Joel Amartey is such an asset to the Sydney Swans that development coach Lloyd Perris “would have liked two of him” in Saturday’s 14-point loss to GWS.
Perris rued his side’s lacklustre attack on the footy in the 9.15 (69) to 8.7 (55) defeat at Giants Stadium, but Amartey produced an outstanding solo game.
The 197-centimetre, 96-kilogram Swan finished the match with 26 disposals, eight marks, six tackles, 28 hit-outs and a goal in the Sydney Derby XVIII curtain-raiser.
Perris, who also commended the performance of speedster James Bell (28 touches, eight tackles), wishes Amartey had been cloned for the cross-city clash.
“We probably would have liked to have two of him today – one in the ruck and one in the forward line, just because when he’s on he’s really aggressive and a really damaging player,” Perris told Swans Media post-match.
“He has been thrown around a fair bit this year and we’re still trying to work out what his best position is. When he’s up he’s got some serious physical attributes and he’s definitely shown that throughout the year and again today.
“He’s one of the few who can hold their head up high after today’s game. He really competed hard, he was good in the air and his follow-up work at ground level was really good.”
Bell’s 28 touches followed last week’s tally of 31, with the 20-year-old winning a stack of contested footy and dishing it out to first-year duo Justin McInerney and Zac Foot on the wings.
Perris concedes Bell had few helpers at the coalface of the contest, but he had high praise for the emerging midfielder’s individual game.
“James was our best mid. It’s the second week in a row he’s really driven the midfield group,” Perris said.
“He’s really come on in leaps and bounds this year. He’s a real competitor and it’s been really good to see him grow as a footballer this year.
“Today he got after the footy, he was going really hard at the ground balls and his will to win was far greater than most of his teammates’ will to win.”
Sydney struggled to gain midfield ascendancy despite having a clear edge in the ruck.
While Sam Naismith was a late out due to knee soreness, Michael Knoll (51 hit-outs) and Amartey (28 hit-outs) combined to smash the home side in the ruck, with the Swans winning the hit-out count 84-29.
“We got smacked around the ball, we lost the contested ball, we lost the clearances even though we had ruck dominance, they got on top of us in the midfield and they really hurt us,” Perris said.
“They just generally looked like they wanted it more. They were harder at the footy than us and that really hurts, so we’re really disappointed.”
Naismith was due to play his second successive match in his comeback from an ACL rupture, but he was withdrawn late in a precautionary move.
“He just had a bit of soreness and we’re not willing to risk it at this stage,” Perris said.
“We were happy for him to miss this week, recharge the batteries and go again next week.”
Meanwhile, in a big plus for the QBE Sydney Swans Academy, top-ups Jackson Barling (four goals) and Hamish Ellem (three) were both strong inside 50.
The Swans are now set to travel north to face the Aspley Hornets at Voxson Oval in Brisbane next Saturday afternoon.
GWS 1.3 3.7 7.11 9.15 (69)
Sydney Swans 2.2 4.3 6.6 8.7 (55)
Goals – Sydney: J Barling 4, H Ellem 3, J Amartey
