In a tight first quarter, UWS actually settled the better of the two sides before the Swans worked their way on top with the last three goals of the term from senior-listed players Dean Towers, Tony Armstrong and Harry Cunningham.
When Towers got his second goal of the game with a long bomb at the start of the second quarter, the Swans had turned the game on their terms.
As well as the Swans had started, the remainder of the second quarter was some of the best football the team had played all year.
After the first four goals from the Swans had come from open play, Jake Lloyd found Armstrong alone in the middle of the ground and he drove it long towards Gary Rohan inside forward 50. Rohan took a contested mark and goaled from a set-shot 15 metres out.
From the resulting centre bounce, top-up Doug Hadden pounced on the tap-down and again booted the Swans forward with the centre clearance. Rohan, who had isolated his opponent, used his body to perfection to take another contested mark and kick his second goal in a minute from a set-shot, and the Swans had taken full control of the game to that point.
With the ascendancy on the scoreboard, the Swans midfield and defence stood up to restrict the amount and quality of ball the Giants were able to get their hands on. When the men in orange looked like they were able to get the ball out of their defence, the likes of Xavier Richards, Jordan Lockyer, Alex Brown and Armstrong were able to build a wall across the middle of the ground and make transition difficult for their opponents.
Where Rohan had been the star of the middle portion of the second term, it was Tim Membrey who put the exclamation mark on the end of quarter.
With a long Shane Biggs kick going over Rohan’s head and inside forward 50, Membrey lost his opponent, gathered a loose ball and with his back to goal tight in on the right forward pocket, he turned sharply and snapped a miraculous goal.
Again from the centre bounce, the Swans were able to win the centre clearance and kick long to a one-on-one. Membrey, imitated Rohan moments earlier in the quarter, to take the mark and kick his second goal in a minute.
There was still enough time in the first half for the Swans to extend their lead. From a throw-in in the defensive 50, Lloyd broke the lines – and a few tackles – to get the ball inside an open forward 50 for the Swans. Yarren Jaffer-Williams found himself in that space and burst onto the ball. Despite initially fumbling the ball, he was able to throw it onto his left boot and dribble the ball through for a goal from 35-metre out with a fortuitous leg-break bounce.
The game tightened up in the second half, although the Swans didn’t capitalise on their dominant numbers in clearance and inside 50s in the third term, kicking three goals and eight behinds.
Daniel Cox lit up ANZ Stadium in the third quarter with a diving, volley goal in the goalsquare after Tom Head had set the ball up for him, before running inside 50 later in the term to drill a long left-foot goal from the pocket.
After threatening throughout the game, Towers finally converted his third goal of the game deep into time-on in the last quarter to seal a strong win for the Swans.
The Sydney Swans reserves will conclude the home and away season when they host Sydney Uni at the SCG next Sunday morning before the seniors’ clash against St Kilda.
Sydney Swans reserves 3.5 9.8 12.16 15.20 110
UWS Giants 1.3 3.4 4.7 6.9 45
Goals – Towers 3, Rohan 2, Membrey 2, Cox 2, Armstrong, Cunningham, Jaffer-Williams, Head, Plug, Lloyd
