The Sydney Swans have powered away to a 70-point win over St Kilda on Saturday night, ending the Saints’ hopes of playing finals.
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The first half of this match was one of the most entertaining of the season. Neither side looked like establishing a big lead, as they went end to end, goal for goal.
Whenever one side got a couple in a row, the other would respond instantly. The footy was attacking and aggressive, but both sides defended stoutly when necessary.
At half time the Swans held a five-point lead after an impressive display by both teams and we all eagerly awaited a second half that would hopefully be more of the same.
Instead we got a performance that was no less impressive, but from just one of the teams. St Kilda’s defensive pressure began to wane and the Swans exploited it ruthlessly, racking up four goals in quick succession to open the second half.
At the same time the Saints sustained injuries to Sam Fisher, and Tom Hickey was clearly struggling, and all of a sudden all the momentum was running one way only.
Sydney went on to kick eight goals to two for the quarter, driven by huge individual performances by Lance Franklin and Luke Parker.
With the game effectively over at three-quarter time, Sydney picked up where they left off. While the Saints battled gamely for the most part there was clearly only one side in the contest, and rarely did the ball leave Sydney’s forward half late in the game.
The Swans crowd were in party mode, cheering their favourite players whenever they got near it, which was often.
Aliir Aliir, who was electric in the backline in his career-best game, was a particular favourite.
In the final analysis Sydney won by seventy points, had 100 more possessions, and 11 more inside 50s. A very comfortable, percentage-boosting win on paper, but for a lot of this game it looked like it would be tight and hard fought.
It’s a tribute to the quality within this Sydney team that they turned a shootout against a determined opposition into a cakewalk. They probably have the best top four or five players out of any club, and each of them stood up tonight.
That means the end of St Kilda’s finals hopes for 2016. They’ll at least take some comfort that they pushed this team for at least a half, and that they can hopefully go a couple of wins better next year.
Sydney, on the other hand, are very much alive. They’ve further boosted their percentage and given themselves the inside running on a home final and a very serious premiership charge.
They could not have been more emphatic in the second half, and to have so many of their best players in red hot form at this time of year is exactly the position they want to be in.
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