If a soothsayer told you before the Sydney Derby that a Swans star would bag five goals and be the hero in a stirring win over GWS, you’d probably have expected Lance Franklin to have got the handful he needed to join the exclusive 1000-goal club.
But no – an uncharacteristically fumbly Franklin would be well held by long-time rival Phil Davis – who reportedly held an 11-2 record on ‘Buddy’ according to the Giants. Instead, it was Luke Parker, long a staple of the Swans’ tough as nails midfield, who proved the hero in front of the big sticks in an incredible, free-flowing match.
A game of this quality – and make no mistake, it’ll take something good to topple it as the game of the season, despite the final margin – deserved nothing less. With three of his goals coming in the third quarter, after the Giants had surged to a 15-point lead early in the term, and one more in the last, no man had a bigger say on proceedings, the Swans finally putting away their crosstown rivals by 20 points, 17.10 (112) to 13.14 (92).
“It is an extraordinary performance from a bloke who does the grunt work in the midfield, but has now gone forward and has literally flipped this around,” former great Garry Lyon said on Fox Footy after Parker’s fifth.
“He’s always had great goal sense, but he’s been too important in the midfield. With these young blokes that are going to assume the midfield time, he can be a 40-50 a year goalkicker.”
Matching Parker in the clinches, if not on the scoreboard, was third-year Giant Tom Green. Having shown undoubted promise in his first two seasons, the bullocking youngster broke out as a legitimate star of the game, racking up 13 disposals and a goal in the first quarter alone.
Having significantly bulked up during the pre-season, the 21-year old was unstoppable in the first half; indeed, it was only once the Swans clamped down on his influence that they were able to break away.
“Tom Green looks like he’s turned from boy into man. Muscled up, a few pre-season under his belt, and a dominant first half,” Jason Dunstall said at half time.
“He’s a jet this kid, he’s an out and out jet,” Lyon added.
“Even his body shape looks to have changed the last 12 months, just looks a bit slimmer and covering the ground a bit better.
“The way he’s started this game, he made be ready to elevate himself into that elite midfield group.
“He’s the best player on the ground by a mile, and it’s exciting for Giants fans that they’ve got him for the next 10 years.”
But while Parker and Green were brilliant, they would have to play second fiddle to the biggest star of all – the game itself.
Round 1 matches are usually relatively rusty affairs, a chance for sides to slowly build up their match fitness and hone their skills under pressure. But there was the unmistakeable whiff of finals around proceedings at Accor Stadium, with neither side backing down from the outset.
“The pressure that both teams bought at the start of this game was a sight to behold, and it wasn’t a place for the faint-hearted,” Lyon said.
“It’s reminiscent of finals football,” Dunstall added.
Eight goals in the first term, despite the heavy wave of pressure, added to the growing feeling that 2021 will be played at a higher pace than years gone by. Footy fans have been crying out for years for more goals and more exciting play, and they’ve certainly got their wish so far.
But with the early pressure proving unsustainable, the second term saw the frenetic pace of the game only rise a few notches.
It led to another eleven goals being piled on for the quarter – and a scoreline of 10.7 (67) to 9.4 (58) at half time that hearkened back to a bygone era – and no one loved it more than Dunstall.
“This game has had a little bit of everything thus far. How good is high-paced scoring football?” the Hawthorn legend enthused.
“It’s back, we’ve seen 100 points kicked a number of times already. And both GWS and the Swans are on track for 100, the way they’re going here.”
It took Parker’s brilliance to stymie the Giants, with Toby Greene’s absence through suspension proving crucial. But it’s hard to say they were losers after a match like that.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
I'll back our boys.
Knackaz
Roar Rookie
Hahaha! No contest, Donny old boy. Take your purple glasses off, son ...
josh
Guest
It's not a derby, it's a battle of the bridge.
