The Sydney Swans have suffered heartbreak at the hands of the Hawks going down by six points on Friday night.
A clutch set shot goal by Shaun Burgoyne in the 23rd minute of the fourth quarter, followed by a rushed behind a minute later, levelled the scores at 75-apiece, before Jarryd Roughead nailed his opportunity from beyond 50 metres to secure a win that had appeared to have slipped from the visitors’ grasp.
Brilliant forward Lance Franklin - wearing the No.67 guernsey to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum - delivered a performance for the ages for Sydney, who were left two rotations down before half-time with Jake Lloyd suffering a concussion in the opening minutes and Sam Reid enduring a similar fate in the second quarter.
Franklin won the Goodes-O’Loughlin Medal for a five-goal effort that thrilled 36,221 fans and took him into the game’s all-time top 10 goalkickers.
Burgoyne wore number 67 on the back of his Hawthorn jumper, a move that seemed to have an impact on the output of both players.
But after three successive wins, the Swans’ resurgence came to an end at the hands of a Hawks side determined to quash its reputation for late fades.
In an often-spiteful clash, Hawthorn took a 22-point lead before the first term was out and, despite Sydney storming back to within four midway through the second, the visitors fired in the last 10 minutes of the half to hold a 21-point lead, 8.3. (51) to 4.6. (30), at the main break.
Hawthorn had 35 points to one kicked on them by Collingwood in the third term in round nine and, though they went blow for blow in the early exchanges upon the resumption, Sydney piled on the final three goals to close to within a kick, 66-61, at three-quarter time.
When Isaac Heeney finished off a chain that began with a Franklin tackle on the wing in the seventh minute of the final term, the Swans hit the front for the first time and the blond-headed forward scored another to put the Swans on track.
Yet, Burgoyne’s and then Roughead’s late strikes completed a memorable win.
SYDNEY 2.4 4.6 9.7 11.9 (75)
HAWTHORN 5.1 8.3 10.6 12.9 (81)
GOALS
Sydney: Franklin 5, Heeney 2, Papley, Kennedy, Jones, Rohan
Hawthorn: Bruest 3, Burgoyne 2, Whitecross 2, Gunston, Puopolo, Sicily, Cousins, Roughead
BEST
Sydney: Franklin, Hannebery, Kennedy, Heeney, Rampe, Smith
Hawthorn: Burgoyne, Shiels, Mitchell, Smith, Burton, Hodge
INJURIES
Sydney: Jake Lloyd (concussion), Sam Reid (concussion)
Hawthorn: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Donlon, Fisher, Rosebury
Official crowd: 36,221 at the SCG
