Sydney Swans
83
Match Complete
Essendon
80
| Fourth Quarter | ||||
| E. Gulden |  | 29:03 | ||
| 28:01 |  | C. Hooker | ||
| 27:08 | | A. McDonald-Tipungwuti | ||
| L. Franklin | | 24:50 | ||
| 23:34 | | N. Cox | ||
| T. Papley | | 19:48 | ||
| T. Papley | | 18:06 | ||
| T. Hickey | | 16:25 | ||
| L. Parker | | 14:06 | ||
| J. McInerney | | 7:55 | ||
| 2:03 | | A. Waterman | ||
| S. Wicks | | 0:44 | ||
| 9.11 (65) | Third Quarter [+] | 10.6 (66) | ||
| 26:43 | | D. Smith | ||
| 25:33 | | H. Jones | ||
| C. Mills | | 20:59 | ||
| T. Papley | | 18:58 | ||
| 17:00 | | N. Cox | ||
| C. Warner | | 15:35 | ||
| 13:50 | | C. Hooker | ||
| 11:12 | | J. Stringer | ||
| S. Reid | | 3:16 | ||
| 7.9 (51) | Second Quarter [+] | 7.4 (46) | ||
| N. Blakey | | 33:14 | ||
| 30:10 | | Rushed | ||
| L. Franklin | | 27:20 | ||
| C. Mills | | 25:26 | ||
| 22:56 | | C. Hooker | ||
| S. Reid | | 20:58 | ||
| E. Gulden | | 18:10 | ||
| 16:22 | | J. Stringer | ||
| N. Blakey | | 15:41 | ||
| J. McInerney | | 14:04 | ||
| O. Florent | | 10:35 | ||
| 8:52 | | D. Parish | ||
| 7:06 | | D. Smith | ||
| I. Heeney | | 5:58 | ||
| 1:34 | | C. Hooker | ||
| 2.5 (17) | First Quarter [+] | 4.1 (25) | ||
| 25:48 | | N. Cox | ||
| 24:34 | | J. Stringer | ||
| S. Reid | | 20:12 | ||
| 18:13 | | A. Waterman | ||
| E. Gulden | | 16:33 | ||
| L. Franklin | | 15:56 | ||
| L. Parker | | 13:35 | ||
| 8:37 | | Rushed | ||
| L. Franklin | | 7:14 | ||
| Rushed | | 6:20 | ||
| 4:45 | | J. Stringer | ||
| I. Heeney | | 2:56 | ||
The red-hot Sydney Swans open Round 4 of the AFL against the Essendon Bombers, who are searching for their second win of the year. Stay up to date with their AFL clash with live scores on The Roar from 7:20pm (AEST).
The Swans had already defied expectations by winning their first two games of the season, but they blew the roof off last weekend with a 45-point dismantling of the back-to-back reigning premiers Richmond without Lance Franklin. Now, Franklin is back in the side as Sydney look to go 4-0 for the first time since 2012 – the year of their most recent premiership.
Essendon copped a few beatings in the press for their efforts over the first two weeks – a monumental second-half collapse against Hawthorn and a lackluster effort in a big loss to Por Adelaide – but bounced back emphatically last weekend wit a 75-point demolition of the injury-ravaged Saints. With skipper Dyson Heppell back in the side, the Bombers will look to even their ledger and silence the critics further.
The Bombers got up by six points in a thriller when these sides met last year – the third match in a row between these sides decided by ten points or fewer. Essendon have won three of their last four matches against Sydney, but last year’s win was their first triumph at the SCG since 2009.
