The Sydney Swans have gone down to the Geelong Cats in a brutally-absorbing battle at Lakeside Oval, beaten 64-60 on Saturday afternoon.

Sydney opened their account with back-to-back goals from Joel Amartey before the Cats found their rhythm to boot three unanswered goals.

Despite plenty of pressure in the middle, the Swans couldn’t capitalise up front as Geelong stretched their lead to 12 points heading into the main break.

The Swans dug deep in the third with goals to Marc Sheather, Logan McDonald and Darcy Cordell putting Sydney ahead by four-points and setting up an enthralling finish.

While both sides showed plenty of desperation but the Cats held on for a four point victory.

Lewis Taylor and Braeden Campbell found plenty of the footy to finish with 30 and 25 disposals respectively, while McDonald impressed with three majors, and Amartey finished with two goals and eight tackles.

Robbie Fox also made a welcome return from a finger injury, producing an explosive performance that saw him record 29 disposals and three tackles.

“The finger’s all good so I’m pretty happy with that, but disappointed with the loss," Fox said.

"You do a whole pre-season only to get injured before the season starts, but it was unreal to be back out there today.

"Everyone really competed, but our kicking was a bit off. A couple of one-on-ones deep in the back had a couple of brain fades and cost us goals, and especially in those tight games every goal counts.”

Fox believes there were plenty of positives to take out of the game, and revealed coach Jeremy Laidler was impressed with the Swans overall performance.

“He was quite happy, he thought everyone had a crack," he said of Laidler.

"We had two on the bench (towards the end of the game) and we worked hard. Skill errors - you can’t help that, everyone competed (so) you can’t ask for too much more.”

FOURTH QUARTER

Final score: Swans 8.12.60 (Goals: L McDonald 3, J Amartey 2, M Sheather, D Cordell, L Taylor goals) def by Cats 9.10.64 (Goals: J Jenkins 2, L Smith 2, J Chalcraft 2, J McLachlan, J Johnston, E Ratugolea)

FT. An agonising four-point defeat to Geelong.

Lewis Taylor finished with the most disposals (30), closely followed by Robbie Fox (29) and Braeden Campbell (25), while Amartey finished with two goals and eight tackles, and Logan McDonald finished with three majors. 

18' McDonald has his third! We're right in this

14' Great desperation from Will Gould as he produces a fighting save on the goal line.

o' Final quarter is underway! Let's get it home, Bloods!

THIRD QUARTER

Score update: Swans 6.10.46 Cats 9.6.42

3/4 time Some really strong passages of play and we're back in-front!

Taylor (25 disposals) is having a huge impact on this game while Amartey and McDonald have two goals apiece. 

27' We're on a roll! Some cracking lead-up work finds Gulden and he selflessly passes' on to Darcy Cordell for our third consecutive goal of the quarter.

24' You love to see it. Campbell to McDonald and we have another major!

16' It started with Adam Gulden and ended with Sheather. We get one back and reduce the deficit to six!

12' Taylor leading from the front with 18 disposals

9' Plenty of pressure around the contest and some strong tackles to boot. Still trail by two goals but we're right in this!

6' Amartey earns a free kick from 50m out but is unable to convert

SECOND QUARTER

Score update: Swans 3.8.26 Cats 6.2.38

1/2 time. We're in a battle here at Lakeside Oval with the Cats holding a two-goal lead at the main break.

Lewis Taylor (14), Gray (12), Amartey (11), Campbell (11), Fox (11) leading the disposals while Amartey (2), McDonald (1) are the goal scorers.

20' Gray like a ball magnet today. 12 disposals and five tackles so far to continue his strong form in 2021.

17' BANG! Logan McDonald nails one from the pocket after some nice lead-up work from Amartey.

9' Unable to capitalise on our chances so far. Cats hold a three-point advantage.

4' Marc Sheather almost kicking a well-deserved goal from the pocket but it hits the upright!

0' We're back. Keep working hard boys!

FIRST QUARTER

Score update: Swans 2.3.15 Cats 3.2.20

1/4 time: A late goal from the Cats and they hold a slender lead at the first break.

Campbell (8 disposals), Fox (8), Gray (8) have been everywhere, while Amartey is the only goal scorer with two majors.

24' James Bell and Sam Gray bringing plenty of pressure around the contest with three and four tackles respectively. Not long left in the opening quarter.

22' The Cats kick back-to-back goals to reduce the deficit to one.

19' Robbie Fox flies HIGH for a cracking mark. An awesome start in his return with seven disposals so far in the opening quarter.

16' So close! Harry Morrison hits the post from a set shot. Tough opening quarter continues!

12' Braeden Campbell seeing PLENTY of the ball. Six disposals and three tackles already from the young gun.

10' He's got another! What a start from Amartey.

5' Joel Amartey continues his blistering form with the first goal of the afternoon!

0' We're underway! Let's go Swans!

TEAM LIST

Coach Jeremy Laidler has made a handful of changes for the match against Geelong, and will welcome the addition of Round 2 NAB Rising Star Braeden Campbell to the side, while Robbie Fox will also make his long-awaited return from injury. 

Meanwhile, Nick Blakey will also feature for the VFL side this afternoon, joining the likes of Logan McDonald, James Bell and Kaiden Brand.