Co-captain Jarrad McVeigh floated across half-back, a position he’s owned for the bulk of his admired career. Dan Hannebery was everywhere else.
It was June 6, 2015, Gold Coast v Sydney Swans – nearly 12 months to the day that the two clubs last played at Metricon Stadium.
The teams enjoyed, as they say in football terms, ‘a day out’.
To set the scene…
Sydney and Gold Coast were at opposite ends of the spectrum in the lead up to the Round 10 twilight fixture.
The Swans were third on the ladder, pushing second, with only the two Western Australian teams ahead of them. Signs pointed to a big season ahead.
The Suns, on the other hand, were 17th and depleted with what Fox Footy commentators Dwayne Russell, Jason Dunstall and Brad Johnson classed as “almost two-thirds of their best side” on the sidelines with injuries.
One of those out, Gary Ablett, would have made a world of difference.
A bit of rain was forecast, nothing like the torrential downpour predicted this weekend though. It arrived late in the second term. Luckily, most of the damage had already been done.
Hannebery and McVeigh went to work right from the start. They had no time to waste, given the type of numbers compiled by quarter-time.
They gathered the ball at will in that opening quarter, combining for 34 disposals (17 each).
They looked almost unopposed at times. McVeigh found plenty of space while Hannebery also worked particularly hard for his wriggle room.
Up in the commentary box Johnson described them as “massive numbers”. He wasn’t wrong.
From siren to siren the opening term went for 30 minutes and 38 seconds or, broken down further, 1838 seconds in total.
That means either Hannebery or McVeigh enjoyed a touch every 54 seconds.
Dan Hannebery clocked up "massive numbers" the last time we played the Gold Coast at Metricon.
It reflected the state of play really. The visitors led Gold Coast 122-63 in disposal, contested possession (40-27), hitout-to-advantage (7-1), clearance (13-7), tackle (11-9) and inside 50 (17-9) counts at the first break.
It didn’t last, however, as the Swans were restricted to just 25 points in the second half. Gold Coast won their first quarter of football (the third quarter) after losing their previous 10.
The Swans, having ground out a 13.15 (93) to 5.11 (41) victory, moved to an 8-2 record which is spookily the same win-loss ratio they find themselves with in the lead up to a seventh meeting with the Suns.
Hannebery’s numbers: 23 kicks, 19 handballs, five marks, five clearances, seven forward entries. It was an equal career-best performance by Hannebery.
The 25-year-old had reached 42 disposals on two previous occasions. The first came in 2012, in Round 16 against West Coast, while the second came the following year, in Round 11 against Adelaide.
It was the fifth time he’d won more than 40 touches.
He was awarded all 10 votes in the AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year Award voting, a prize he'd later win, and claimed the three Brownlow Medal votes for his efforts.
McVeigh’s numbers: 20 kicks, 19 handballs, seven marks, three clearances, seven forward entries.
Only once has McVeigh collected more possessions, that was in the 2013 semi-final against Carlton. He dominated with 42 disposals to help the Swans progress to the preliminary final.
Not even Lance Franklin’s Goal of the Year nomination could take the night away from Hannebery and McVeigh.
Here’s hoping the pair can repeat those feats and have another, as they say, ‘day out’.
