On the back of their fifth successive win, the Sydney Swans reserves have moved into first place on the NEAFL Eastern Conference ladder after they defeated Queanbeyan by 41 points in a top of the table clash in Canberra this afternoon.
Like their senior counterparts last weekend, Jared Crouch’s men charged out of the gates in the first quarter to establish an unassailable lead. While they weren’t as accurate as the seniors’ nine straight goals against the Bulldogs, the reserves built up a 40 point lead at the first break after kicking 7.7 to the Tigers’ solitary goal, a lead which they hovered around for the majority of the match.
A lapse by the Swans either side of the three quarter time break saw Queanbeyan reduce the margin from seven goals down to 12 points midway through the final term as the visitors stopped to a canter. But the Swans steadied late to kick the last five goals of the game to re-establish their dominance on the contest.
Mark Seaby was named as the Swans’ best player for the second week running, continuing his strong form in the ruck and giving first use of the ball to the likes of Jarred Moore, Dylan McNeil and Harry Cunningham who were also impressive. Cunningham capped off a week which saw him elevated back to the Swans senior list and named as an emergency for tonight’s match against Essendon with two goals.
But the main scoring avenue for the Swans was again the Eastern Conference’s leading goalkicker Mitch Morton who contributed eight majors. Morton kicked four goals in each half to take his tally to 47 at the halfway point of the season, three ahead of Queanbeyan’s James Kavanagh who added six for the Tigers today.
Like the senior side, the Swans reserves will have the bye next weekend before taking on Sydney Uni at the SCG from 4.10pm on Friday June 9 - the curtain-raiser to the seniors’ massive Friday night match against Geelong. The last time the two sides met at the SCG, the Swans reserves dominated, winning by 203 points.
Queanbeyan 1.3 6.4 11.9 14 12 96
Sydney Swans 7.7 12.10 15.14 20 17 137
Goal Kickers: M. MORTON 8, J. WHITE 2, H. CUNNINGHAM 2, D. Lycakis , D. MCNEIL , A. Wynn , S. BIGGS , B. Jack , D. Cullen , T. WALSH , J. POTTER
Best Players: M. SEABY, H. CUNNINGHAM, J. MOORE, M. MORTON, D. MCNEIL, C. HEATH
