Winners of their past six matches, the Sydney Swans will look to make it seven straight victories when they take on Collingwood at home this weekend. Join us for what is shaping as a thrilling contest between two genuine flag hopes from 7.40pm AEST.
The defending premiers’ incredible streak was tested last weekend by a gallant Western Bulldogs’ side, but they were simply too strong in the end.
Buoyed by a stellar second-half performance, the Swans went on to notch a 35-point victory and seemingly end all doubts about their chances this year.
However, you could also say the exact same thing about the Magpies last week.
Collingwood’s last start was a 79-point thrashing of rivals Essendon, and if they can carry that form with them into this one, will definitely be considered a chance at toppling the Swans in front of their home crowd.
The Pies are known to play some of their best footy at Sydney, and after an embarrassing 47-point loss at home in Round 9, will be desperate to make amends in this return fixture.
The biggest talking will no doubt be the battle for the midfield, which has been the heart of the Swans’ success throughout this year.
The likes of Daniel Hannebery and Kieren Jack are playing tremendous footy right now, but they will definitely face a tough test when they come up against the likes of Scott Pendlebury and Dane Swan.
Not having Adam Goodes (knee) and Lewis Jetta (shin) hasn’t affected the Swans too much in the past month or so, but given the quality of their opposition, the star duo could well be missed in this one.
Collingwood will no doubt be up for a big one, and given the huge high they’ll no doubt be on after last week, this could be an upset primed for the taking.
Sydney love to kick goals from multiple goal-kickers—meaning that the Pies can’t just try and shut down Kurt Tippett—but their midfield and defense is strong enough to hold off whatever the defending premiers through at them in this one.
I like Sydney to lead up until the final change, where I think the Magpies will give the Swans a taste of their own medicine in a thrilling last-minute upset.
Collingwood by 11 points.
Liz
Guest
Well done Pies. Great performance from the No 1 Football Club in Australia.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Hope you enjoyed the game, mate.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
FULL-TIME. Magpies 100 (14.16) beat Swans 71 (10.11) by 29 points Well, that's it from me! Make sure you keep checking The Roar for most post-match reaction and analysis, as well as check back in tomorrow for our live coverage of three cracking AFL games. Here's the lineup for tomorrow: Essendon vs. West Coast — live coverage starts from 1:00pm AEST Fremantle vs. Greater Western Sydney — live coverage starts from 2:30pm AEST Adelaide vs. North Melbourne — live coverage starts from 2:45pm AEST
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
FULL-TIME. Magpies 100 (14.16) beat Swans 71 (10.11) by 29 points TEAM STATISTICS Disposals Magpies (388) led Swans (318) Clearances Swans (40) led Magpies (35) Inside 50's Magpies (57) led Swans (38) — there's the key stat of the night. Tackles Swans (62) led Magpies (61) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Disposals Swans—McVeigh (36), Hannebery (22), Malceski (20) Magpies—Pendlebury (35), Beams (32), Swan (31), Ball (31) Goals Swans—Tippett (6), Kennedy, Shaw, K.Jack, Bolton Magpies—Elliott (3), Sidebottom (2), Reid (2), Cloke (2), Thomas (2) and others. Tackles Swans—Kennedy (7), Mitchell (6), O'Keefe (6), Mumford (6), Malceski (6) Magpies—Pendlebury (7), O'Brien (6), Goldsack (6), Ball (6) KEY STAT OF THE MATCH Team-wise, it would have to be the inside 50's. Collingwood just ran all over the Swans and showed their class in doing so—continuing to get the ball inside 50 and give their forwards a chance. Individually, it's hard to go past the likes of Pendlebury/Swan/Sinclair for Collingwood, but the biggest importance was their ability to stop the Swans' midfielders having their usual impact. Yes, they chalked up a slew of disposals/goals/chances themselves, but they also restricted the likes of O'Keefr and K.Jack to 19 and 16 disposals respectively. Teams will have definitely taken notice of that, and the Pies can be very proud for executing their game-plan to perfection.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 00:00 remaining. Magpies 100 (14.16) beat Swans 71 (10.11) by 29 points FULL TIME —— COLLINGWOOD WIN BY 29 POINTS. Well, what an incredible match that was. I tipped Collingwood to run down Sydney late in this one, so that wasn't all that surprising, but the dominance which they showed in doing it truly was something special. I'll admit my bias as a Swans' fan here, but they were simply incredible. Pendlebury and Sinclair combined beautifully while Elliott provided some great spark in attack. What's perhaps most incredible was the fact that they kicked 100 points against the Swans without Cloke playing all that well. Get him in some good form comes September and the Pies are definitely a team worth watching out for. Beat Essendon by 79 last week; followed that up with another very big win here. For the Swans, they won't be too discouraged with the performance here having played pretty well for two-and-a-half quarters. They were just beaten by a better team on the night, and they'll look to the final few weeks of the season to recharge and recheck and make sure that they're ready for finals footy. Longmire will be more than ready for the likes of Jetta and Goodes to come back, however, with Sydney just missing their influence on the field at the moment. Statistics to come (and I apologize for the Pendlebury love-fest that's about to follow...)