Chris M
Guest
Despite Phil Davis being a tough opponent, Buddy dropped a few marks that he should still have taken against GWS. A couple of Buddy’s shots on goal dropped short and we’re more inaccurate than his worst kicks normally are. They were shots normally within his range. At this stage I don’t take it as an indication of his accelerating physical decline. I see him as being an older player perhaps not having quite the same sense of indestructible confidence as he may have had in his swashbuckling youth. Maybe, in cricketing terms, Buddy is suffering the nervous 990’s. We can all look forward to him having a free swing and hopefully going on a scoring rampage in future games once he reaches four figures.
Swanee
Roar Rookie
I'll be glad when Buddy's kicked his 1,000, get the monkey off his back!
Swanee
Roar Rookie
Ended up being the best game of the round, pressure all the way from both teams as nominated by many commentators.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Let him race Pearce and Logue.
Chris M
Guest
Let’s hope the Swans can stay free of serious long term injuries and that will help their campaign. Of course we hope that for players in every club. Between now and the Geelong game the Swans will need to address having so many goals scored against them from centre clearances as happened vs GWS. They will want to improve their own scoring from that area too, as the first round produced only one for the Swans. As substantial rain is predicted on Friday, it may turn out to be another relative goal drought for Buddy vs Geelong, but let’s hope he can increase his tally. He was beaten by Phil Davis in the GWS game but it’s not the first time. Davis has always been a difficult match-up for Buddy. The 1,000th goal may have to wait till week 3 or 4. When the load is off Buddy’s shoulders and he has more hardened match practice, I’m sure he will be less fumbly and back near to or at his 2021 form as the year progresses.
Knackaz
Roar Rookie
With Papley, Chad Warner and Lloyd to come back in (Ladhams, Amartey & Roberts too at some stage), the Bloods have some nice depth heading into 2022 …
Knackaz
Roar Rookie
Dawson is obviously a very good player and his marking is a string to his bow. The Lizard’s kicking was sublime on Saturday and will only continue to improve as he’s not trying to be too cute now. Having the kicking-in responsibility also shows the Club’s faith in his ability. He’s much quicker than Dawson, who is a bit of a plodder pace wise. In fact Lizard could be the quickest half back in the AFL. Not bad considering he’s 195cm! Campbell has an elite left boot, is also quick, and will continue to grow with more games in 2022 to end up a midfielder …
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Yeah, I know! But that’s the frustrating thing for me - when he’s involved he’s so, so good. But for large parts of the game I start wondering whether he’s even on the field. Maybe I’ve got to accept that’s the way he plays…
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
He'll be chasing purple all day.
peterj
Roar Rookie
Unbelievable match and a great result. Just couldn’t look away. Parker has always been one of my favourites and I was so stoked for him yesterday. A cracking match and hope it bodes well for the rest of the season. :thumbup:
.kraM
Roar Rookie
Who is he likely to line up on today? Very interested to see how Nicks uses him.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Like Fyfe, Boak and Neale...more consistently outstanding than anyone, but without the Victorian PR machines. How good is Tom Green? AA this year. Plays and looks like a slightly bigger and faster version of Gary Buckenara.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
An improvement on Dawson.
DTM
Roar Rookie
This is the first game I've watched so far but if this is the standard for the rest of the season, I'm in. Well done to the Swans - deserved winners. I tipped top 4 prospects for them. Giants showed me that maybe they are still in the hunt (my previous prediction had them out of the 8).
.kraM
Roar Rookie
I agree but it’s crazy to say that about a guy who had 25 and 3.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Very even performance across the team for the Swans I thought. Although I still think Heeney should be more consistent throughout a game. If he’s fit and healthy he really should be dominating games - he’s certainly got the ability to do so.
Angela
Roar Rookie
A great game - the best this round so far. Intense pressure from both teams, fast and furious. Interesting how few comments there are on the Roar GWS Giants vs Sydney Swans: AFL live scores site. Didn't involve a Victorian team and played in Sydney so as usual slipped under the VFL radar.