Swans supreme over the Tigers

Sydney 14.17 (101) def. Richmond   7.11 (53)

Sydney’s hopes of a top eight berth were shored up with an industrious 48-point victory over Richmond in damp conditions at the SCG.

Sydney led from start to finish on the wet SCG surface, propelled to victory by its sheer class in difficult conditions, the usual suspects in Goodes, O’Keefe and Hall paving the way to recording only its second victory in six weeks.

The home side got back on the winners list thanks largely to the efforts of key play makers Adam Goodes, Jude Bolton and Ryan O’Keefe, while star forward Barry Hall returned to some of his better form in attack, causing match-up mayhem in the Richmond coaches box. First gamer Heath Grundy, originally from South Australian club Norwood, leapt out of the box in his outing on the league scene with a promising three-goal display from full forward.

Richmond’s cause was aided by the hard work in-and-under from skipper Kane Johnson and his regular partner in crime Shane Tuck, while the emerging Jay Schulz staked his claims for a key forward post with two goals and some strong leading from the attacking zone. Regular livewire Nathan Brown’s influence was successfully quelled by the underrated Craig Bolton.

The first term was marred by a damp ball and slippery surface, both sides spending plenty of time attempting to shovel the ball out of the packs, and two teams struggling to find targets by foot on a consistent basis, put simply, it wasn’t a place for the faint hearted.

Creative forward Ryan O’Keefe found space early inside fifty and converted the first major for the night, over six minutes of game time elapsing before the Tigers answered through Jay Schulz, who played the lone hand up forward with regular leading target Matthew Richardson beginning the term on the interchange bench.

But the Swans came again, O’Keefe managing the quick reply from long range, his second. Intriguingly, it was both Schulz who kept the home side in check with his second goal, the only goal scorers for a low-scoring contest coming from one forward from each side.

Co-captain Barry Hall changed all that with a goal of his own, before debutant Heath Grundy, promoted this season off the rookie list, out-bustled Patrick Bowden to snare his first goal in league football from the goal mouth, Sydney carrying a 15-point buffer into the first change.

After a number of weeks in the football wilderness, the Swans returned to the dynamic form that took them to the 2005 premiership, albeit in patches, playing out a solid term to score three goals and five behinds, tying the Tigers down, before allowing them to slip away late to score two majors to remain in the hunt.

Sydney flew out of the blocks, peppering the big sticks, goals to O’Keefe, Adam Goodes and then Hall stretching the lead to 33 points, before Richmond managed to salvage some late respect, goals to Nathan Brown, who was held quiet for most of the half by Craig Bolton, and Dean Polo pulling the margin back to an attainable 20 points. The margin did not do the Swans justice, as they had their feet on the throats of the Tigers for most of the night.

The Swans good form continued into the third quarter, adding five goals to Richmond’s one, coming off the boot of Patrick Bowden after the siren. They were led by the newcomer Grundy, who continued his striking debut in adding two more goals to bring his overall tally to three, having a hand in a few others. The ever cagy Michael O’Loughlin also chipped in, shrugging the shackles of the Tiger defenders to score two goals, taking the lead at the final change to 46.

Despite two early goals to the Tigers, they were overwhelmed by the relentless Swans, who cruised home by 48 points. There was still drama in the final term, however, with a freakish soccer goal off the boot of Amon Buchanan sure to feature on the highlight reels in the days to come, while the only downside to the victory arising with the severe concussion suffered by tenacious onballer Brett Kirk when unintentionally slapped in the face by the boot of Shane Tuck while attempting a smother.

The victorious Swans now go on to the challenging task of defeating Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, while the Tigers quest for a final eight finish gets no easier, faced with the task of halting a rampant St Kilda at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.

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