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June 28, 2006
The Missing Link MkII
Yes I know I promised I would keep the place updated more up as all plans go, the World Cup and Australia's magical run has fucked all that up so with another 3 matches of missing reports to do and me not willing to do anothing about it, that and the fact the Swans have been shit also has a part in it. Any here for you viewing is The Missing Link MkII:
Round 12 vs Collingwood
Sydney down to Magpies Ben Broad Exclusive to sydneyswans.com.auSydney's bid to improve its indifferent 'home' record in 2006 came up short against Collingwood at Telstra Stadium on Saturday night as the Swans went down by 13 points. Playing in front of 60,307 fans at Telstra Stadium the Swans fought hard before going down 14.11 (95) to 11.16 (82). Collingwood had to fend off a spirited third-quarter charge from Sydney, but once they had snuffed out that challenge the result was never in doubt with only late goals making the score look respectable after the Pies had led by as much as 40 points in the final term.
On a night the Swans would prefer to forget, Amon Buchanan, Leo Barry and Barry Hall (three goals) all tried hard. Collingwood was best served by Rhyce and Heath Shaw while the lively Alan Didak (four goals) and hard-working Scott Burns were also handy. Collingwood could not have got off to a better start, silencing the red and white crowd with two goals inside the first two minutes. A clever Didak snap opened the scoring 50 seconds into the contest, and when Ryan Lonie bombed one on the run from outside 50 the Pies took an early lead.
The Swans steadied but were being forced to chip it across half back as they struggled to penetrate their forward arc. Collingwood, meanwhile, dominated most of the possession and looked far more dangerous when going forward. Adam Schneider set up Michael O'Loughlin for the Swans' first mid-way through the term to cut the margin to a goal but Lonie's second, a snap from a tight angle which bounced through after beating a lunging Sydney defender, restored the two-goal advantage.
When Paul Licuria also bounced one through the visitors were out to an 18-point lead, although a beauty from Jarrad McVeigh on the 50 cut the deficit. Not much went right for the Swans in the second term as Collingwood controlled the early part of the quarter but couldn't quite put the score on the board. It took until the 10th minute for the Pies to get the reward their ascendancy deserved, with Anthony Rocca's set shot from a tight angle raising two flags.
Mid-way through the term Sydney veteran Paul Williams looked set to kick his side's first of the quarter but his set shot from 25m out directly in front skewed off the side of his boot. Moments later Pies big man Josh Fraser goaled from a tight angle at the other end and the Pies led by 20 points. Hall, who despite being hounded by Simon Prestigiacomo was providing a good target for the Swans, dropped an easy mark in front but looked to have recovered to snap a goal only for a desperate Magpie defence to lay a finger on his kick.
At the break the Swans' had failed to kick a goal for the quarter for the second time this season, managing just six behinds as the Pies led 6.7 to 2.10. Collingwood was enjoying an even spread of contributors while the likes of Craig Bolton, Barry and Tadhg Kennelly were the leading ballwinners for Sydney, emphasising not only Collingwood's ability to push back but where the ball had spent most of its time. Whatever Paul Roos told his men at the long break, it had an immediate effect as the Swans came out firing.
Buchanan combined twice with Hall inside the first four minutes and when O'Keefe, and then Hall again, booted his third suddenly the Swans were in front. But that burst stung the Pies into action. Ben Johnson roved one off a pack to regain the lead, and when Didak's deadly left boot found the mark Collingwood had steadied. Perhaps the Swans thought once they'd hit the lead the hard work had been done - but the Magpies hit back.
Rhyce Shaw kicked a gem, Didak's superb vision set up late inclusion Chris Egan and when Rocca goaled after the three-quarter time siren, the Pies had fought off the challenge and kicked out to a 25-point lead. O'Loughlin booted the first of the final term to give the home fans hope, but two to Didak quickly killed off any light that remained.
Sydney coach Paul Roos believes the loss was a culmination of the Magpies' good form and his players' failure to perform, and was typified in the second quarter when the Swans managed just six behinds. "Any time you lose a game the opposition plays well, but in the second quarter in terms of attack on the footy and the way we wanted to play, we just slaughtered the footy," Roos said after the game. "You kick six points and under normal circumstances you win the quarter 8-2 but if you are kicking it to the opposition, dropping marks and hitting the posts 15-metres out, you are sitting up in the box and thinking this is going to be a struggle. "The second quarter was a good summary of our game."
