The Sydney Swans have defeated the Essendon bombers by 14 points during a gloomy afternoon on the SCG. In wet and wild conditions the Swans eased away then held off the brave Bombers for a 9.14 (68) to 7.12 (54) win on Saturday.

The Swans still have the slightest mathematical chance of finishing in the top-eight but need so much to go their way, including rediscovering their best. This was almost certainly the first dead rubber they have played in more than five years.

Brodie Grundy was a shining light and could yet give the Swans reason to cheer as he continues to strengthen his claim for a third All-Australian blazer after overpowering the Bombers’ young ruck Lachlan Blakiston as well as veteran Todd Goldstein in a ruck masterclass.

Grundy finished with a career-high 39 disposals including 22 contested, to go with 13 clearances and 32 hitouts as the dominant big man in the game, though Blakiston was able to drift forward and boot a goal in the final term to give the Bombers a hint of hope before the Swans held them at arm’s length.  

Errol Gulden celebrated his milestone match in style with the opening goal of the game and went on to finish 30 disposals as well as 575m gained, while Justin McInerney (27, two goals) and Isaac Heeney (28, one) were lively as the Swans pulled away.

Swans dasher Nick Blakey added an early spark as he was allowed to roam free and gathered 18 disposals during a blistering first half before the Bombers finally clamped down to limit him to 28 touches for the game.

James Jordon was important as the Swans tagger lined up on Zach Merrett from the opening bounce and restricted the Bombers skipper to 19 disposals.

Essendon has now lost 11 of its past 12 matches at the SCG but can perhaps take just as much from the contest as the winners after its injury-ravaged and young side fought out the game.

With Merrett having little influence on the game, Andrew McGrath stepped up to have more of an impact in the midfield and finished with 26 disposals and seven clearances, while Sam Durham (22, 5) battled hard.

The Bombers will be also buoyed by Jayden Nguyen’s debut as the 19-year-old defender went toe-to-toe with Tom Papley, while Archie May showed potential when shifted into defence.

But the Bombers were not quite able to take their opportunities late to overrun the Swans even while continuing to lay promising foundations for their own future.

Lizard on the loose in Sydney defence
Nick Blakey can hold his head high as a solid contributor even as Sydney has dropped from minor premiers last year to all but certainly missing the finals this season. But the dashing defender has rarely been able to hit the heights of his 2024 All-Australian campaign until being allowed to roam free on Saturday. With the Bombers severely undermanned and sending a forward further afield to clog up the midfield, Blakey often found space as the Swans’ loose player and used his laser-sharp left boot and blistering pace to launch attacks from defence. The son of a gun sent a warning shot with 12 disposals in the opening term on the way to finishing with 28 touches, seven score involvements and 678m gained under little pressure.

SYDNEY                       4.3       6.9       8.12      9.14 (68)
ESSENDON                  2.4       2.6       4.10      7.12 (54)

GOALS
Sydney: McInerney 2, Campbell 2, Gulden, Rowbottom, Buller, Papley, Heeney
Essendon: Perkins, Guelfi, Clarke, May, Redman, Kako, Blakiston

BEST
Sydney: Grundy, Gulden, Blakey, McInerney, Rampe, Heeney, Jordon
Essendon: McGrath, Durham, Redman, Merrett, Prior

INJURIES
Sydney: Nil
Essendon: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Sydney: Caiden Cleary (replaced Peter Ladhams at three quarter-time)
Essendon: Oskar Smartt (replaced Liam McMahon in the third quarter)

Crowd: 20,805 at the SCG