THIRTEEN of the Sydney Swans' 21 scoring shots in the Grand Final were launched from deep in defence or the defensive midfield.
It supports the notion that the Swans' premiership was built on its ability to flood back and score on the counterattack.
Nine of their 14 goals were launched from behind the centre and four of their six goals in the match-winning second quarter came from that area.
The Swans' counterattacking style will come to define their season but the statistics show that most of their scoring shots during 2012 started forward of the centre (53.2 percent of the Swans' score launches were from the attacking midfield or inside 50).
During 2012, the Swans were ranked just 13th in the competition for score launches from the defensive 50 and eighth for score launches from the defensive midfield. The Swans were ranked first in the competition for score launches from attacking midfield.
On Saturday it was not so much the position from which attacks were launched but the attitude towards their ball movement that won the Swans the game.
The Swans willingness to switch inboard as it entered forward 50 led to three goals during its burst of eight unanswered majors. Lewis Jetta, Nick Malceski and Daniel Hannebery all switched direction to move the ball into an attacking position within the centre square that led to goals to Sam Reid, Josh Kennedy and Lewis Roberts-Thomson.
The kicks carried an element of risk as a turnover would have opened up the ground for Hawthorn but the Sydney Swans backed their disposal and crumbing skills.
Two other goals came when Jetta exploded from a stoppage and kicked to the fat side of the forward line while Martin Mattner sidestepped Sam Mitchell on the mark to run and kick deep to a contest. Both led to goals from Mitch Morton.
It was a lesson the club must have learned after its loss to Geelong at Simonds Stadium in the final round.
After the game that day John Longmire indicated that area as one that had to change: "Too many times we got caught just going pretty safe and I think in the end good teams make you pay if you continually do that," Longmire said.
"We just weren't as aggressive as we would probably like with our ball movement, which ultimately costs you inside 50s, which costs you opportunities to score."
On Saturday, the Sydney Swans swarmed numbers to the fall of the ball when the attacking kick entered the forward 50. Only four of its 14 goals came from marks with nine coming from scrambling a loose ball, and one from a 50-metre penalty.
The ability to create a contest was critical to this strategy and the Swans talls, particularly Adam Goodes, were able to do that brilliantly. Hawthorn took just 14 intercept marks, whereas the Sydney Swans managed 19 for the game.
The Swans approach was basic but basic is often best in the finals.
Only once did such an aggressive approach to their ball movement nearly let them down. It was late in the last quarter when Norm Smith medallist Ryan O'Keefe kicked to the hot spot inside 50 and Hawthorn's Shane Savage marked with Hawk teammates sprinting into space on the fat side of the ground. As O'Keefe conceded after the game, Martin Mattner saved him when he ran down Grant Birchall.
But it was a minor blemish in an approach that dared to win.
For a club that is justifiably regarded as champions of defence - it conceded fewer points during the home and away rounds than any other team - its attacking approach saw it score 48.83 per cent of the time it entered the forward 50.
It was enough to help the Swans defy a deficit in many game-related statistics such as centre clearances and contested ball and lead on the scoreboard at the finish.
And that, as everyone knows, is all that matters.
Stats supplied by Champion Data
