THE SYDNEY Swans have helped atone for last year's heartbreaking semi-final loss to the Western Bulldogs with an eight-point win at Manuka Oval on Saturday afternoon.

The Swans, who held a half time lead of 30 points in that final last September only to lose by five points, turned the tables at the Canberra venue to win 10.13 (73) to 10.5 (65) despite a fourth-quarter surge that twice saw the Dogs get within seven points.

A goal to first-gamer Nathan Gordon steadied the Swans' ship as the Dogs pressed early in the fourth term but Brodie Moles and Robert Murphy found the big sticks and cut the margin again.

But despite their inaccuracy in front of goal that allowed the untidy Dogs to stay close after they forfeited an 18-point lead in the first quarter, the Swans hung on with Murphy's goal at the 19-minute mark the last of the game.

The Bulldogs consistently made mistakes by foot, which couldn't be saved by the fact they won their fifth opening quarter for the season or that they beat the Swans in contested ball (161 to 156) for the seventh time in their past nine clashes.

After an exciting first quarter where the Dogs opened up a three-goal lead by the six-minute mark, with two coming from Swan turnovers - the first by Heath Grundy and the second Ben McGlynn - scoring dried up in the second.

Both sides were plagued by mistakes that followed on from missed opportunities in the opening term; namely Adam Goodes missing the Swans' first shot at goal, Murphy - who was best on ground early - dropping a set shot short and Josh Hill kicking a point from directly in front.

For the Swans - who had trailed by four points at quarter time - the term was an opportunity to break the game open missed.

They managed another three behinds but found the goals once more than the Dogs, with former Bulldog Andrejs Everitt kicking his second at the two-minute mark to finally reverse the lead.

The Dogs continued to make errors that made it hard for them to push the ball beyond the half-forward line.

Jarrad Grant was a serial offender with his half summed up when he kicked into Tadhg Kennelly on the mark 16 minutes in, while Liam Jones - who was heavily beaten by Grundy until he gained confidence from a strong contested mark early in the term - got better.

Before halftime, he emerged as the Dogs' attacking hope with a goal on the run and a leading mark but they still trailed by five points despite the Swans' inaccuracy.

Clearly ready to make up for their own messiness, the Swans emerged from the rooms well before the Bulldogs while the little league games were still in progress.

Rodney Eade sent Hill and Murphy forward in a bid to find a more consistent attacking answer, which looked a genius move when the former kicked the first point of the half.

A goal to Grant aside, the Swans dominated for the rest of the third as they continued to win the clearances and give their forward line supply.

The Dogs tried to counter attack by subbing out Ben Hudson for the speedy Zephaniah Skinner in a bid to inject more run but even that failed to pay dividends with the debutant having minimal impact.

Pyke, before being subbed out for Jarred Moore in the final term, kicked the last goal of the third to open up a 26-point lead that would be cut early in the fourth by the Dogs' sudden charge.

Influential players
Ryan O'Keefe was best on ground with 27 touches - 10 contested - five tackles and two goals after being pitted against Murphy early on. The Swans got a lot of drive from Shane Mumford, who had the better of Hudson and Will Minson with 28 hit-outs, five clearances, one goal and 15 touches (eight contested).

What it means
For the Swans, it gets them their first win since round three. They also won the tackle count, 69 to 56, which is an impressive rebound from last week's loss to Carlton where they were beaten in that area (by a significant 18) for the first time this season.

Magic moment
Former Canadian rugby player Mike Pyke isn't a renowned goalkicker but his sizeable frame made him the obvious target for Jarrad McVeigh in the forward 50 late in the first quarter. McVeigh looked almost apologetic when he realised who he'd left the ball with as the siren rang. Pyke lined up and slotted a beauty from 50m that cut the margin to four points, which then saw every Swan on the field celebrate as though he'd sealed the grand final.

New faces
Second-year Swan Nathan Gordon played on the wing and across half forward, and after initially facing Liam Picken, popped up in the fourth quarter to kick the goal that stemmed the first run of the Dogs.

The next four
Sydney Swans: Port Adelaide (SCG), Hawthorn (SCG), North Melbourne (Etihad Stadium), Brisbane Lions (Gabba)

What the coach said
John Longmire (Sydney Swans)
"I thought today our experienced players played pretty well and did some important things at important times. I thought our defence stood up pretty well for most of the game, particularly our keys, and when they had their momentum swing they were able to hold it pretty well. I thought a couple of our key players in the last quarter - Adam Goodes and Ryan O'Keefe - just took the sting out of the last few minutes of the game."

Western Bulldogs           4.1          5.1          6.3          10.5 (65)
Sydney Swans                 3.3          5.6          9.11        10.13 (73)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Grant 2, Giansiracusa 2, Moles 2, Griffen, Morris, Jones, Murphy
Sydney Swans: Everitt 2, O’Keefe 2, Pyke 2, Mumford, Goodes, McVeigh, Gordon

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Griffen, Ward, Morris, Cross
Sydney Swans: O’Keefe, Mumford, Goodes, Grundy, Hannebery, Richards

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Sydney Swans: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Western  Bulldogs: Ben Hudson replaced by Zeph Skinner in the third quarter
Sydney Swans: Mike Pyke replaced by Jarred Moore in the fourth quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Rosebury, Meredith, Mollison

Official crowd: 10,184 at Manuka Oval

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL.