JUDE Bolton's second half against Hawthorn on Sunday was a lesson in on-field leadership.
At the beginning of both quarters the tough blond discarded his manners to push underneath the ruckmen and make sure he was the first midfielder to get his hands on the ball.
He didn't always win clean possession but his actions and intent set the tone, and sparked the Swans' midfield.
Playing with such presence is often underrated in football, but it is hard to ignore what Bolton did when it mattered.
In that first 10 minutes of the second half Bolton was the leading possession winner on the ground. He had three kicks, two handballs, three handball receives, collected two contested possessions, three uncontested possessions and laid one tackle.
With the game in the balance midway through the last quarter, the 32-year-old gathered a knock-on from Luke Parker, broke a Brent Guerra tackle and handballed to Daniel Hannebery.
A Lewis Jetta goal resulted. The Swans did not look back.
"He (Bolton) started in the middle in the second half and was fantastic," coach John Longmire said on Monday. "He really lifted, as a number of the players did."
In the final 10 minutes of the game Bolton, playing his 284th game was still going. He collected three more possessions, laid two tackles and kicked a goal as the Swans kicked four more goals to run out winners.
Such leadership makes the Sydney Swans a quality team.
The coach John Longmire knows when the chips are down he can go to his leaders and get a response.
That's what he did against Hawthorn in last year's semi-final when the Swans trailed by 40 points at half-time. On that occasion the group responded with quick goals but could not go on with the job.
On Sunday, when the Swans were 20 points behind, the team's leaders did not need to be told. They just knew what had to be done.
Be first to the ball.
So Bolton went into the middle to start the second half and show what was required.
When they observed the veteran at work, Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker, Kieren Jack, Craig Bird and Daniel Hannebery lifted.
That midfield group averages 57 games apiece and are good players made better because they have great leaders to follow.
Because those followers have become a better group of players, the Swans have improved this season.
In the second half the Sydney Swans dominated the inner ring of the stoppage, with first hands on the ball players such as Bird and Kennedy winning five first possessions at a stoppage each and Bolton, Mark Seaby, Parker four apiece.
The Swans would eventually grab 29 first possessions in second-half stoppages, while the Hawks managed 17.
Those insiders fed the outer ring with Jarrad McVeigh grabbing 11 handball receives, Hannebery seven and Nick Smith six.
By contrast, Hawthorn only appeared to have Sam Mitchell, Michael Osborne, Brad Sewell (and in the last quarter Jarryd Roughead) competing inside the ring and a range of players chasing tail outside the ring.
When the Hawks did get the ball it was often smothered, with Kennedy and Marty Mattner both making critical smothers in the third quarter.
Hawthorn tried to respond to their claustrophobia by using a third man up to thump the ball wide of the stoppage. The Swans - with an extra number therefore at the fall of the ball - pounced on those scraps too.
As Alastair Clarkson rightfully mused post-game, he found it difficult to work out where, if any, blame lay.
His midfield appeared shocked by the intensity of the onslaught.
Once the effort was there, the Swans were good enough to turn winning the ball into fast entries inside 50.
How they did that was great to watch.
Because the Swans do not have enormous leg speed (excepting Jetta and Goodes) it uses handball to release players into space and make fast breaks from stoppages.
In the second half on Sunday, the Swans were electrifying in their use of quick hands to release a player and then kick to a target inside 50. It had 73 handball receives to Hawthorn's 41. Six Swan midfielders had more than seven handballs in the second half. No Hawthorn player reached that mark.
While some other teams use acceleration to get that quick burst from a stoppage, the Swans are more like a good basketball team trying to find space around the key as they work the ball around.
Everyone was involved and the hands were clean.
Bolton made eight handballs and received four in the second half. He's not quick across the ground but his mind runs like Usain Bolt.
As if he deserved a reward, he won a relatively cheap kick inside 50 with a minute to go, went back and kicked the goal.
Longmire was happy to sing the 32-year-old's praises.
"He's played 280-odd games at a high, intense, consistent level for a long period of time," he said. "I think the footy industry respects him and he's certainly well respected within the four walls of the footy club."
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the AFL or the clubs
Statistics from Champion Data
Additional Reporting from James Dampney
