The Sydney Swans were defeated by the Western Bulldogs, 89-67, in the 2016 AFL Grand Final – but who stood out for the losing side, and who didn’t step up when needed?
All the wash-up from the AFL Grand Final
» Match report: Bulldogs are premiers!
» BUCKLAND: The West wins one for all
» Seven talking points from the match
» Western Bulldogs player ratings
» Our top ten tweets from the day
» Another classic Bulldogs banner
» Re-live all the action with our live blog
Lance Franklin: 5
Hit with a nasty-looking ankle injury early on and was clearly hampered for the rest of the game. Still attracted plenty of attention and threw his weight around, but Sydney needed a fully-fit Buddy.
Heath Grundy: 8
Terrific effort from the veteran. Grabbed everything in the air and was a calm head amidst the Bulldogs’ onslaught.
Dan Hannebery: 5
Usually such a devastating combatant on the inside and outside, Hannebery was far from his best and it showed. Picking up a bad knee injury to start the fourth quarter didn’t help.
Isaac Heeney: 7
Grew as the game went on. Threw himself around at the contest and was strong in the air. The sky’s the limit for this exciting youngster.
George Hewett: 4
A tough grand final initiation for Hewett, but he did improve as the game went on. Kicked a crucial goal in the fourth.
Kieren Jack: 6
Strong first half, highlighted by a superb mark going back with the flight, but missed two kickable set shots which he needed to convert.
Zak Jones: 4
A typically hard-running effort from Jones, but he couldn’t back up last week’s outstanding performance.
Josh P Kennedy: 9
34 touches, three goals, six tackles – is there anything Kennedy can’t do? Kept Sydney in it with his goals and was unlucky to not claim the Norm Smith.
Jeremy Laidler: 4
Solid but unspectacular from Laidler. Gave away a 50-metre penalty, but otherwise wasn’t too bad.
Jake Lloyd: 6
A decent performance from one of the Swans’ most improved players this year. Kept Clay Smith pretty quiet.
Ben McGlynn: 2
It wasn’t as bad as his 2014 grand final performance, but it wasn’t much better this year for McGlynn. Missed a set shot he had to kick when the Swans were only barely staying in the game.
Jarrad McVeigh: 5
Kept Caleb Daniel very quiet, but wasn’t particularly effective with the boot. A bit rusty from the co-captain.
Callum Mills: 4
Didn’t make any glaring errors, but didn’t have a great impact. Looked a little rusty having missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.
Tom Mitchell: 6
In what may be his last game for the Swans, Mitchell certainly gave it his all, making a game-high 13 tackles. Couldn’t provide the silky smooth skills which were on show last week, though.
Sam Naismith: 6
Has been a great find for the Swans since breaking into the side midway through the year. Was strong in the ruck and did his job around the ground.
Tom Papley: 4
An honest effort from the rookie, but didn’t have the goalscoring impact he’s had in recent weeks.
Luke Parker: 6
Kicked the game’s first goal and was influential early on, but couldn’t keep it up in the second half.
Dane Rampe: 7
Had plenty of touches and was as reliable as ever. Will be disappointed he wasn’t able to kickstart many rebounds when the Swans were bogged in their own 50.
Xavier Richards: 2
Not a great day out for Richards. Shanked a shot on goal instead of passing to a wide-open McGlynn and had no impact at all.
Gary Rohan: 4
Great in the first half, kicking a goal and charging down a Bulldogs kick-in. Went missing in the second half when the Swans really needed his run.
Nick Smith: 8
Along with Grundy, was Sydney’s best defender. Doesn’t get noticed, but always delivers the goods. Even popped with a (very) rare goal.
Kurt Tippett: 3
Got in Franklin’s way a bit and never really impacted the game for the Swans.
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