This game was practically won before the first bounce.

Getting off at Driver Avenue the enormity of this match slapped you in the face. A swirling sea of red and white; number 37 t-shirts and jerking banners and signs of all kinds offering support to Adam Goodes. His massive decision to not play had provoked a massive response from the football community. With almost a sell out crowd it seemed that forty thousand outraged, curious, occasional fans and the rest of us footy addicts had descended on the SCG. All there to lend our support to the beleaguered star and witness the clubs on-field response after what has been a tumultuous week.

It’s rare I’m at a game early enough to observe any of this sort of thing. Normally I’m scrambling up the O’Reilly stand stairs in a mad tear to catch the first bounce; cursing Sydney’s traffic and whatever twisted logic that makes me think taking the bus from Central is the right thing to do. But this was a special game and looking around at the buzzing energy around the stands I remember thinking it will take an absolute disaster for us to lose this.

The countdown was electrifying; a minute of vintage Goodes footage that received a standing ovation. Even a complete outsider couldn’t have failed to realise who we were there for and why.

It was fitting that Lewis Jetta, so prominent in last week’s furore, set the tone of the first half. Running free on the wing he casually banged in a goal from outside the fifty that got us off our seats. The Enemy responded with a sliding mark and scruffy goal. All things considered everyone was on their best behaviour. A hush descended as The Enemy lined up for a shot. Even so Tippett came in for some understandable stick when he goaled after a nice flick from Reid.  I suddenly remembered it was his first game against his old team.

The first portion of the quarter was fairly open with both teams getting some run but making mistakes that halted their attack. After that the Swans gained the ascendency. Goals to Buddy, Tippett and Hannebery had The Enemy on the back foot. The Swans flow stuttered momentarily as McVeigh was caught in the backline and The Enemy swooped in to score, then roared to life again with some beautiful play from Jack to Jetta to Tippett on the lead. Lloyd was on up the wing in the dying seconds but was beaten by the siren.

Taking advantage of our forward press The Enemy strolled into an open goal early in the second quarter. An absolute monster goal from Buddy though got the Swans back on track. Jetta was playing out of his skin running through the midfield to spot Buddy again. Richards was superbly out bodied by The Enemy in the goal square to set up the six points but it was the last points they would get until the end of the quarter. Not that the Swans were that prolific. Silly handballs put players under pressure and although Parker took a great grab his shot drifted for a behind. The Enemy slipped through too easy towards the end and Grundy gave away a free kick. Luckily The Enemy were inaccurate and the Swans went in 43 points up.

Having played a massive first half the Swans seemed to put the cue in the rack somewhat in the third. The crowd were determined to get that cue out again. That amazing energy around the stadium was contagious as at the seventh minute we all stood chanting ‘Goodesey’. I recalled seeing a sign about this outside the ground but I didn’t really think it would come off. How wrong I was and it was an amazing moment to be part of.

Meanwhile the game flowed. The umpire review robbed The Enemy of a clear goal but they were getting themselves back into the game, slipping tackles far too easily at the end to score twice.

That was about it for The Enemy though. Even though the Swans’ skills were not as slick as they could have been the boys were afforded the space to make up for their mistakes. Buddy and Tippett had minor scores. Parker and McVeigh were more accurate. The score review was kinder to us as it looked as if Hannebery’s kick had grazed the post. In the final minutes Kennedy, with a beautiful pick up, banged in a long bomb to seal the game.

As the crowd streamed on to the SCG for kick to kick it felt a like a pressure valve had been released. Two big losses in a row and then this deplorable booing saga had bought everyone’s spirits down. Not that this game will go down in history as one of the Swans’ epic battles and of course the underlying issue of crowd conduct remains. But the tone of the match was a step in the right direction. A celebration of how this game should be viewed as a spectator.

Perhaps even the sort of game that might entice Adam back.

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