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July 02, 2006
Lackluster Swans Beat Even Worse Freo
Good to get a win despite playing yet more weak football for three quarters and letting a side like Fremantle get close to us though poor play, poor kicking at goal and allowing Fremantle to play the game on their terms for most of the early part of the game. Better sides are going to rip us apart if we keep playing into their hands like we have over the past month of football and with West Coast and Adelaide coming up in the next fortnight we might as well kiss a spot in the top four if we don't come away with at least one win.
On to the players last night and it was great to see Magic continue on with his form from the week before and take out the BOG and turn back the clock in what was clearly a Magic vintage performance of 98 and 99. Nick Davis and Adam Schneider were the next best two with 7 goals between them and plenty of possession as well. Moving LRT into the ruck was a master stroke and turn the balance of the game on its head and Kennelly was the best of the defence once again with his darting runs out of defence.
All in all not much to write home about until the final quarter, but when we turn ourselves on, we looked ready to send a message to the rest of the competition. Barry Hall is hurting by being forced to play so close to goal, thus having 2 or 3 men drop back on him when we kick the ball to him (plus rumors of injury don't help) and Ryan O'Keefe is nothing of the playing he was last year and in my opinion should be looking at time in Canberra if he form doesn't improve his form.
Of the players brought in Luke Vogels MUST keep his spot and so should Jarred Moore. Sean Dempster and Paul Bevan in truth are keeping their spots warm for the returns of Nick Malceski and Jared Crouch from injury. Once we get those two back then we have a full side to take on the final two months of football.
Here is a proper match report for those who want one:
Swans shake feisty Freo Ben Broad Exclusive to afl.com.auA scintillating eight-minute burst at the start of the final term has allowed the Sydney Swans to shake off Fremantle and record their eighth win of the AFL season. There was nothing pretty about the Swans' 12.19 (91) to 9.4 (58) win, but a withering four-goal burst was enough to get the reigning premiers home by 33 points at the SCG on Saturday night.
Best for the winners were Adam Schneider, the lively Michael O'Loughlin, Paul Bevan went everywhere with Jeff Farmer and the surprising Lewis Roberts-Thomson whose effectiveness in the ruck was a revelation. Matthew Pavlich was his usual classy self for the Dockers while the rugged Troy Cook was solid and Shane Parker, with some help from his team-mates, did a great job on Barry Hall.
It took until the final term for the Swans to shake themselves clear of the Dockers after the visitors had led for nearly all of the first three quarters and held a one-point advantage at the final break. But the opening minutes of the final term was all one-way traffic. Three minutes in, Luke Vogels evaded a defender and booted truly to give his side the lead, and then a few minutes of Adam Schneider brilliance killed off the Dockers' hopes.
He ran in and kicked truly from 25m at the five-minute mark, then chipped beautifully into the square to find a running Jarrad McVeigh who goaled before slamming home another on the run from 45m to make the margin 25 points. It would prove too much for the visitors. Early in the contest Sydney's poor home record in 2006 had looked like it might continue. Sydney looked remarkably flat from the opening bounce, with the Dockers taking it right up to the reigning premiers.
Stung by criticism after their round 12 belting at the hands of Geelong, Fremantle made all the running early with Pavlich looking dangerous inside 50. Sydney's midfield struggled to get their hands on the ball despite Darren Jolly's supremacy at the stoppages, while Hall missed two relatively simple chances from set shots to make matters worse. At the other end, Ryan Murphy floated forward to boot the game's first while Pavlich's second - a brilliant snap from the pocket - stunned the home crowd when Freo opened up a 19-point lead.
Schneider finally kicked the Swans' first at the 22-minute mark, but at the first change it was the Dockers by 13 points. Fremantle skipper Peter Bell was showing no signs of the calf injury that had kept him sidelined, and his left foot snap five minutes into the second term restored his team's 19-point advantage. But the Swans started to lift mid-way through the quarter with Nic Fosdike giving them run and Nick Davis looking dangerous when isolated inside the forward arc. After O'Loughlin broke free to boot one from the top of the square at the 20-minute mark, the Swans were back within a kick. Docker Ryan Crowley replied two minutes later courtesy of a free kick, but Davis's second for the term again cut the deficit and Fremantle led 5.4 to 4.7 at the long break,
Sydney's usual ball magnets such as Jude Bolton and Brett Kirk were having quiet nights, while Fremantle's Shaun McManus and Paul Hasleby, who had been searching for form, were enjoying their night's work. Neither side could make the break they needed in the third term as scrappy football prevailed and possessions were at a premium. After the Dockers' defence made a meal of a marking contest at the top of the goalsquare - two men in purple flying with neither successfully clearing the ball - Sydney's McVeigh goaled to put his side in front 10 minutes in.
But three goals in five minutes to the Dockers had Sydney on the ropes. Pavlich dobbed his third from a free kick, then booted truly from 50 after finding himself on the end of a pass from Bell from the ensuing centre bounce. When Josh Carr marked Bevan's attempted clearance out of the Sydney defence and goaled at the 17-minute, Fremantle had steadied. But O'Loughlin, who had become the go-to man as Hall continually found himself swamped with Dockers, goaled from a tight angle to cut the deficit to the smallest possible margin at the final change.
Sydney coach Paul Roos admits he is concerned about the Swans' wasteful kicking after having 31 scoring shots to 13. "The inaccurate kicking we have seen in lots of games comes up and really hurts you," Roos said after the game. "At three-quarter time we had 21 scorings shots to 12 and were still one point behind and up until the 20-25 minute mark of the game we were still a chance to get beaten. "It is a concern definitely when you end up with 12 goals 19 because you know at some point it can hurt, but thankfully we came out of it with a good solid five goal win."
Fremantle coach Chris Connolly was disappointed his team had missed an opportunity to move alongside the Swans on the ladder, but was pleased with his players' endeavour. "It was the most intense we've been for probably a month," Connolly said. "I'm sure if we maintain that type of intensity and tidy up some other aspects of our game we'll win more games than we lose moving forward."
Next week the Dockers return to Subiaco to host Friday night football, a clash against the struggling Bombers, while Sydney hosts Adelaide at the SCG on Sunday.
SYDNEY: 1.3, 4.7, 6.15, 12.19 (91)
FREMANTLE: 3.4, 5.4, 8.4, 9.4 (58)
GOALS: Davis 4, Schneider 3, O'Loughlin, McVeigh 2, Vogels 1.
Best Swan On Ground: Michael O'Loughlin
Rising Star: Luke Vogels
Posted by robbieando at July 2, 2006 08:26 PM