Pyke, who played his second senior match after a lay-off with a hamstring strain, played an important role for the Swans by curbing the influence of in-form ruckman and former team mate Shane Mumford.
Following a disappointing performance against Mumford in the Swans’ round one loss to GWS, Pyke’s performance Saturday’s win was admirable, with the big man picking up 22 hit-outs, seven possessions and three marks to Mumford’s 33 hit outs, eight possessions and two marks.
Speaking to SwansTV, Pyke said he was pleased to be able to break even with ‘Mummy’ on Saturday night.
“Obviously I was really disappointed with the game in round one and just wanted to come back and just break even with him this time around,” he said.
“It was my second run on the park this week and fortunately I felt really good and my legs felt great, so I was happy to stick with him.”
Pyke, who lined up for his eighth match this season in Saturday night’s match, said he felt his performance against Mumford was a sign both his game and his fitness were improving.
“I felt really great,” he said.
“I know Mummy is a really hard runner and he tested me at times and I felt like I was able to stay with him, which was really positive for me..
“I got a lot of confidence out of that.”
The Swans’ win over GWS marked the club’s tenth consecutive victory, a feat that has not been achieved by South Melbourne/Sydney Swans since 1935.
While admitting the win wasn’t a perfect performance, Pyke said securing the four points was what was most important.
“It felt really good and the important thing is that we got the win,” he said.
“We may have liked to put a few more on them and they came back hard in the last quarter, but at the end of the day the win is all we wanted.
“I think sometimes when you’re winning games, but things aren’t going the way you like, you have to put it into context.
“At the end of the day winning is winning and getting ten of them in a row is important.
“It’s not lost on the players and we certainly feel like we’re glad to be part of history.”
Saturday night’s match also saw the return of Kurt Tippett and Ben McGlynn, after the pair missed a fortnight of football due to injury.
Speaking after the match, Ben McGlynn, who suffered a fractured thumb in the Swans win over Gold Coast, told SwansTV that it was good to be back.
“The thumb is OK, but I was a little bit rusty,” he said.
“I was missing a few kicks and the ball was going over my head a couple of times, but it was good to get a bit of a freshen up and I’ll attack the next couple of weeks before the bye and attack the second half of the year.
“I don’t like watching from the sidelines, so it was good to be back and back on the SCG and playing in front of our fans.”
The Swans travel to Perth next week to take on West Coast, who suffered a narrow seven-point loss to Fremantle on Saturday afternoon.
McGlynn said there was no doubt the trip to Perth was one of the toughest tasks in football and added that the Swans would need to be at their best.
“It’s a hard task going over there against Fremantle or West Coast, so we’re looking forward to the trip,” he said.
“Anyone we come up against, we know the competition is very tight and is very even, so we have to respect all of our opposition and keep playing the footy we know we can play.”
