g'day mate
Cancelled
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2006
- Posts
- 118
- Reaction score
- 0
- AFL Club
- Sydney
- Banned
- #1
Swans flag charge
By Tim Morrissey
06aug06
SYDNEY avenged its embarrassing opening-round loss to Essendon when it outclassed the Bombers at the Sydney Cricket Ground last night and kept the bid to win back-to-back premierships rolling along nicely.
Swans forward and co-captain Barry Hall did most of the damage, kicking six goals in the 43-point win, but it was midfielder Jude Bolton who kicked the goal of the game in the last quarter after throwing out his right boot to soccer the ball through the posts from a tight angle.
Essendon upstaged Sydney in Round 1 with a nine-goals-to-two first quarter, setting up its 27-point win.
But last night, despite a strong performance from Scott Lucas with four goals, the Bombers were never in the contest.
Sydney made one change going into last night's game with rookie Simon Phillips coming back into the team for Amon Buchanan, who was best on ground against Port Adelaide.
Buchanan was hospitalised this week for intravenous antibiotic therapy for an infected shoulder, but didn't recover in time to play.
Essendon also made a late change with Ben Jolley coming in for centre half-back Adam McPhee, who is carrying a shoulder injury.
The game started with controversy after Swans co-captain Brett Kirk was reported by umpire Michael Vozzo for rough conduct on Essendon's Ricky Dyson only seconds after the opening bounce.
The Bombers dominated early by winning the clearances and taking advantage of some sloppy handling by the Swans, but they weren't able to put any scoreboard pressure on the home team.
After Lucas drilled the opening goal from a 52m set shot four minutes into the game, the Bombers' next two shots hit the post.
The momentum started shifting Sydney's way as its ball use improved and its pressure increased.
Exciting young forward Heath Grundy continued to impress in only his third senior game, kicking two of Sydney's four first-quarter goals to set up a nine-point advantage over the Bombers.
The Swans should have buried Essendon in the second quarter after dominating.
But poor kicking, which has plagued the Swans since their six-game winning streak ended in Round 11, let the Bombers off the hook.
Sydney had 10 scoring shots, but managed to convert only two goals courtesy of a Hall set shot and a sweet snap from goalsneak Adam Schneider.
Despite the yips the Swans remained in control of the match going into the long break leading by 23 points.
Sydney started the second half confidently with hard working forward Ryan O'Keefe converting a 40m set shot inside the first minute.
The Swans' goal radar appeared to be fixed after missing only one shot from eight attempts in the third term despite the conditions becoming slippery from steady rain.
Hall was on fire drilling three goals with two of them coming from free kicks while Michael O'Loughlin ended his goal drought.
After kicking four behinds last week O'Loughlin reached the 400-goal milestone when Nic Fosdike marked in the square, and played on, handballing to his teammate who ran into an open goal.
The Bombers weren't embarrassed in the third term after Lucas kicked two of their four goals as Sydney went into the final break leading by 41 points.
One week after a best-on-ground performance in Essendon's win over Brisbane, James Hird had a miserable evening, well beaten by Swans defender Craig Bolton.
The home team was never in danger for the rest of the match and Sydney faces a crucial clash with Melbourne on Saturday at the MCG.
More good news for the Swans, premiership midfielder Jared Crouch returned from his mystery injury with a solid performance in the Swans reserves win against Ainslie.
It was Crouch's first game since Round 12 while dumped finals hero Nick Davis also continued his bid to break back into the senior team, kicking three goals.
Finals flurry begins in earnest
Jenny McAsey and Greg Denham
August 07, 2006
JUST minutes after Sydney had belted out the last bars of its victory song at the SCG, team officials dashed to the TV to watch the dying minutes of the Saturday night thriller between Adelaide and Collingwood.
Every club fighting for a coveted top-four position will trot out the usual cliche that they only worry about what they can control. It is sure to be the footballers' phrase of the month as the final order of the top eight is nutted out like a Rubik's Cube.
But that does not mean they won't take a special interest in the fate of their chief rivals. It is fairly safe to assume no-one will unseat Adelaide and West Coast from the top two positions before September.
The other six seats at the finals table have names pencilled in -- and Geelong knocking on the door still trying to get an invitation.
But with an extraordinary logjam of five teams on 11 wins -- from fourth-placed Sydney to eighth-placed Fremantle which yesterday belted Hawthorn by 53 points and stayed on target for a top-four finish -- the scramble for third and fourth spot and the finals double chance will be akin to kids fighting for the best lollies in the bag.
Collingwood's four-point loss to the Crows, along with West Coast's domination of St Kilda on Friday night and Melbourne's shock loss to Carlton on Saturday, gave Sydney the sweetener at the weekend.
