Harry Cunningham has praised his fellow midfielders for leading from the front in Friday night’s gusty win against Collingwood.
Men down (due to respective injuries to Jeremy Laidler, Luke Parker and Isaac Heeney) and trailing by as much as 13 points in the third quarter, the Swans suddenly lifted and were powered along by the men through the middle of the ground.
Tom Mitchell gathered a career-high 41 disposals and was backed up by Josh Kennedy (35), Jarrad McVeigh (34), Dan Hannebery (31) and Kieren Jack (30).
Cunningham, who was also judged among the Swans’ best after gathering 22 possessions and eight marks, couldn’t praise his teammates highly enough for standing up when the game was on the line.
“When those guys went down (Jeremy Laidler and Luke Parker) we seemed to lift – and we needed to,” Cunningham said post-match.
“When the momentum was against us we pushed back which was pleasing and ultimately bought about the win.”
The group got back to playing what Cunningham described as “the Swans’ brand of football” which, if continued and built upon, should bode well in Saturday’s Sydney derby at Spotless Stadium.
The GWS Giants are fighting for a finals spot while the Swans are fighting to secure a top four spot and the prized double chance.
“It’s all about hardness and running both ways,” Cunningham said.
“The Giants are playing for a spot in the finals and they always play well at home so it’s going to be a big challenge for us.
“We’ll be up for the challenge and really looking forward to it.”
The Swans have played at Spotless Stadium only once (Round 1, 2014) and were defeated by GWS on that occasion 15.9 (99) to 9.13 (67).