Next weekend the Swans will try to bounce back when they host an out-of-sorts Fremantle at the SCG on Saturday night.
SYDNEY: 2.4, 2.10, 6.13, 11.16 (82)
COLLINGWOOD: 4.3, 6.7, 11.8, 14.11 (95)
GOALS: Hall 3, O'Loughlin, O'Keefe, Goodes 2, Schneider, Williams 1.
Best Swan On Ground: Buchanan
Rising Star: Lewis Roberts-Thomson
Round 11 vs St Kilda
Swans sink to Saints Ben Broad Exclusive to sydneyswans.com.auSydney's winning run has come to an end with a thrilling two-point loss to St Kilda at a slippery SCG on Saturday night. In what turned out to be a thrilling finale, the Saints held off the fast-finishing Swans to win 7.10 (52) to 7.8 (50). The Saints had looked to be cruising all night as they maintained a comfortable three-goal lead for the majority of the evening. But the Swans, in a finish reminiscent of last year's famous semi-final win over Geelong, made a late charge.
Leading by 13 points at the last break, Brett Kirk kicked the opening goal of the final term at the 19-minute mark, and when Adam Schneider kicked his third at the 29-minute mark he cut the deficit to just two points. But that's as close as the home side got. There was to be no fairytale finish this time, as the Saints held firm in the dying minutes despite Sydney throwing everything at them.
The much-anticipated rematch between Matt Maguire and Barry Hall was a lopsided affair, with the Saint enjoying a night out over the unusually quiet Hall. Sydney was best served by Adam Goodes, Brett Kirk and Jude Bolton, while Schneider helped lead the Swans' revival. Sam Fisher, Nick Riewoldt and Luke Ball, who copped a heavy knock and was stretchered from the field early in the final term, were other standouts for the winners in a victory that lifted them back into the top eight.
Goals were always going to be as precious as diamonds on a night when persistent drizzle made it tough for either side to play the kind of free-flowing footy they are accustomed. And it was the Saints who acclimatised the better early on in the greasy conditions. Debutante Michael Rix, one of three ruckman the visitors took into the game despite the weather, posted the game's first goal in the third minute, joining that exclusive club with a major with his first kick in the big time.
Riewoldt was effective in his role playing a kick behind the play as St Kilda seemed to be matching the home side at ground level, an area in which the Swans had been so dominant the previous six weeks. It took until the 22nd minute for the term's only other goal. Fraser Gehrig found space to mark and kick truly and when the siren rang, the Saints had kept Sydney goalless for a quarter for the first time since the third term of last year's grand final.
The rain eased slightly in the second term and with it, the Swans looked a better team. It took them just 14 seconds to register a goal in the second stanza, with Barry Hall slamming one home from the goal square although Brendan Goddard answered for the Saints after a wayward Leo Barry kick out of defence proved costly. The teams traded goals but Sydney couldn't bridge the quarter time margin.
Gehrig continued to look dangerous and some of his more unheralded teammates - the likes of Fisher and Mark McGough - led an even and committed Saints outfit at ground level. Regular performers Goodes, 150-gamer Bolton and Kirk were doing plenty of hard stuff around the packs but with the ball like a cake of soap at times, the 14-point deficit at the long change might have seemed double that.
The Saints seemed to have the answers during the third term. Schneider answered Jason Blake's goal but when Leigh Montagna dribbled one through from 30m, St Kilda was back out to a 20-point lead and looking well on its way to the four points. But Schneider's second goal late in the term reduced the margin to 13 points, giving the home side a sniff and setting up the exciting finale.
Sydney coach Paul Roos admitted his team was outplayed in the early stages of the game. "The first quarter was significant - 2.3 to 0.1. In those conditions any sort of multiple break was going to be really important and, in the end, it was two more points than we could recover," Roos said.
The Swans have a week off during the split round before they meet Collingwood in a round 12 blockbuster at Telstra Stadium.
SYDNEY: 0.1, 3.3, 5.5, 7.8 (50)
ST KILDA: 2.3, 5.5, 7.6, 7.10 (52)
GOALS: Schneider 3, Hall, Roberts-Thomson, McVeigh, Kirk 1.
