SYDNEY V GEELONG - MATCH REPORT
Cliff Hammond - 19 May 2003
The last time Sydney met Geelong at the SCG, Geelong came from 28 points down in the last quarter to get up and beat a jittery Sydney by two points, a dismal loss that triggered the end of the Sydney careers of Rodney Eade and Tony Lockett.
As Geelong steadily reigned in the Swans' commanding lead in the the third quarter on Sunday, the fans couldn't be blamed for fearing the worst. But, with a new coach and a new approach to football, the 2003 Swans team proved once again that it won't be found lacking when it's back is to the wall.
In the final analysis, Geelong had had more shots at goal and pushed inside 50m on 13 extra occasions, but the determined Swans utilised a fast-running, rebounding strategy to defeat the Cats by 39 points - the Swans' fourth consecutive victory. Sydney scored the first 26 points of the game, and led by as much as 48 points on their way to victory.
Sydney swept to a five-goal lead in the first quarter and were never really threatened, despite playing without the injured Michael O'Loughlin and Jason Saddington. Paul Williams also missed most of the match, after a collision with Kennelly in the second quarter left the club champion heavily concussed. The Swans stuck relentlessly to Paul Roos' game plan - sharing goals and possessions, tackling ferociously and confronting Geelong with a direct, hard-running game, and some very efficient finishing.
Geelong were well served by Paul Chambers, who did well in the ruck in the absence of King. Ablett and Chapman were also valuable contributors, but the loss of form of star forward Kent Kingsley must be a concern for the Cats.
After Adam Goodes's opening shot collided with the woodwork, late replacement Scott Stevens claimed a strong pack mark to register the game's first goal. Jude Bolton, Barry Hall and Paul Williams then piled on three further unanswered Sydney goals. And even when the Cats scored their only goal of the term, a Ben Graham goal three minutes from the siren, the Swans quickly struck back with a Fosdike six-pointer. Sydney led 5.2 (32) to 1.0 (6) at the first change on a ground which had drained beautifully after extended rain.
Sydney quickly capitalised on their 26-point first quarter lead, as Adam Schneider, Stevens and Goodes opened the second term with a barrage of early goals. Geelong's only first-half scoring came from Graham and Matthew McCarthy. By then, however, Sydney's lead had extended past 40 points. As the half-time siren sounded, Geelong's day was seemingly totally set by 19-year-old Lewis Roberts-Thomson, who slotted the first goal of his AFL career. After LRT was mobbed for his famous goal, the halftime score read 10.8 (68) to 4.1 (25), 96 kicks to 68, 159 disposals to 120, with the Swans on top in almost every position.
Geelong began the third term strongly, but Hall and Cresswell steadied the Swans up forward. Sydney's defenders steadily neutralised a series of Cats' attacks, as the Geelong midfield rallied and got the Cats to within 21 points. But the final quarter proved a comparative non-event - Graham collected a further six-pointer early, but Sydney stormed home with five goals to end up clear winners. Captain Stuart Maxfield was inspirational, putting the absolute sealer on it with one of his booming left-footers on the run.
Pushing up forward, Ben Graham had continually provided the Cats with a strong focal point, kicking 4.3, but Geelong couldn't match Sydney's all round effort. Every time Geelong threatened a sustained comeback, Sydney pulled away again, with veteran mid-fielder Daryn Cresswell producing some big plays.
THE WRAP
"That's as good a win as last week," coach Paul Roos said. "The most pleasing thing is we are continuing to do what we set ourselves at the start of the year. We are continuing to bring young guys in. Sunny was only playing his second game and Lewis his first game, so it is really important that at the moment we are not only winning but we are still able to blood the young kids and they are coming in and playing some good footy."
"Obviously our blueprint is there for everybody to see. When we have guys like Michael O'Loughlin, Jason Saddington and Paul Williams out, we need guys to step up and run. That's how we win games of footy."
"Our tackling today was fantastic. . . But I would say the one big factor for us the last four weeks has been the forward pressure from guys like Hall, Goodes and Schneider. They've made it very hard for them to rebound it out."
"I think the competition has shown how hard it is to be up for a long period of time, and I really just felt the effort by the guys today was outstanding. You could tell they were a bit flat at times and a bit tired after big weeks against Collingwood and Brisbane. I thought it was a very, very good win," Roos said."It was a credit to our young blokes that they really had a go and backed themselves."
"There are a lot of teams playing some really good footy and we are happy to be five and three, but you would be a fool to think it will keep going for another 14 weeks. We are going to have some downs but I think that is what was real significantly about today?s win, the guys did look a bit tired and a bit flat but we still came out of it with a really good win."
Geelong coach Mark Thompson was nonplussed by the Cats' slow start.
"We started badly. . . there was an unwillingness to play the kind of footy we planned to play. Sydney's conversions in the forward 50 were outstanding. Sydney just scored easy goals and we looked like we were playing without wanting to put much effort in," Thompson said.
"I think the best part of the wins so far have been the contribution of the rookies," said Swans captain Stuart Maxfield.
Lewis Roberts-Thomson was not surprisingly delighted with the game.
"That was up there with my best moment ever," a beaming Roberts-Thomson said after the match. "I had Nick Davis on my right and he's a pretty good kick of the footy. But the siren sounded so I had to take it myself. It felt pretty good off the boot and then when everyone mobbed me, it was just a great feeling."
"This week has been a totally different experience. There was a lot of attention . . . I wouldn't say it put me off but it was a bit distracting."
"I'll never forget that feeling of running from the bench onto the field for the first time. My first kick didn't come off because of a bit of indecision. But my first goal after half-time was one of the best feelings ever. I'll never forget that."
After the match, Paul Roos talked about his frustration at the lack of free kicks awarded to Barry Hall this season. He said the Swans had sent a videotape of Hall to the AFL, aiming to uncover why the burly forward rarely finds favour with umpires.
"I think Hally, the way he's been conducting himself, has been absolutely outstanding and it's a real credit to him that he keeps on going to the ball and keeps on presenting himself and keeps on getting in front," Roos said.
"I spoke to Rowan and we sent a tape in just to get some clarification on a couple of different things. I'll touch base with him again during the week just to see where that's all at. We just need to get some clarification. It's hard to comment on the umpires."
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