Its own 43-point victory over wooden spoon favourite Essendon was regulation, but with other results falling its way it was the big ladder mover, from sixth to fourth.
But to stay there, the Swans must beat Melbourne at the MCG next Saturday in a match pivotal to both teams' premiership prospects -- and to those teams below them as the importance of every game is magnified in the last four rounds.
Of all the teams tied together on 11 wins, Collingwood has the easiest run home. The Pies don't play any top-eight aspirant and should be buoyed by how close they got to Adelaide.
The lively Western Bulldogs continue to defy the injury gods, but once more St Kilda seems cursed in the September run-up. Its final-four hopes were rocked when defender Matt Maguire broke his leg in two places during the final minutes of the 39-point loss to West Coast.
Maguire will need at least nine months to recover. In another setback for the club, Aaron Hamill is no closer to playing after developing soreness and swelling in the knee he first injured in round seven.
But next weekend the contenders will all cast a keen eye over the Demons-Swans game. Given the high stakes, it is shaping as a rugged contest between the two best tackling teams in the competition.
"All we can do is try to win every game. Whatever happens with the other sides, we can't control.
"Statistically we can still drop out (of the eight), so it is a very fine line between moving up or dropping out altogether but if you just keep winning games you shouldn't have any drama."
Sydney coach Paul Roos hinted he could shore up his side with the return of out-of-favour forward Nick Davis and Jared Crouch.
"We still have a reasonable amount of talent to come back in," Roos said.
Midfield dynamo Amon Buchanan, who missed the Essendon match with an infected shoulder joint, was released from hospital on Saturday and may be fit to play against the Demons.
Crouch looked sharp in his first game for Sydney's reserves, and Roos said Davis, who also played in the seconds, was regaining form and fitness.
Just as importantly, Davis is dropping weight and giving up his recalcitrant ways. "There was definitely some improvement, he certainly looks like he is getting back to a bit more fitness," Roos said.
"We are working hard with him to make sure he gets his house in order and he seems to be doing that."
Melbourne boasts the formidable ruck duo of Jeff White and Mark Jamar, so Sydney may bring in Stephen Doyle as back-up to Darren Jolly, who has been in career-best form but needs support.
Melbourne will be desperate to avoid another late-season slump. The loss to Carlton means it has given up virtually any chance of a home final at the MCG in the first week of the series after slipping another game behind West Coast.
By Tim Morrissey
06aug06
SYDNEY avenged its embarrassing opening-round loss to Essendon when it outclassed the Bombers at the Sydney Cricket Ground last night and kept the bid to win back-to-back premierships rolling along nicely.
Swans forward and co-captain Barry Hall did most of the damage, kicking six goals in the 43-point win, but it was midfielder Jude Bolton who kicked the goal of the game in the last quarter after throwing out his right boot to soccer the ball through the posts from a tight angle.
Essendon upstaged Sydney in Round 1 with a nine-goals-to-two first quarter, setting up its 27-point win.
But last night, despite a strong performance from Scott Lucas with four goals, the Bombers were never in the contest.
Sydney made one change going into last night's game with rookie Simon Phillips coming back into the team for Amon Buchanan, who was best on ground against Port Adelaide.
Buchanan was hospitalised this week for intravenous antibiotic therapy for an infected shoulder, but didn't recover in time to play.
Essendon also made a late change with Ben Jolley coming in for centre half-back Adam McPhee, who is carrying a shoulder injury.
The game started with controversy after Swans co-captain Brett Kirk was reported by umpire Michael Vozzo for rough conduct on Essendon's Ricky Dyson only seconds after the opening bounce.
The Bombers dominated early by winning the clearances and taking advantage of some sloppy handling by the Swans, but they weren't able to put any scoreboard pressure on the home team.
After Lucas drilled the opening goal from a 52m set shot four minutes into the game, the Bombers' next two shots hit the post.
The momentum started shifting Sydney's way as its ball use improved and its pressure increased.
Exciting young forward Heath Grundy continued to impress in only his third senior game, kicking two of Sydney's four first-quarter goals to set up a nine-point advantage over the Bombers.
The Swans should have buried Essendon in the second quarter after dominating.
But poor kicking, which has plagued the Swans since their six-game winning streak ended in Round 11, let the Bombers off the hook.
Sydney had 10 scoring shots, but managed to convert only two goals courtesy of a Hall set shot and a sweet snap from goalsneak Adam Schneider.
Despite the yips the Swans remained in control of the match going into the long break leading by 23 points.
Sydney started the second half confidently with hard working forward Ryan O'Keefe converting a 40m set shot inside the first minute.
The Swans' goal radar appeared to be fixed after missing only one shot from eight attempts in the third term despite the conditions becoming slippery from steady rain.
Hall was on fire drilling three goals with two of them coming from free kicks while Michael O'Loughlin ended his goal drought.
After kicking four behinds last week O'Loughlin reached the 400-goal milestone when Nic Fosdike marked in the square, and played on, handballing to his teammate who ran into an open goal.
The Bombers weren't embarrassed in the third term after Lucas kicked two of their four goals as Sydney went into the final break leading by 41 points.
One week after a best-on-ground performance in Essendon's win over Brisbane, James Hird had a miserable evening, well beaten by Swans defender Craig Bolton.
The home team was never in danger for the rest of the match and Sydney faces a crucial clash with Melbourne on Saturday at the MCG.
More good news for the Swans, premiership midfielder Jared Crouch returned from his mystery injury with a solid performance in the Swans reserves win against Ainslie.
It was Crouch's first game since Round 12 while dumped finals hero Nick Davis also continued his bid to break back into the senior team, kicking three goals.
Finals flurry begins in earnest
Jenny McAsey and Greg Denham
August 07, 2006
JUST minutes after Sydney had belted out the last bars of its victory song at the SCG, team officials dashed to the TV to watch the dying minutes of the Saturday night thriller between Adelaide and Collingwood.
Every club fighting for a coveted top-four position will trot out the usual cliche that they only worry about what they can control. It is sure to be the footballers' phrase of the month as the final order of the top eight is nutted out like a Rubik's Cube.
But that does not mean they won't take a special interest in the fate of their chief rivals. It is fairly safe to assume no-one will unseat Adelaide and West Coast from the top two positions before September.
The other six seats at the finals table have names pencilled in -- and Geelong knocking on the door still trying to get an invitation.
But with an extraordinary logjam of five teams on 11 wins -- from fourth-placed Sydney to eighth-placed Fremantle which yesterday belted Hawthorn by 53 points and stayed on target for a top-four finish -- the scramble for third and fourth spot and the finals double chance will be akin to kids fighting for the best lollies in the bag.
Collingwood's four-point loss to the Crows, along with West Coast's domination of St Kilda on Friday night and Melbourne's shock loss to Carlton on Saturday, gave Sydney the sweetener at the weekend.
Its own 43-point victory over wooden spoon favourite Essendon was regulation, but with other results falling its way it was the big ladder mover, from sixth to fourth.
But to stay there, the Swans must beat Melbourne at the MCG next Saturday in a match pivotal to both teams' premiership prospects -- and to those teams below them as the importance of every game is magnified in the last four rounds.
Of all the teams tied together on 11 wins, Collingwood has the easiest run home. The Pies don't play any top-eight aspirant and should be buoyed by how close they got to Adelaide.
The lively Western Bulldogs continue to defy the injury gods, but once more St Kilda seems cursed in the September run-up. Its final-four hopes were rocked when defender Matt Maguire broke his leg in two places during the final minutes of the 39-point loss to West Coast.
Maguire will need at least nine months to recover. In another setback for the club, Aaron Hamill is no closer to playing after developing soreness and swelling in the knee he first injured in round seven.
But next weekend the contenders will all cast a keen eye over the Demons-Swans game. Given the high stakes, it is shaping as a rugged contest between the two best tackling teams in the competition.
If the Swans aren't in the right mind-set to play hard, contested footy against Melbourne, they could slide down the ladder as far as seventh.
"It is a finals sort of game for us," said Sydney co-captain Barry Hall, who kicked six goals against the Bombers. "It will be high pressure and Melbourne will be looking to rebound so it will be another tough game. "All we can do is try to win every game. Whatever happens with the other sides, we can't control.
"Statistically we can still drop out (of the eight), so it is a very fine line between moving up or dropping out altogether but if you just keep winning games you shouldn't have any drama."
Sydney coach Paul Roos hinted he could shore up his side with the return of out-of-favour forward Nick Davis and Jared Crouch.
"We still have a reasonable amount of talent to come back in," Roos said.
Midfield dynamo Amon Buchanan, who missed the Essendon match with an infected shoulder joint, was released from hospital on Saturday and may be fit to play against the Demons.
Crouch looked sharp in his first game for Sydney's reserves, and Roos said Davis, who also played in the seconds, was regaining form and fitness.
Just as importantly, Davis is dropping weight and giving up his recalcitrant ways. "There was definitely some improvement, he certainly looks like he is getting back to a bit more fitness," Roos said.
"We are working hard with him to make sure he gets his house in order and he seems to be doing that."
Melbourne boasts the formidable ruck duo of Jeff White and Mark Jamar, so Sydney may bring in Stephen Doyle as back-up to Darren Jolly, who has been in career-best form but needs support.
Melbourne will be desperate to avoid another late-season slump. The loss to Carlton means it has given up virtually any chance of a home final at the MCG in the first week of the series after slipping another game behind West Coast.
