We take a look at the coverage of our win over North Melbourne from the papers across the weekend in today's Swans in the media.
Swans are soaring
Andrew Wu
SMH, May 30
The season is less than half over but that has not stopped former Sydney star Tadhg Kennelly from making a huge call: this year's premiership is the Swans' to lose.
The bold declaration came as the Swans vaulted to premiership favouritism with some bookmakers after becoming the first team to defeat North Melbourne this year. It follows an impressive win over triple premiers Hawthorn, giving the Swans an imposing 8-2 record and cementing the club inside the top four.
The Swans had a similar win-loss balance after 10 rounds last year but there is more optimism over their prospects this time around.
Whereas they had beaten only one prospective finalist 12 months ago, this year they have already logged wins over leading hopes Hawthorn, Greater Western Sydney and the Kangaroos. Their two defeats have been by a combined total of 11 points.
They have a largely fit list with only Ted Richards and Tom Papley injured from their best 22 while Sam Reid, who resumed in the reserves on Friday night, is set to return in the coming weeks. It could, of course, still unravel from here, as it did in 2013 and 2015 when the Swans were hit hard by injuries.
Kennelly is a former premiership-winning Swan so perhaps he is seeing the season through rose-coloured glasses (or red and white), which he acknowledged. His bullishness, however, gives an insight as to how well his former club is travelling.
"It's all sitting pretty for them at the minute and they won't want to hype them up. I think they've got under the radar of a lot of the clubs and people in Melbourne," Kennelly said on ABC Grandstand.
"I said this earlier in the week, that I think it's Sydney's [premiership] to lose ... all the teams have fallen in line for Sydney as far as the year is panning out, it's early yet, still only round 11 but I think it's been primed for them.
"Their players are healthy, they have maturity in their list, the debutants, the list is getting stronger, the Buddy factor, the Tippett factor, I am biased."
Tom Mitchell’s stellar form adding grunt to Sydney’s midfield
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, May 29
IT’S taken Tom Mitchell time to get his body right but now that he has, Sydney Swans coach John Longmire has yet another weapon in his already powerful midfield arsenal that continues its march towards September.
Friday night’s 41 disposals in the Swans’ gritty victory over the previously undefeated North Melbourne at the SCG, was the latest instalment in a growing catalogue of A-grade performances from Mitchell.
It comes on top of last week’s shutdown job on Hawthorn’s midfield general Sam Mitchell.
“Every week I want to be consistent,” Mitchell told The Sunday Telegraph.
“My role was a bit different than against the Hawks and it was a huge challenge against North Melbourne who have one of the best midfields in the competition.
“Jack Ziebell, Nick Dal Santo and Andrew Swallow are all great players so we had our work cut out for us.
“It was a collective effort as a midfield with the quality of players they have around eight very good ones and it’s hard to stop all of them.
“Kieren (Jack), Luke (Parker), Dan (Hannebery) and Josh (Kennedy) all had to work together as a collective to try and nullify all those guys.”
Luff in the air for 500
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, May 29
Some blokes don’t know when to quit and Troy Luff is clearly one of those.
When Luff finished up at the Swans in 2001 he was almost 32 years old and had earned life membership after playing 155 senior games.
Incredibly 15 years on he’s still going and yesterday played his 500th senior game when he ran out for Balmain at Mahoney Oval in Marrickville.
At 46, it would seem more likely Luff would be playing golf or lawn bowls but he says he has no plans to quit AFL and can see no end to his labour of love.
“It’s a game I just love playing,” Luff told The Sunday Telegraph.
“I love getting on a footy field and taking a mark and kicking a goal, tackling someone, playing in the ruck, it’s a game and I love it. The other thing about it is the social aspect, you are with a bunch of 20 of your mates every weekend and there are social functions, Mad Mondays and footy trips. They’re all still a part of it and when you stop playing footy you lose all that.”
Luff was one of Sydney’s best players in the 1996 grand final, kicking two goals in the 43-point loss to North Melbourne.
Two decades on and he is still searching for the elusive premiership.
“I’ve played in 10 grand finals and lost them all,” Luff said.
Derm slams Thomas as 'milking' row erupts
David Sygall
SMH, May 29
The gloves are off in the debate over players milking free kicks, with former Hawthorn star Dermott Brereton accusing North Melbourne's Lindsay
Thomas of failing to play in the spirit of the game and Swans coach John Longmire reiterating his view that the AFL needs to act on what is becoming a tricky problem for the code's lawmakers.
A furore was sparked during Sydney's 26-point win over North Melbourne at the SCG on Friday night when three of the free kicks awarded – each in goalscoring positions – went to players who appeared to intentionally lower their centre of gravity and take a high tackle to win a set shot. Kangaroos' forward Thomas was twice called into question and Sydney's George Hewett once.