Game information
Opening bounce: 7:20pm (AEST)
Venue: SCG
TV: Fox Footy, Seven
Live stream: Kayo Sports, Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go
Betting: Swans $1.20, Bombers $4.50 (odds via PlayUp)
Teams
Sydney Swans
B: Harry Cunningham, Dane Rampe, Braeden Campbell
HB: Jordan Dawson, Tom McCartin, Jake Lloyd
C: Oliver Florent, Luke Parker, Nick Blakey
HF: Isaac Heeney, Logan McDonald, Sam Wicks
F: Tom Papley, Lance Franklin, Sam Reid
FOL: Tom Hickey, Callum Mills, Josh Kennedy
I/C: Chad Warner, Errol Gulden, Justin McInerney, George Hewett
EMG: Will Hayward, Callum Sinclair, James Bell, Lewis Melican
Essendon
B: Jayden Laverde, Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, Aaron Francis
HB: Harrison Jones, Jordan Ridley, Nick Hind
C: Kyle Langford, Dyson Heppell, Brayden Ham
HF: Devon Smith, Cale Hooker, Zach Merrett
F: Jake Stringer, Peter Wright, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
FOL: Nik Cox, Darcy Parish, Andrew McGrath
I/C: Archie Perkins, Matt Guelfi, Will Snelling, Alec Waterman
EMG: David Zaharakis, Nick Bryan, Ned Cahill, Zach Reid
Angela
Roar Rookie
Diddums
andyfnq
Roar Rookie
It's true and it does. If it makes you feel salty, cry me a river. You're just lucky we let you play our game at all - otherwise you'd be back in the carpy second rate competitions of last century.
Angela
Roar Rookie
'Sydney and Brisbane are both technically Victorian teams' :happy: Sure, if it makes you feel better, knock yourself out.
andyfnq
Roar Rookie
Sydney and Brisbane are both technically Victorian teams :laughing:
Angela
Roar Rookie
Any.Team.But.A.Victorian.Team.
andyfnq
Roar Rookie
I have no idea what that means, English please
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Couldn't agree more - I'm a neutral Crows supporter and I thought the Swans were getting some soft frees or given more latitude than Essendon through the match - a 29-16 free differential in favour of the Swans looks pretty lopsided to me
Angela
Roar Rookie
Swings and roundabouts. Yes, the Swans probably got the rub of the green last night, which makes up in a small way for the disgraceful umpiring of the 2016 Grand Final (recognised as such by the AFL). And the umpiring of the Brisbane/Geelong match two weeks ago gave Geelong a win they didn't deserve (recognised by the AFL). As I say, swings and roundabouts. It's a hard sport to umpire, can't see anything changing. Mostly, you have to just suck it up and stop whinging.
Tassie.
Roar Rookie
Thanks for that!!
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
That’s a three week suspension for that pun. And because you’re refusing to apologize I’m adding a week for good measure... :laughing:
Angela
Roar Rookie
@andyfnq A.T.B.A.V.T. mate. Is an excellent result
XI
Roar Guru
If he hadn't gotten in the way of Buddy being clear open on a lead I'd call it just about flawless
Mark.
Roar Rookie
Agreed. Average game, stupendous result.
Mark.
Roar Rookie
Reid was fantastic. 6 contested marks, double the next best on the ground. Couple of goals as well.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
They were nowhere near their best though
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Heeney has been pretty handy the first few rounds. I’m not apologising for that awful pun.
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Close games aren’t necessarily good games
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
There were two or three in the third quarter alone.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Despite an inevitable comedown after the first three rounds, the Swans still ground out a win. As I said early in the game, they looked off. Essen don look like a really well coached side - they watched how the Swans played last week and played accordingly. And it nearly came off. Some poor kicking for goal perhaps made the score closer than it should have been, but I’m sure Bombers fans will be up in arms about the umpiring... Again it was an even spread of contributors, but the older guys stood up this week - Parker and Kennedy. And perhaps not many will agree with me, but I thought Reid played his heart out. One sour note, and it a big one - how long will Heaney be out with a broken hand? I’m guessing a couple of months? That’s a real shame as he looked like he was building into his best season yet. A big blow.
Birdman
Roar Rookie
Haha. My favourite after 1989 and 2008. :silly: