dominate a game like Wayne Carey.
Sydney coach Paul Roos was delighted that his side was able to maintain the pressure.
"It was just really pleasing that the guys kept on working hard for four quarters," Roos said. "I suppose the main thing was the effort, they just kept on working hard and got some rewards for it."
Carlton coach Denis Pagan was bitterly disappointed with the result.
"I'm sure their confidence is going to be dented as a result of what happened tonight," he said. "But I do believe that's something that can be rectified. We've been going forward in everything we've done up until tonight."
SYDNEY 2.4 10.7 15.11 22.14 (146)
CARLTON 2.3 3.6 6.10 10.12 (72)
Goals:
Sydney: B Hall 4, P Williams 3, N Davis 3, S Doyle 2, M Nicks 2, A Schneider 2, S Maxfield, N Fosdike, T Kennelly, J Crouch, B Kirk, R O'Keefe.
Carlton: J McCormick 2, S Camporeale 2, J Murphy 2, B Fevola 2, B French, I Prendergast.
Best:
Sydney: A Goodes, P Williams, J Bolton, L Barry, J Saddington, B Hall.
Carlton: J McCormick, J Murphy, S Camporeale, M Lappin.
Injuries: Sydney: S Doyle (knee). Carlton: Nil.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: C Rowston, J Schmitt, M James.
Crowd: 30,803 at Telstra Stadium.
The Swans have opened their 2003 account with a pleasing win over an, admittedly pathetic, Carlton side, running out 74 point winners. The margin fell just a few points short of beating Sydney's greatest ever winning margin against the Blues, set in the round 2 rout last year. If anything, the scoreline slightly flattered Carlton because, after quarter-time, the Swans were allowed to do pretty much as they wanted.
The first quarter was tight and low-scoring, with both teams squandering several opportunities. For Carlton Fevola was presenting himself well and looked like he might be dangerous, while for Sydney Leaping Leo was excellent as a spare man in defence as he continuously weaved his way through the packs to clear the ball from the back half.
However, an 8 goals to 1 second quarter by Sydney meant that the game was practically won by half-time. They kept the scoreboard ticking over nicely for the remainder of the game, adding 5 in the third and a lazy 7 in the final term when all semblance of resistance from the Blues had evaporated.
For Sydney there were many positives to emerge from the game. It was a solid team performance and it is hard to pick any players who did not make some kind of contribution. Adam Goodes continued his excellent pre-season form and clearly had the better of French in the ruck. Only wayward kicking for goal let him down.
Williams and Maxfield were prime movers in the midfield, while Jude Bolton finally played the kind of match we've been waiting for for a couple of years. Up forward Hall was looking sharp and focussed, while Davis' contribution was pleasing, despite being shaded in the first half by the veteran McKay.
The defence held its own even without Schauble. Admittedly it was helped by Carlton's tactic of just bombing the ball long and the "disappearance" of Whitnall and McKernan, but the tackling and desperation were good and the rebound from the half-back flanks excellent all night.
A highlight of the game was the debut of Adam Schneider, who seems to be an attractive package of pace, skill, tenacity and not a small dose of confidence.
On the negative side, a knee injury to Doyle is a concern, although it was reported he could have returned to the field had he been needed. Williams and Fosdike both limped off late in the final quarter, while Davis received treatment to his foot during the game, but hopefully there are no serious problems with any of these players.
The soft turnovers we have become used to in recent years were not completely eliminated, and against a better team the Swans might have been punished more often. However, these became fewer as the game progressed, and overall the skill level was reasonably pleasing.
It will be hard to gauge how competitive the Swans will be this season until they are pitted against a team prepared to tackle and fight for the ball. But it was a decent way to start the season - bring on Round 2!.
THE WRAP
With all the pre-season talk about how the Swans' middle-tier players needed to perform this year following the retirement of some of the club's stars, Jude Bolton, Jared Crouch and Jason Saddington showed they were up to the task. Those who have written off the Swans as serious finals contenders will insist this was only a win against last year's wooden spooners, but Sydney totally dominated.
Adam Goodes in the ruck was a standout best afield. He took his opponent, Barnaby French, out of the game with clever work in the centre square and hard running around the ground. Goodes racked up 28 touches and Jude Bolton 29 while Matthew Nicks, and Tadhg Kennelly were also influential. Adam Schneider was impressive on debut with two goals and 14 possessions. Leo Barry was strong early in defence despite his limited pre-season - he dominated in the first quarter with 9 possessions.
Carlton were forced to replace Mick Martyn with Glenn Manton in their starting line-up. Anthony Koutoufides had a quiet night for the Blues with just nine touches while Brendan Fevola kicked five behinds and two goals. The only bright light for the Blues was the debut of Jon McCormick, who booted a brilliant goal under pressure and off balance from 45m out with his first touch in senior football, and then backed up with another major from a set shot 40 metres out in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
Carlton constantly bombed the ball long into their 50-metre arc to try to exploit their height advantage in the forward line. The Blues looked badly prepared and appeared as though they knew little about Pagan's favoured long-kicking game plan. What it really boiled down to was that Whitnall, McKernan and Fevola just can't dominate a game like Wayne Carey.
Sydney coach Paul Roos was delighted that his side was able to maintain the pressure.
"It was just really pleasing that the guys kept on working hard for four quarters," Roos said. "I suppose the main thing was the effort, they just kept on working hard and got some rewards for it."
Carlton coach Denis Pagan was bitterly disappointed with the result.
"I'm sure their confidence is going to be dented as a result of what happened tonight," he said. "But I do believe that's something that can be rectified. We've been going forward in everything we've done up until tonight."
SYDNEY 2.4 10.7 15.11 22.14 (146)
CARLTON 2.3 3.6 6.10 10.12 (72)
Goals:
Sydney: B Hall 4, P Williams 3, N Davis 3, S Doyle 2, M Nicks 2, A Schneider 2, S Maxfield, N Fosdike, T Kennelly, J Crouch, B Kirk, R O'Keefe.
Carlton: J McCormick 2, S Camporeale 2, J Murphy 2, B Fevola 2, B French, I Prendergast.
Best:
Sydney: A Goodes, P Williams, J Bolton, L Barry, J Saddington, B Hall.
Carlton: J McCormick, J Murphy, S Camporeale, M Lappin.
Injuries: Sydney: S Doyle (knee). Carlton: Nil.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: C Rowston, J Schmitt, M James.
Crowd: 30,803 at Telstra Stadium.