"Lindsay was in a pack, surrounded by two other bodies, and he had an exit passage straight ahead of him – put the runners on, sprint out that passage and you snap away," Brereton said on Melbourne radio station SEN on Saturday of one of the incidents.
"For the first time we broke new ground in this. He thought: 'No, I am going to seek out the tackler'. He actually went into reverse, got lower in reverse, and drove up into the tackle from behind under the armpit.
"It was new ground and he actually thought: 'Where is the tackler? I want the tackler, because I can milk a free out of this'. That is not the spirit of our game."
Bloods pressure
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun May 28
THREE goals from Lance Franklin has helped Sydney take down the undefeated and underrated North Melbourne by 26 points at the SCG.
In the opening to Indigenous Round it was a slug fest befitting the heavyweight contest between first and fourth as Sydney and North Melbourne traded blows in a midfield battle where there was barely room to breathe.
Tom Mitchell, Dan Hannebery and Josh Kennedy led the way for the Swans as they won the critical contested possession 169-144 and the tackle count 90-81.
Mitchell won the first ever Goodes-O’Loughin medal as he gathered a staggering 41 possessions, 17 of which were contested. Kennedy picked up 35 and 22 and Hannebery 34 and 13.
Ben Cunnington led the way for the Kangaroos with 32 possessions, including 16 contested and was well supported by Jack Ziebell (22-10) and Nick Dal Santo (21-8)
With his father and ex-Swans champion Barry looking on Mitchell produced another performance of the highest quality to follow last week’s blanket job on Hawthorn’s midfield dynamo Sam Mitchell.
His dad was sitting alongside the great Paul Kelly who would have been equally proud of Mitchell junior’s gritty performance.
Coach John Longmire praised Mitchell’s efforts after the match, especially his ability to play multiple roles.
“We want to play two way football and whether it’s our midfielders, our defenders, or our forwards, everyone needs to be able to do it.
“When you get it right you are competitive, when you don’t you drop away.”
Franklin well on the way towards 1000 career goals after joining Sydney great Barry Hall on 746
Ben Horne
Daily Telegraph, May 28
ONE thousand career goals now appears just a matter of time for Lance Franklin after he equalled on Friday night the career mark of fellow Swans great Barry Hall.
Sydney has always loved a big goalkicking key forward, and the Marn Grook Indigenous Round showdown at the SCG was a fitting occasion for Franklin to boot three to sink ladder-leaders North Melbourne and add another chapter to his growing legacy.
Franklin started the year on 706 career goals, but in 10 games has swamped past six names on the AFL’s all-time list to join Hall on equal 14th with 746.
With all the spotlight on him during the week, Franklin admitted that 100 goals was an achievable dream in 2016.
But the real question is how far can the 29-year-old climb in the history books?
Only five men topped by Swans legend Tony Lockett on 1360 have ever kicked more than 1000 career goals — but Franklin now has that magic four-figure number firmly in his sights.
Before the year is even out, Franklin looks set to chew up Sav Rocca (748), Kevin Bartlett (778) and Matthew Richardson (800).
A month ago, Hall predicted Franklin was destined for 1000 career goals and he knows better than anyone how much the Sydney faithful will enjoy watching the exciting ride to the milestone over the coming years.
Mitchell set to reject strong Carlton interest and re-sign with Sydney Swans
Jay Clark
Herald Sun, May 28
GUN Sydney midfielder Tom Mitchell is set to rebuff Carlton’s interest and sign a contract extension with the Swans.
The Herald Sun can reveal a new deal for the prolific ball-winner could be finalised within the next fortnight, locking away one of Sydney’s most important midfield cogs.
Sydney officials met Mitchell’s manager, Phil Mullen, to formalise key details on Monday, paving way for a long-term extension.
The ball magnet — who was best on ground in Friday night’s win over North Melbourne with 41 disposals and 10 tackles — is out of contract at the end of the season.
Mullen told the Herald Sun on Friday the new contract was “a work in progress” and said the 22-year-old on-baller was happy in Sydney, despite Carlton’s strong interest in last year’s trade period.
Swans chiefs are extremely confident the 181cm hard-nut will soon recommit.
Sydney escalates its concussion management strategy to protect Swans players
Jon Ralph
Herald Sun, May 28
SYDNEY has dramatically escalated its concussion management strategy and will have scanned the brains of its entire list by season’s end.
The club believes by conducting neurological baseline testing of its players it can better assess when they are ready to return to action.
Swans defender Ted Richards was ruled out of Friday night’s game with a second heavy concussion in as many years.
The Swans are adamant Richards’ career is not in doubt with his brain scans showing encroaching signs, but his symptoms showing he had not yet recovered from the concussion.
It comes with a dozen concussed players throughout the AFL missing games this year, with six of them out indefinitely.
The AFL has in recent seasons invited heavily concussed players to have brain scans at Melbourne’s Florey Institute to help assess the damage.
