Swans swoop into finals

Sydney   129 defeated Hawthorn   75

Sydney has sent a timely warning ahead of September to the rest of the league after they thumped Hawthorn by 54 points at the MCG today.

The win puts the Swans on course for a showdown with the loser of the match between West Coast and Adelaide. On the form shown by the Swans today, neither side will enjoy the prospect of playing host to Paul Roos’s chargers.

Barry Hall made a gallant last-ditch attempt to prise the Coleman Medal away from Fraser Gehrig, but would end up playing a selfless role up forward, grabbing 19 possessions, three goals and setting up numerous other opportunities for his teammates.

The goal-kicking load was shared evenly amongst the contributors, but the standout was red-hot small forward Nick Davis who continued his rich vein of form, booting four goals and causing significant headaches for the Hawthorn defence.

Brett Kirk again showed his class with a domineering display of centre square grit; no less than 13 of his 27 disposals were accumulated in contested situations. After making All-Australian in 2004, the tagger-cum-tagged midfielder looks set to be included once again. Ruckman Adam Goodes, after another outstanding performance today, might also find himself in the running.

Winners for the Hawks were few and far between, although the usual suspects of Luke Hodge and Shane Crawford did their part to limit the damage, picking up 24 and 23 touches respectively.

Rookie Josh Thurgood also proved he’s more than just a pretty face, amassing 19 possessions in a display that suggested he’s got enough talent to be knocking on the door of senior selection more consistently in season 2006.

Despite the best efforts of the brown and gold, they were chasing shadows all afternoon. The Swans skipped out to a 27-point lead at the first change and never looked back, going on to boot another seven goals in the second term, taking their tally to 12 goals in the first half.

By contrast, Hawthorn only had four majors on the board and the players seemed to be looking forward to ‘Mad Monday’ more than anything else.

The second half was only marginally better for the Hawks, and while they failed to bridge the gap between the two teams, a potentially unmitigated disaster was restricted to a minor hammering.

The Hawks kicked seven in the second half while the Swans kicked eight, and the match sunk into a lull as the result was beyond doubt. Sydney took their foot off the pedal, and, understandably, they weren’t prepared to push any of their players ahead of the interstate trip facing them in the first week of the finals.

For the Hawks, the 2005 that promised so much earlier in the year never materialised, but will still be used by the Glenferrie club as a means to move on to bigger things in future seasons. The form of Thurgood, Tim Clarke, Michael Osborne, Jarryd Roughead, Lance Franklin and company throughout the year will give supporters plenty of optimism for the future.

Sydney, on the other hand, is not looking for tomorrow. Success might be about to embrace the harbour city, because these Swans – the league’s ugly ducklings just a few months ago – look ready to ruffle a few finals’ feathers.

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