Swans sweat on key man for Geelong showdown
Andrew Wu
SMH, July 31
As Geelong await the fate of Brownlow Medallist Patrick Dangerfield, Sydney are sweating on the fitness of their own gun midfielder with Josh Kennedy under an injury cloud for Friday night's blockbuster.
The Swans will on Monday learn the full toll from their costly loss to Hawthorn with Gary Rohan, Jake Lloyd and Sam Naismith also in doubt for the daunting road trip to Geelong.
However key forward Sam Reid is in line to return after missing the past fortnight with a groin issue.
The Cats have their major worries as well with Dangerfield to come under scrutiny from the match review panel for a tackle that left Carlton's Matthew Kreuzer concussed.
Their top four hopes all but dashed, Sydney's finals hopes are now hanging in the balance with the club likely to need to win in either Geelong or Adelaide to secure an eighth consecutive September campaign.
Their chances of inflicting a rare defeat on the Cats at Simonds Stadium hinge on a favourable injury report on Kennedy's hamstring.
With their three-time best and fairest limited to only 14 possessions, the Swans were well beaten for the contested ball – an area in which they are usually strong.
The Swans are encouraged by Kennedy's ability to play out the game though the results of scans are likely to determine his availability.
"It was pretty disappointing on the night – it was pretty tight," Kennedy said on Channel Seven's AFL Game Day program on Sunday."
"We'll have a scan and check it early this week and hopefully get through training and look to next week. We won't know anything until Monday."
Tippett in frame to play Geelong
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, July 31
SYDNEY Swans whipping boy Kurt Tippett could still be the play a major role for the Swans in 2017 and is in line for a return to senior football this weekend.
With Sam Naismith sore and Callum Sinclair battling to make an impact against Hawthorn on Friday night the high-priced big man is in line for selection in Friday night’s massive match against Geelong at Simonds Stadium.
Tippett didn’t play on the weekend with the Swans reserves having the bye but he booted five goals in the NEAFL the week before and has his fragile body in one piece for the first time this year.
“He’s good to go,” Swans football manager Tom Harley said.
“A fit and firing Kurt Tippett is certainly good for the Swans.”
Longmire calls for better goal review cameras
Andrew Wu and Jon Pierik
SMH, The Age, July 30
Sydney coach John Longmire has called for the AFL to install better quality cameras for its goal review system but the league on Saturday defended the process.
Hawthorn's Liam Shiels was awarded a goal at a crucial stage of the final quarter on Friday night after the video umpire could not conclusively prove Swans defender Lewis Melican had touched the ball. The Hawks were victorious by six points - their second win over the Swans this season.
Opinion was split as to whether the right call was made but Longmire wants the AFL to invest money so that video umpires are armed with better footage to make their decision.
"I really like the concept of the goal review, but unless we get better cameras it almost defeats the purpose of it," Longmire said.
"I really like the idea that you try and get the right score, that's what it's all about, but surely there is better vision that we can achieve.
"There are better cameras or better views that we can get in world sport somewhere that can actually determine and slow the ball down so it's not as blurry so you can work out what it is.
"I don't think it's a waste of time. I think it's a good, sound concept, but we need to spend some money.
"I don't know, I'm not up there with the technical camera work, but hopefully we can actually invest and get some quality cameras that can actually determine what's actually happened, rather than just seeing the blurred vision we see now."
Isaac Heeney again penalised for a tackle which would be praised in NRL
Neil Cordy
Sunday Telegraph, July 30
IF the AFL wants to attract NRL supporters, it needs to have a clear definition of a legitimate hard tackle.
Isaac Heeney has been penalised for the second time in a week for executing tackles that would have been applauded in the NRL.
Heeney grew up playing league in Newcastle before being spotted by the Swans Academy and knows how to execute a tackle.
He has also never been suspended in his three years in the AFL.
His tackle last week on Jarryn Geary did lift the St Kilda skipper but he released his opponent once he was off the ground and did not drive him into it.
Geary played on without any discomfort.
The tackle on Friday night on Hawthorn’s Blake Hardwick was a perfectly executed tackle yet he was penalised again.
Swans coach John Longmire won’t be asking the umpiring department for any clarification of the tackles but said the game needs to applaud the defensive side of play, as well as the goal scoring and high marking.
The NSW-born coach said the AFL could learn a few lessons from the NRL.
“As a general rule you’d like to be able to celebrate the physical side of the game and that’s what rugby league do so well,” Longmire said.
“There’s good in both parts of the game attack and defence and not just one part.”
Hawthorn break Sydney Swans' hearts again in Josh Kennedy's 200th game
Andrew Wu
SMH, July 29
Alastair Clarkson has done it again. The Hawthorn coach has pulled another rabbit out of the hat as the Hawks ruined Josh Kennedy's milestone game to leave Sydney's finals hopes on the brink.
A season which seemed headed for disaster may yet have an unlikely September finale for the Hawks, who will head into the weekend just two points out of the eight after upsetting the Swans on Friday night.
The faces at Hawthorn might be different but the ending is eerily familiar. For the second time this season, the Hawks downed the Swans by a goal, ending Sydney's seven-game winning streak.
The win keeps alive the Hawks' finals dream while the Swans' hopes of making the top four are all but dashed. Their season is also on shaky ground with a road trip to Geelong next Friday night.
Sydney fail the test against Hawthorn
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, July 29
Hawthorn are kryptonite for Sydney and proved it again at the MCG as they inflicted yet another defeat on the Swans, this time by six points.
The red and whites have won just three times in the last 12 matches against the Hawks since beating them in the 2012 grand final and just twice in their last seven attempts at the G.
The loss is just the second for Sydney in the last 13 rounds and it’s been Alastair Clarkson’s men who have inflicted the pain both times.
The defeat halts their seven game winning streak and puts a dent in their hopes of a top four finish with away games to come against the top two teams Geelong and Adelaide in the last four rounds.
It was a low scoring war of attrition which swung backwards and forwards throughout the night with the Swans trailing for most of the night before getting their noses in front in the last quarter.
Tom Papley was outstanding for the Swans and gave them a chance to pinch a draw or a win when his third goal moved them within six points with just a minute left on the clock. But when the Hawks gathered possession in defence they were able to maintain possession and run down the clock.
There was injury added to insult as well with 200 gamer Josh Kennedy forced to play hurt when he took a knock to his thigh in the second quarter. He bravely played on against his former team but his impact on the game was seriously limited and finished the night with just 14 disposals, well down on his normal output.
Hawthorn rough up the Sydney Swans to keep season alive
Courtney Walsh
The Australian, July 29
Hawthorn may be building for the future, but the defiant heavyweights of this decade remain more than capable of being dream demolishers, as evidenced again at the MCG last night.
The Hawks kept their season alive by defeating arch-rivals Sydney 10.12 (72) to 9.12 (66) in a gritty, combative and ultimately thrilling affair attended by 52,182.
A lengthy score review midway through the final term, which resulted in a goal to Liam Shiels, proved critical and could have ramifications beyond the match.
The review ultimately ruled in favour of Shiels getting his boot to the ball as Swan defender Lewis Melican was trying to rush it through on the goal line.
Managing to find an answer whenever challenged by the Swans, Hawthorn now sit just two points outside the eight with a month remaining.
Results must still fall their way for Hawthorn to play in an eighth successive finals series, but in their current form, they will start favourites in three of their four remaining matches.
It is a bitter loss for the Swans, which squandered an opportunity to move to third spot overnight.
