If we weren’t sure before today, then we definitely are now; Sydney, after a crushing 50-point win over a hapless St Kilda, are officially back.
The Swans’ season looked dead and buried after their 0-6 start to the year, with their lack of pressure, poor foot skills, and general lack of appetite for the contest seeing them lose match after match.
And while they racked up comfortable wins over Brisbane and North Melbourne, most put that down to the quality of their opposition rather than a turnaround in their own form.
St Kilda, with five wins from their last six, would present a different challenge. But as it turned out, the Swans treated them with disdain, breaking the game open in the third term after a hard-fought opening half, and then sinking the boot in with a percentage-boosting last term.
From the first bounce through to the last, it was pressure, pressure, pressure from the Swans. The Saints were barely given a second to compose themselves before a swarm of red and white descended upon them, and whether it resulted in a turnover or a stoppage, it was always the Swans who benefitted.
Josh Kennedy and Dan Hannebery were superb all day in midfield, finishing with 35 and 30 touches respectively, and Lance Franklin reaped the rewards of their hard work with four late goals to drive more nails into the St Kilda coffin.
While they may have only laid 48 tackles, it felt like more, as the Saints were constantly under pressure from the word go.
And on the few occasions they managed to break through the Swans and set up their attacks, a Sydney defence bolstered by the return of Dane Rampe kept them at bay, with the Saints’ forward trio of Tim Membrey, Nick Riewoldt and Paddy McCartin well held, and goals at a premium all day.
As good as the Saints have been in recent weeks, today, they were horrendous. Their trademark run-and-gun approach was suffocated by the Swans’ pressure, and they were simply unable to adapt to it.
They were forced into a possession-style game simply to keep the Swans at bay, and when that happened, their suspect skills by hand and foot resulted in turnover after turnover.
Too often, the Swans were able to swarm numbers back when the Saints were pressing, and then get goals from the rebounds with St Kilda unable to match them running the other way.
Jack Steven tried hard all day, as did Jack Billings and Dylan Roberton, while Nathan Brown was terrific on Franklin early before fading late, but there were few others winners for the Saints.
While the Saints were awful, there were forced into it by the Swans, in a performance reminiscent of the Sydney of old.
With three wins on the trot now, it would take a brave pundit to tip against them giving the finals a big shake.
Who would have thought that just three weeks ago?
Sydney 18.10 (118) defeated St Kilda 10.8 (68) by 50 points at Etihad Stadium.
GOALS
Sydney: Franklin 4, Papley 2, Hannebery 2, Cunningham 2, Newman, Kennedy, Hewett, Towers, Hayward, Tippett, Reid, Rohan.
St Kilda: Riewoldt 3, Membrey 2, Gresham 2, McCartin, Roberton, Acres.
BEST
Sydney: Kennedy, Hannebery, Newman, Lloyd, Papley, Mills.
St Kilda: Steven, Billings, Roberton.
INJURIES
Sydney: Cunningham (foot).
St Kilda: Newnes (concussion).
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
Amid all the hysteria and gnashing of teeth that accompanies any team following a particular galling loss, it's worth remembering at all times that…
Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
Geelong has been crafty and creative in its list management and has quietly assembled a very exciting young group of midfielders and half-forwards.
Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale will be looking to lead his team to a victory against Melbourne in what will be his 250th AFL game.
It’s high stakes with five teams having lost their first three games of season 2024, and in desperate need of a win.
It could be a weekend for contenders to emerge, teams to hopefully break droughts, o and overall footy to have a party.