Now Sydney has already conducted baseline testing for players with concussion histories as it works through its entire list.
Kurt Tippett suffered a trio of concussions in a month during 2012, while Dan Hannebery and Jeremy Laidler have also had recent concussions.
Sydney head of football Tom Harley, so concussed during the 2008 Grand Final he cannot recall its details, says the Swans are putting their players first.
“We now do baseline testing on all our players and if there is another trauma it gives us something to measure it up against.
“We have a new medical structure this season and we are going through the list.
“We prioritise players who have had concussions in the past and even the baseline testing is a pretty significant assessment.
“We have been through the priority players and will have all players done by the end of the year. We think it’s important to have that on record.”
Mitchell grabs his chance as Swans send North south
Peter Lalor
The Australian, May 28
Tom Mitchell battled leather poisoning in the Swans reserves for years before being given a chance to play with the big boys. That frustrating time has paid off with two diverse but critical efforts for the Swans in consecutive matches.
Sydney inflicted the first defeat of 2016 on North Melbourne last night, winning 14.7 (91) to 9.11 (65), making the ladder leaders look a touch lacklustre and short of ideas against what is a well-disciplined and multifaceted outfit.
Against Hawthorn at the MCG last Friday night, Tom Mitchell tagged the veteran Sam Mitchell (no relation) out of the match and gave every other side in the league a blueprint on how to beat the evergreen champion and his premiership effort. Against North he was freed from that role and given licence to play like he was back in the NEAFL.
Mitchell didn’t quite get to the game-record 64 possessions (14 marks, 12 clearances, 27 handballs receives and 16 hardball gets) match he enjoyed in round 10, 2014, against the Kangaroos reserves, but he did finish with a game-high 41 possessions (a goal, 11 kicks, 30 handballs, 8 marks and 10 tackles).
Mitchell’s efforts made him a clear winner of the inaugural Goodes-O’Loughlin medal with only Josh Kennedy (35 possessions) giving him any contest for the honour.
Swans coach John Longmire said Mitchell’s early years were also affected by injury, but he praised his ability to defend and attack. “We want to play two-way football and whether it’s our midfielders, our defenders, or our forwards, everyone needs to be able to do it,” he said after the match.
“When you get it right you are competitive, when you don’t you drop away.”
Swans flying high as North Melbourne's undefeated streak ends
David Sygall
SMH, May 28
Sydney coach John Longmire says the incidence of players milking free kicks needs to be looked at by the AFL, while North Melbourne coach Brad Scott has accused anyone who points the finger at an individual over the furore of being a coward.
Sydney's bruising and sometimes spiteful 26-point win over previously unbeaten North Melbourne at the SCG spilled into some tense post-match moments, with Longmire carefully conveying some of the frustration shared by his players.
Longmire didn't name anyone, but it appeared to have been in regards to Kangaroos small forward Lindsay Thomas, who scored two of his three goals from free kicks after being tackled high.
"I think it needs to be looked at," Longmire responded when asked about players searching for free kicks.
He added: "What do you do? I'm not there to tell the decision-makers what to do. I'm there to coach a team to play a game of footy. That's what I'll do.
"It's a split second decision [to get lower when making a tackle], it's a very difficult thing to do. We gave away a couple of free kicks. But in the end, I didn't have a close look at the replays."
Asked if he would make a call to the AFL about the problem, Longmire said no.
His counterpart Scott said he agreed with Longmire that the problem needed to be looked at.
"But while they continue to get paid, then players will keep doing it," Scott said.
"And there will be cowards out there who single out individuals, but every player in the competition tries to do it. So, until the rules change, then players will keep doing it."
Footy is kicking goals again
Matthew Lloyd
The Age, May 28
Tony Lockett, Jason Dunstall and Gary Ablett Senior were three footballers who mesmerised me as a kid watching from the couch through the mid-'80s to the early '90s.
They were three legends of the game who had different strengths – Lockett had brutal strength, the fear factor and brilliant foot skills, Dunstall had vice-like hands on a hard lead which he timed to perfection and Ablett showcased his freakish marking ability, explosive running and a goal sense that made him virtually unstoppable.
All three made their debut within four years of each other between 1982 and 1985 and kicked a staggering 3694 goals between them. The trio sit in the top five of all-time leading goalkickers along with Gordon Coventry and Doug Wade. Together Lockett, Dunstall and Ablett kicked 100 goals or more in a season 15 times. Lockett and Dunstall kicked the hundred six times apiece and Ablett a lazy three. I didn't t realise just how good I had it as a kid in my Avondale Heights lounge room.
Sydney full-forward Lance Franklin boldly stated during the week that the 100-goal milestone is once again achievable in the modern game. It was music to my ears, as it brought back so many memories of my childhood when every side had a key forward capable of kicking a bag of goals any day.
