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The first movement of the game was a quick clearance from the Swans, marked by Franklin, who goaled within the first minute.
REPORT: SWANS THUMP PIES BY 80
That was a harbinger of things to come. The Swans took a little while to do some damage on the scoreboard, but they completely controlled the first half and led by 62 points at half time.
They dominated every facet of the game – they won the contests, they used it better, their defensive pressure was better, they took more marks, they were more direct, and they converted their opportunities better.
But what really stood out was how easily they moved the ball around the park, particularly when clearing the seemingly endless Collingwood turnovers.
Collingwood’s around-the-ground defensive system just completely failed. It failed in the opening minutes of the game, and really there was never a moment where they looked like repelling the Swans’ counter-attacks. That above all things will worry Nathan Buckley and the Collingwood staff.
They’ll at least be happy with Adam Treloar’s game. He had 33 touches, and while he didn’t have a huge impact in the first half, kept trying and did some good things later in the game.
Travis Cloke and Corey Gault were completely ineffective down forward, while Frost conceded some key goals to Franklin down the other end when the game was briefly alive.
Going forward, Swan appears to have suffered a serious ankle injury. Nathan Brown was also hurt. Steele Sidebottom will very likely get a few weeks for a high hit that ended Dan Hanneberry’s game early.
It was a bleak, bleak night for Collingwood.
It’s all smiles for Sydney though. They couldn’t have wished for a better start to the season. Not just because of the easy win, but the strong form of some new players. Debutants Hewett, Papley and Mills were all good, while Sinclair and Talia were solid.
Lance Franklin almost felt like a new recruit, and he kicked four first half goals before fading once the sting had gone out of the game.
Lloyd and Jack stayed heavily involved, with 35 possessions each.
Nick Smith and Dane Rampe were solid in defence, repelling a number of Magpie attacks. Tippett spent most of the game in the ruck and had the better of most contests. Heeney worked hard to provide an option around half forward and took eight marks in that role.
Tom Mitchell played one of his best games at this level. He was busy around the ground, but lethal in front of goal, nailing three excellent crumbing majors on his left foot.
But there’s no questioning who the best man on the park was. Luke Parker had 40 disposals, but that only begins to describe how much impact he had tonight. He was a bull at clearances, tough and determined in contested situations, measured but aggressive on the many occasions he was involved in Sydney’s counter-attack, and took a number of contested marks at important moments.
If there’s one thing to work on for the Swans it’s their finishing. 18 goals and 25 behinds says a bit, but there were some extended patches where they had the ball forward and couldn’t convert, particularly in the first quarter.
But anyone who thinks they’re not a contender in 2016 would surely have a bit of a rethink if they watched tonight’s game.
Final score
Sydney 18.25.133
Collingwood 7.11.53
Round one continues at the SCG tonight, with the Sydney Swans hosting the Collingwood Magpies. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match starting at 7:25pm AEDT.
Sydney finished the 2015 home and away season in fourth, and their opponents down in twelfth, but the general view seems to be that the Pies are in for a better year, and that the Swans might find themselves going backwards somewhat.
Both of those things remain to be seen, but Collingwood did play some exciting footy in the NAB Challenge, so perhaps they’ll take that into tonight’s game.
Sydney have been notoriously poor starters in past seasons, but they bucked that trend last year winning their first three.
It’s a bit of a younger-looking Swans team, with no fewer than three debutants tonight, in Tom Papley, George Hewett and the highly rated Callum Mills. They also welcome new recruits Michael Talia and Callum Sinclair, from the Bulldogs and Eagles respectively.
Just one new player for Collingwood, and it’s a big one – Adam Treloar plays his first regular season game in black and white.
They did, somewhat unexpectedly, leave Brodie Grundy out of tonight’s team, opting to go with Jarrod Witts and Corey Gault, who both impressed in the pre-seaon. It’s a pretty big call by coach Nathan Buckley.
Jamie Elliott, Travis Varcoe miss with injury, as do Jarrad McVeigh and Ted Richards for the Swans. The Reid brothers Sam and Ben are both missing, one for each team.
Both sides are probably strongest in the midfield, with Josh P Kennedy, Dan Hanneberry, Kieren Jack, Luke Parker and Tom Mitchell anchoring a powerful Sydney midfield, up against Scott Pendlebury, Adam Treloar, Steele Sidebottom, Taylor Adams, Levi Greenwood and Jack Crisp. Hard to confidently pick a winner in this part of the ground.
Collingwood’s forwardline is a mix of the old and the new, with Dane Swan and Travis Cloke rubbing shoulders with Darcy Moore, Corey Gault and Jordan De Goey. Sydney’s backline is undersized tonight, so there’s a chance for Moore and Gault to repeat their NAB Challenge form.
The biggest name on the field is at the other end of the SCG – Lance Franklin battled through the last half of 2015 with personal issues, but if he’s at his best tonight, he and Kurt Tippett will cause serious problems for the Pies’ backline.
There was some controversy about the location of this match. Originally scheduled for ANZ it was moved to the SCG less than a month ago, provoking hopeful pleas for compensation from Collingwood on behalf of their fans.
It’s actually pretty unusual for the Pies to find themselves playing the Swans at this ground. While they met here late last season, that was the first time since 2000. They haven’t had a win at this venue – incredibly – since 1994.
I find myself going back and forth on tipping this one. Normally I’d back the class and experience of the Swans over the form of the Pies, particularly at the SCG, but I’m a bit worried by the number of raw youngsters selected for Sydney.
I’ll back the Swans at home, but without much confidence.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match starting at 7:25pm AEDT.
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