SWANS v LIONS - MATCH REPORT
Cliff Hammond 17 Aug 2003

In front of a crowd of 32,988 at the Gabba, the Sydney Swans came from behind in a nail-biter to win 14.6 (90) to 10.16 (76) against the Brisbane Lions.

The Swans grabbed an 11-point lead at the last change after kicking six unanswered goals, but the final quarter had the fans on the edge of their seats as the momentum swung from one team to the other. With just two minutes remaining, Barry Hall's fifth goal gave the Swans a seven point buffer, and fittingly, right on the siren, Paul Williams kicked the sealer in his 250th match.

Jonathan Brown started in brilliant form for the Lions, giving Jason Saddington a marking lesson and kicking three goals in the opening term for the second successive week. Swans' coach Paul Roos responded by reshuffling the Swans' defence, and Craig Bolton effectively shut Brown out of the rest of the match. Brisbane full forward Alastair Lynch hardly got a touch, being well held by Andrew Schauble.

Brisbane held a nine-point lead at half-time and when Clark Keating kicked the first two goals of the third term Sydney were struggling. Hard work from Leo Barry and Jude Bolton, plus some individual brilliance from Michael O'Loughlin and Adam Goodes, sparked the Swans' revival which saw them hit the front at three-quarter time.

Barry Hall's strength in the air made the difference in a tight game. He took eleven marks, and, once he found some goal-kicking accuracy, he was too much for Mal Michael to cope with. Michael O'Loughlin took a while to make an impact, but then put on a bit of a show, with 17 possessions and nine marks. Adam Goodes continued his good form. He was beaten in the ruck by Clark Keating, but dominated around the ground and took a couple of great "speccies".

James Meiklejohn showed some impressive strength in the ruck, and did enough to suggest that he has the makings of a senior ruckman, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief as Heath James made a successful comeback to AFL football.

The Swans looked to have heeded the coach's instructions to go out and enjoy their football, and, even in such a tough match, managed to provide the fans with some entertaining footy, not least being Barry Hall's hilarious attempt at an "Ali shuffle" when evading a Brisbane defender!