Best Swan On Ground: Brett Kirk
Rising Star: Jarred McVeigh
Round 10 vs Kangaroos
Swans charge down Roos Jennifer Witham Exclusive to afl.com.auSydney has staged the second come-from-behind victory in round 10 with a thrilling seven-point victory over the Kangaroos at Manuka Oval on Sunday afternoon. A day after the Eagles' stunning win over the Cats on Saturday, the Swans employed a similar never-say-die attitude and defeated the Roos in a cliffhanger after trailing by 32 points in the third term. The Roos had returned to their 'home away from home' with dark memories of their last trip to Canberra, when they were upended by West Coast by 24 points in round four this year.
And, in front of a crowd of 14,922 – a new venue record for Manuka Oval, surpassing the previous record of 14,891 who attended the Kangaroos-Sydney clash in round four, 2004 – the nightmare was re-enacted as the Swans powered to the 16.9 (105) to 14.14 (98) victory. Led by co-captain Barry Hall – who was awesome in booting six goals - the Swans lifted considerably in the final term to kick five goals to two, denying the Roos the opportunity to snap a three-match losing streak.
The Swans lost veteran midfielder Paul Williams before the bounce with calf soreness but Craig Bolton was sensational after spending last week in the grandstand with a hamstring strain. Sydney co-captain Brett Kirk was prolific in the middle. The contribution of Hall couldn't be ignored as the big man powered through the forward line with Adam Goodes providing solid support from the wing. Kangaroo Jade Rawlings was impressive in his first senior game in the blue and white with one goal and 17 possessions while Glenn Archer was serviceable as always in defence with 17 disposals and nine marks.
Daniel Harris and Brent Harvey worked hard through the midfield with 23 and 20 touches respectively with skipper Adam Simpson collecting 22. The game started with Kangaroos coach Dean Laidley stacking his forward line with talls Nathan Thompson, Hamish McIntosh and Jade Rawlings, while David Hale periodically drifted into attack, the move outweighing the Swans' small defenders. But it was an even contribution from Sydney's workmanlike midfield that brought that game plan quickly undone and the Swans were as quick as they were devastating running the ball from the Roos' attacking 50.
Sydney took advantage of the breeze in the first and banged on five goals to none - the Roos managing only six behinds for the term, and consequently took a 27-point lead into the second quarter. The Kangaroos came out fired up in the second and the tall structure began to pay dividends with quick goals to Rawlings, Thompson and Hale - Brent Harvey and Shannon Grant also chipped in with majors of their own. Within 15 minutes, the Roos had whittled away the Swans' lead and the boot of Grant put the side in front, much to the delight of the club's Canberra supporter base.
Shortly after, Adam Goodes kicked truly and put through the Swans' first for the second term - and the first goal kicked at the Manuka end of the oval - to bring the scores back to level. The big Roos ruckman Hale nailed his second after the siren and the 'home' side took a seven-point lead into the rooms, although their second-term onslaught was soured briefly when Troy Makepeace was helped from the field. The tough midfielder came off second best in a collision with Jared Crouch and went straight up the race before returning late in the term. Thompson also appeared in trouble with a shoulder complaint after a hefty tackle but managed to play on.
The wind dropped after half-time and the Roos were quick to capitalise on the still conditions with four straight goals that blew the margin out to 32 points – the game's biggest lead. But the bustling Hall ignited Swans and kicked two in the third term, and along with an impressive running goal to Jarrad McVeigh and a long bomb to Amon Buchanan, the Swans were back in it and down by 11 points at the last change. In a thrilling final term, the Swans didn't look back after they regained the lead in time-on, despite several serious challenges by the Roos, and the premiers went on to complete their sixth consecutive win.
Sydney coach Paul Roos admitted his team wasn't the best afield yet he praised the way it went about obtaining the win when playing below its par. "I think it was a reasonable sort of game, I think it was the conditions and look, to be honest, I thought the Kangas were the better team for most of the day," Roos said after the match. "Credit to our guys to be able to play probably 50 minutes maximum of good footy but the last quarter they really turned around, our boys, and hit in and our forwards started to become a lot more aggressive and lively. "Look, to get over the line today was great when not playing too well."
KANGAROOS: 0.6, 7.10, 12.11, 14.14 (98)
SYDNEY: 5.3, 7.3, 11.6, 16.9 (105)
GOALS: Hall 6, Schneider 2, Dempster, Kirk, Ablett, Goodes, McVeigh, Buchanan, O'Loughlin, O'Keefe 1.
Best Swan On Ground: Barry Hall
Rising Star: Sean Dempster
Posted by robbieando at June 28, 2006 12:32 AM