After a poor performance against Hawthorn in round seven followed by a disappointing draw at home against Fremantle, the Swans needed to find form fast to keep in touch with the competition’s top four and they did so in style in round nine against Collingwood at the MCG.
Not even a broken down bus and a peak hour tram ride to the ‘G on a busy Friday night could stop the Swans, who triumphantly returned to form with a stunning 47-point win over Collingwood, which was also the club’s first win against the Magpies at the MCG in 12 years.
Dan Hannebery and Kieren Jack were outstanding in the Swans’ win, while Adam Goodes was at his brilliant best, finishing the match with 30 disposals and three goals.
Unfortunately a racial taunt from a Collingwood fan towards Goodes soured the result for the Swans and much attention was on the champion player leading into the next match.
But Goodes and the Swans’ form wasn’t affected, with the side picking up where they left off against Essendon in front of a big home crowd on a wet night at the SCG in round 10.
Led by Josh Kennedy (37 disposals, 1 goal), Jarrad McVeigh (34 disposals), Nick Malceski (28 disposals) and a four-goal match from Goodes, the Swans produced another dominant performance and led at every change to come away with a 44-point win.
The Swans’ round 10 win also marked the debut of father-son recruit Tom Mitchell, who finished his first AFL match with eight disposals, six tackles and a goal after coming on as the sub.
The Swans then made it three wins in as many weeks with a comprehensive win on the road against the Adelaide Crows at AAMI Stadium.
In arguably the team’s best performance of the year, the Swans piled on 13 goals to two in the second and third quarters to achieve a 77-point win over the Crows.
Hannebery continued his brilliant form, collecting 42 possessions, while in just his second AFL game, Mitchell earned an AFL Rising Star nomination for his 31-possession, one-goal effort in Adelaide.
What they said
“We’ve probably had some question marks on us on the big stage and at the MCG and I thought we performed really well across the whole board and I didn’t think we had a poor player or poor group in the side,” Kieren Jack on the Swans’ win over Collingwood (27/05/13)
“I don’t think we had too many players who didn’t contribute and I thought our leaders played extremely well and really set the tone,” John Longmire following the Essendon win (01/06/13)
"I was really pleased with the way we attacked the ball and the way we tackled – we had 82 tackles – and really put enormous pressure on the ball carrier,” Longmire on the Adelaide win (08/06/13)
Coverage
Swans soar over cold Pies
Friday night win a boost
Swans reign over Bombers
Ominous Swans win big over Adelaide
Social Media
Post by Sydney Swans.
Post by Sydney Swans.