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 00:00 remaining. Magpies 100 (14.16) beat Swans 71 (10.11) by 29 points AND THERE IT IS!! COLLINGWOOD WIN BY 29 POINTS. Incredible performance from the Pies—announcing themselves as a genuine threat to watch in September. Full match thoughts and statistics to come. Pies absolutely thrilled with this performance, no doubt.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 00:42 remaining. Magpies 100 (14.16) lead Swans 71 (10.11) GOAL - KENNEDY (Swans) Swans go forward and off hands, Kennedy picks up off the ground and snaps home a great consolation goal. That's all four quarters where the Swans have kicked goals in the last minute, yet it hasn't helped. Margin still 29 points with the siren expected any second now...
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 01:21 remaining. Magpies 100 (14.16) lead Swans 65 (9.11) BEHIND - ELLIOTT (Magpies) Elliott works hard and again tales a good mark up high over Richards after a nice entry pass. He went right with the last one and left with this one—albeit from a much tighter angle than his first attempt. Collingwood break the 100-point mark.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 02:32 remaining. Magpies 99 (14.15) lead Swans 65 (9.11) BEHIND - ELLIOTT (Magpies) Put the mickey on him; wide to the left. Swans try to break.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 03:00 remaining. Magpies 98 (14.14) lead Swans 65 (9.11) Sluggish footy at the moment with both teams knowing this one is over. Pies not wanting to press too far forward, but they just keep finding space. O'Brien finds Maxwell, who goes long to Cloke. Off-hands, Sidebottom finds Pendlebury (there he is again) and he spots Elliott right in front 30 out. Having seen the way he's kicked, you'd back him to kick this...
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 04:44 remaining. Magpies 98 (14.14) lead Swans 65 (9.11) Swans go inside 50, but it's off hands the Pies can clear.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 06:44 remaining. Magpies 98 (14.14) lead Swans 65 (9.11) BEHIND - CLOKE (Magpies) Collingwood just chipping it around at the moment, killing time. They find Cloke 55 out on a tight angle, but it's another behind. The big man doesn't all seem happy with himself. Fortunately, it won't matter.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 08:40 remaining. Magpies 97 (14.13) lead Swans 65 (9.11) BEHIND - CLOKE (Magpies) If you thought the last one was a bad miss, then this takes the cake. Cloke takes the mark 5 out right in front, and yet he manages to hit the post. Couldn't dot it again even if he tried. Horrendous.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 10:12 remaining. Magpies 89 (14.13) lead Swans 65 (9.11) BEHIND - CLOKE (Magpies) End to end at the moment, with Cloke through on goal but he misses to the left. Should have scored and should have killed the game right there. Swans have to be the next to score if they're going to hang in there.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 10:12 remaining. Magpies 89 (14.11) lead Swans 65 (9.11) BEHIND - MITCHELL (Swans) Mitchell crumbs from the bounce but his kick is wide.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 10:55 remaining. Magpies 89 (14.11) lead Swans 64 (9.10) GOAL - ELLIOTT (Magpies) Richards gives away a silly free kick 30 out right in front, and Collingwood can all but seal this one you'd think. Elliott makes no mistake, and the lead is out to 31 points with just over 10 minutes to play. Sydney just don't have any answers to the Pies midfield.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 13:00 remaining. Magpies 89 (14.11) lead Swans 64 (9.10) Ball deep inside 50 for the Swans. McVeigh tries to swoop, but Beams is there to clean up and it's out for another ball-up. Again, from the restart, Beams clears, but B.Jack throws it back inside 50 for the Swans. Kennedy tries to launch a goal from 60 out, but the Magpies track it back and mark on the goal-line.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 14:33 remaining. Magpies 89 (13.11) lead Swans 64 (9.10) GOAL - SIDEBOTTOM (Magpies) Is that it? 25 point lead for the away team after some wonderful work at the breakdown. Sidebottom picks it up and snaps in one motion on his non-preferred foot, and he bends it back for a huge goal.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 15:22 remaining. Magpies 83 (12.11) lead Swans 64 (9.10) BEHIND - RUSHED (Magpies) Swans doing a good job of restricting the Magpies' forward press with some strong marks, but they just can't get going forward. Can't break free at all. Ball-up in the middle of the field. Magpies with a chance as Beams breaks. He hits it long to the line, but Shaw is there to punch it through for a rushed behind. Swans try to break up the right, but can't. Hannebery is off the field and up the tunnel. Looked to get an accidental elbow to the head. Lots of blood coming from between the eyes. Swans need him out there at the moment; can't quite get going in midfield.
Dan Talintyre
Roar Guru
Q4 17:41 remaining. Magpies 82 (12.10) lead Swans 64 (9.10) Swans trying to get forward down the right flank, but the Pies have too many men back and can clear easily. Ball continuing to go out for a throw-in around halfway. Neither wants to concede the first goal in this quarter.