A host of Swans on the fringe of AFL selection have catapulted Sydney to its second win of the season in an 88-point victory over Southport at the SCG on Saturday.
Nic Newman, Dan Robinson, Robbie Fox, Dean Towers, Aliir Aliir, Colin O’Riordan, Harry Marsh and Darcy Cameron all fired as the Swans soared to back-to-back wins in a 20.11 (131) to 6.7 (43) victory.
The Round 7 result looked to be nestled in the Swans’ hands as they took a 26-point lead into three-quarter time, but Sydney would storm to 10 final-term goals to Southport’s zero to put the game to bed.
Newman collected 32 disposals and two goals, while Robinson (game-high 38 touches), Fox (30) and Towers (28) also starred in their returns to the NEAFL.
Aliir showed his versatility in firing in defence, the forward line and the ruck and finished with 21 touches and a goal.
O’Riordan gathered 28 touches in another rock-solid performance on half-back, while Marsh reeled in 22 possessions and took a sensational speccy in a one-on-one contest in the goal square early in the second term.
Cameron produced another impressive NEAFL performance in holding his own against formidable Southport ruckman Fraser Thurlow, while he collected a pair of goals and worked in tandem in the ruck with Aliir and Towers.
The experienced cogs led the way as arguably the strongest Swans outfit of the season pencilled in the four points.
It followed a 31-point win over the Giants at Spotless Stadium last Saturday as the Swans posted their first win of their premiership campaign.
Young guns Joel Amartey and James Rose booted four goals each in dazzling performances of their own in the Southport clash, while a number of QBE Sydney Swans Academy stars again propped up the side.
Debutant Nick Blakey kicked two goals and showed stunning aerial talent, while Academy product Sam Wicks bagged a pair of goals of his own.
Sydney burst out of the blocks to kick two majors in the opening three minutes of the game, the first a beautiful crumbing goal to first-year Swan Matt Ling and the second to Rose from just inside 50.
The Sharks responded when Tom Wilkinson soccered the Sherrin through from congestion, but the Swans would hit back as Academy star Josh Stern snapped truly.
Blakey bagged the first of his two goals at the 32-minute mark of the opening stanza before Sydney took a 10-point lead into quarter-time.
Aliir shifted to the ruck early in the second quarter as Cameron ‘rested’ as a forward, but the Sudanese giant would kick the Swans’ first goal of the second term off a set shot at the three-minute mark.
The Swans held a 13-point lead at half-time and ran in three third-term majors to the Sharks’ one, before opening the floodgates in the exhilarating final quarter.
As the ladder stands on Saturday night, the Swans sit in seventh and have the fourth-best percentage in the competition.
They are now set for a Round 8 away clash with Brisbane as they eye off three wins on the trot and a place in the top six.
