Top Of The Table Clash
A brave effort on the night, which could not be sustained. This sums up the Swans defeat at the hands of a rampant last quarter Dockers at the cauldron that is Optus stadium in Perth. Near on 56, 000 fans filled the stadium for this top of the table clash. Fremantle were goalless for a half and still won handsomely in the end. At the start of the second half Fremantle took control of the centre and won the ball out of there, repeatedly going forward. Too many avenues to goal meant they outscored Sydney in the third quarter, despite the heroics of Charlie Curnow at the other end.
Fremantle Slam Swans In Top Contest
One could point to the failures of Sydney’s defenders in that second half but that would only be half of the story. Yes, Tom McCartin was well beaten by the power Docker forwards. Dane Rampe looked too old, too slow and outmuscled. Callum Mills never stopped trying but was outpaced in too many contests in the end. Nick Blakey went missing in that second half for what reason I do not know. Josh Treacy was enormous and unstoppable in that second half. Jye Amiss was too big and fast for Rampe. The flood of ball going down there from the centre was the real culprit, however.
Sydney Defeated In Top Two Clash At Optus
Sydney have too many rookies losing contests and senior players unwilling to tackle properly when it matters most. Hayden McLean was underwhelming in this regard for most of the night, especially for a big man. Jake Lloyd is an ineffective tackler. Isaac Heeney was not his usual presence on the night. Chad Warner was huge again but missed too many targets going forward, including goals he could have kicked. Errol Gulden is improving but remains a long way off his best – he has missed a lot of footy. James Rowbottom was tireless but lacked finishing skills. One sensed that the Swans would not be able to sustain the incredible pressure they put the Dockers under in the first half for the entire match. This proved to be very true in the washup of this top of the table clash.
Freo Give Swans Heave Ho
The Fremantle team had too many in-form senior players all over the ground. Too much quality for the Swans side to cope with in the end. Sydney were valiant but it was not enough. Players like Frederick, Johnson, Clarke, and the usual suspects Jackson, Serong, Bolton and many more were overwhelming. The battle between Brodie Grundy and Luke Jackson was a beauty, with Grundy taking the early honours and Jackson the latter. It was the midfield which let the Swans down in the second half for whatever reason. The Dockers got well on top and ran away with it. Too much ball flooding into the Fremantle forward line put Sydney to the sword in the second half.
Too Many Rookies In Sydney Side
Sydney’s Harry Kyle had some good moments in the first half but his lack of experience told in the second half. Caiden Cleary and Tom Hannily tried hard but were out classed when the game was in the balance. Tom Papley did some good things, kicked a couple of goals but needed the run and petered out. Sydney missed their absent forwards McDonald and Amartey, with Curnow the only viable option to score goals. It was a realistic lesson ultimately re-their lack of top quality cattle on the park. Missing Justin McInerney in particular and Sam Wicks down back. Braeden Campbell’s return to the Swan’s AFL side will be pretty useful too in the coming weeks.
Do The Swans Lack That Missing Ingredient?
The Swans have now been beaten by Hawthorn, Geelong, Brisbane and Fremantle, which tells a story. That is probably not great to hear if you are an AFL Sydney Swan’s supporter. This 2026 team is currently not good enough to win finals against the very best at the pointy end of the season. They lack enough contest winners in the 23 they field against the real contenders in the AFL. The question to be asked is has their game style and application really improved since 2024? The Swans finished top of the ladder in that season and yet were belted in the GF by Brisbane. Strangely, this was an eerily familiar result to the 2022 GF thrashing by Geelong. Is it, perhaps, this crop of players defining their fate? Very talented but unable or unwilling to lay everything on the line to win the ultimate victory. They appear to be unable or unwilling to apply real pressure for 4 quarters of AFL footy. We will have to wait and see if history repeats itself again in this regard.
Recent Brisbane Drubbing Of Swans
“Half the Swan’s team needs to learn how to tackle. Pissweak broken tackles and giving away countless free kicks to the opposition was the result on the night. You have to go hard and low, not high and soft. I wonder about the coaches at the Swans. Good people, but are they hard enough? Simon Goodwin talks too much about love for me, I mean WTF? This is a football team not the love boat. Where is the mongrel factor? Where is playing on the edge? Hawthorn, Geelong and now, Brisbane have brushed the Swans aside when it mattered.”
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer; The AI Heresy; What Price Life?; America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump; and other titles. NOW AVAILABLE AT APPLE BOOKS & GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS. Google Play Books AUDIOBOOK
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