Match Report - Swans v Hawks
Liz Read - 21 April

Round 4 took the Swans down to the MCG for their first Melbourne outing of 2003. Conditions were generally good - no rain and no wind to speak of meant that the Ponsford Hole was not expected to be a factor. Early evening dew made the ball and ground a bit slippery early on, but nothing that should cause a problem for top flight footballers.

The Swans started the game very brightly. Early goals to Davis and Williams put them two up before the Hawks had even entered their forward 50. When a shocking Hawks defensive lapse allowed Stevens to take an uncontested mark in the goal square just a few minutes later things were looking very positive.

The run was abruptly halted when Schauble proceeded to miss a very gettable goal and, within seconds, Craig Bolton handpassed directly to a running Hawk, thus setting up Dixon to score the opposition's first goal. This was the signal for Hawthorn to work their way back into the contest. Two more goals came from bad Swans defensive errors and another from an excellent Lekkas snap. Sydney's only response was a deft soccer goal from the boot of Goodes - and didn't he enjoy it!

The second and third quarters turned into a tight tussle with both teams guilty of some ordinary turnovers at times. Sydney had as much of the play as the Hawks but delivery into the forward line let them down badly.

Hall scored a couple in the second but generally wasn't holding his marks or timing his leads particularly well, while Campbell Brown and Joel Smith were very successful in keeping Davis and a hardworking but rusty O'Loughlin quiet. In contrast, the Hawks were able to mark the ball inside their forward 50 with more ease. Bolton was struggling with the pace and height of Rawlings, while the Swans simply had no-one to counter the height of Everitt.

The Swans enjoyed a long period of pressure in their forward line during the second quarter but were unable to put the points on the board. Five minutes before the final break one sensed the Hawks lifted their intensity somewhat and the Swans were unable to respond. They scored 3 unanswered goals to open up their largest lead of the game to that stage - 15 points - at 3/4 time. It can't have helped the team's morale that one came from a horrible piece of play between Williams and Maxfield.

The final quarter could have come from a different game to what had gone before as suddenly the Hawks found their run and confidence. The Swans had no answers. The details are hazy - and I stopped the tape when it got to this point - but once the Mustard Pots scored their first goal of the final term one sensed there was no looking back. The Swans' heads dropped right
across the board and the Hawks midfield was left to do what it pleased.

Rawlings, who had been looking dangerous all night, became rampant and poor Bolton could do nothing to stop him. Goals to Mathews and Nicks came against the run of play and Hawthorn eventually ran out 42 point winners.

While the overall skill level, the final term - and the result - were
disappointing for Swans fans there were a few positives to be gleaned. Goodes played his 4th good game in a row and must be leading the club B&F and the TLF by a country mile. He made a few frustrating errors but his work rate was superb and he finished with 21 possessions, 8 marks and a creditable 17 hitouts.

Williams tried his heart out in the midfield though wasn't as damaging as we know he can be. Jude Bolton played with a lot of determination and found a fair bit of the pill. Unfortunately he let himself down with some ordinary disposals and a couple of his errors led directly to Hawthorn shots on goal.

Schneider continued to impress. His 11 possessions don't really tell the story of his game - he ran well into space, delivered the ball long and direct, and showed excellent awareness of what was going on around him. With a little more luck he could have
finished the game with 3 goals.

Kennelly too put in a pleasing performance, mostly in defence, although in the final quarter he was as overwhelmed as the rest of the backline. But for 3 quarters he read the play well, ran hard from the back 50 and his disposal was generally pinpoint. His brilliant smother of a Crawford kick was a highlight of the first quarter.

Overall, though, this game will give Roos plenty to think about during the week. The Hawks defence certainly had the better of Hall, Davis and O'Louglin, while Nicks was barely sighted. In contrast only Saddington had the better of his opponent at the other end of the ground and the Swans' lack of a full-back was obvious.

Too many Swans players failed to have any real impact on the game and it is clear that the midfield is desparate for someone to stand-up and take the pressure of the hard-working Williams and Maxfield.