Sydney maintained its 100 per cent record in Hobart and notched a third win for 2019 with a nail-biting five-point victory over North Melbourne in a spirited contest at Blundstone Arena on Saturday night.
Having surged to the lead during an impressive seven-goal second quarter, the Swans out-scrapped the Kangaroos at times and ultimately refused to yield, despite a late North Melbourne revival to run out 11.11 (77) to 10.12 (72) victors.
Both sides entered the match with just two wins for the season, and while it was hardly a spectacle until the frantic final minutes, it was a contest packed full of feeling with players coming together on several occasions to remonstrate when the almost-constant niggle spilled over.
Out on their feet late in the final term, the Swans somehow repelled wave after wave of North Melbourne attack and were forced to dig incredibly deep to hold off the Kangaroos after Jared Polec slotted a goal from the boundary to reduce the margin to just five points with less than two minutes remaining.
As it was, desperate team defence and a couple of telling intercept marks from the impressive Jordan Dawson was just enough for the Swans to prevail.
The news pre-match that Josh Kennedy (quad) had been withdrawn from the selected side may have rocked Swans fans given his important leadership and contested work, but outstanding performances from George Hewett (29 disposals, 20 contested and six centre clearances) and Luke Parker (28 disposals and nine tackles) allowed Sydney to match the Kangaroos in the clinches.
With Kennedy missing, the Swans fielded the second-youngest side in the AFL this week and featured 11 players with fewer than 50 games to their credit.
But even when under siege at times during the final term – most notably after four consecutive North Melbourne goals narrowed the gap to within one straight kick – the young Swans were somehow able to record a hard-earned win.
Having trailed by nine points at quarter time, largely due to a brace of goals from Kangaroo Kayne Turner, Sydney swarmed all over North in a second term that saw them return a remarkable 7.2 from 14 forward entries, including a couple of special efforts from busy small forward Tom Papley who finished with four goals on the night.
Papley’s first was a beautifully measured finish from outside 50m to open scoring for the quarter, but it was the second, a juggling effort as he flirted with the boundary before toe-poking home from point-blank range, that really sparked the Swans.
At one stage the Swans had kicked six on the trot and their 21-point lead at the main break was built on the back of wins in clearances (21-13), tackles (46-35) and contested possession (87-74).
Jack Ziebell was tireless for the Kangaroos in gathering 35 disposals and 10 marks and was arguably the best player on the ground despite his side going down.
Young defenders Dawson and Jake Lloyd were impressive for the Swans early, but their half-time lead was somewhat tempered by a game-ending hamstring injury to Zak Jones.
MEDICAL ROOM
North Melbourne: Todd Goldstein was left in serious discomfort after copping a stray elbow to the throat early in the third term but was able to resume after regaining his composure on the bench.
Sydney: Zak Jones pulled up short on the outer wing during the second term and hobbled to the bench where ice was immediately applied to his left hamstring. Scans during the week will determine the extent of the damage. Isaac Heeneyundertook a concussion test during the final quarter, but was able to return to the field and played an important part for Sydney on the night.
NEXT UP
The Swans will be back at it when they host Collingwood under lights at the SCG on Friday night. North Melbourne will tackle the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.1 5.3 6.7 10.12 (72)
SYDNEY 1.4 8.6 10.10 11.11 (77)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Turner 2, Brown, Wood, Cunnington, Larkey, Zurhaar, Simpkin, Tarrant, Polec
Sydney: Papley 4, Florent 2, Blakey, McCartin, Heeney, Lloyd, Dawson
BEST
North Melbourne: Ziebell, Anderson, Tarrant, Macmillan, Simpkin
Sydney: Hewett, Parker, Papley, Dawson, Lloyd, Heeney
Injuries:
North Melbourne: TBC
Sydney: Jones (hamstring), Heeney (head)
