HAWTHORN’S three-match winning streak hasbeen halted after a nine-point loss to the Swans in another frustratinglylow-scoring encounter at the MCG.
Headed by Lance Franklin, the Hawks stageda late surge but were left without the four points as the Swans tacticallyoutsmarted them to win 11.9 (75) to 9.12 (66), which leaves Alastair Clarksonstill without a win over the 2005 premiers.
Franklin kicked six goals for the Hawks but it wasn't enough to withstandthe Swans, as they implemented their tempo-footy game plan that systematicallydismantled the home side.
The Swans set up the win after the firstbreak – kicking 10 goals to five in three quarters – and shut down the Hawks inthe second with suffocating play before they slowly but surely kicked away.
Brad Sewell was terrific for the Hawks whenopposed to dual Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes, while Campbell Brown keptMichael O'Loughlin to only one goal and eight possessions.
The Swans lost Tadhg Kennelly early on withthe Irishman helped from the field in the first minute with a suspectedrecurrence of the right knee injury that sidelined him earlier in the season,while Luke Ablett was a late withdrawal and Darren Jolly struggled with a corklate in the game.
Franklin opened up with a three-goal first term and had help from JarrydRoughead, who was looking strong after starting on the bench to present well upforward.
The Hawks dominated the inside 50s for theopening term, and were much harder at the man than the Swans, who lookedunwilling to attack and sluggish.
A chorus of boos ricocheted around theground when Peter ‘Spida’ Everitt grabbed his first possession at thefour-minute mark, but the crowd erupted with delight when Shane Crawford upendedthe former Hawk after the ball dribbled out of play later on.
Ben McGlynn continued with his red-hot formto pick up eight possessions in the opening term, while Sewell also found theball eight times.
The Swans rotated defenders Craig Boltonand Leo Barry on Franklinin a bid to curb the big forward, while the Hawks got away with playing anextra man in defence for much of the term.
With an 18-point deficit, the Swans cameout in the second quarter determined to get matters back on their own terms. Itwasn't long before they succeeded, and the result saw Franklin get the ball only twice in thestanza.
The 2005 premiers then bottled up the matchand ground out four unanswered goals to earn the lead, as the Hawks struggledto cope with the slower pace of proceedings.
Sewell and McGlynn remained as the Hawks'primary possession winners while Brown lifted his work rate in defence and theprecise Sam Mitchell continued to find targets.
The Hawks' only goal for the term came whenChance Bateman accepted a short pass from Mitchell and ran into space to splitthe big sticks, which sent the lead back to the home side and gave it atwo-point buffer at the main break.
The chorus of hooting that saw both sidesoff at half time was reminiscent of the Hawks' ugly round eight clash with theSaints, as only 10 goals had been registered between the two sides on the crispand clear Melbourne afternoon.
Two undisciplined acts by the Hawks gavethe Swans the buffer they needed early in the third. Trent Croad directed akick-out at Swan Tim Schmidt, which gifted the youngster a goal, before DannyJacobs was penalised for holding and gave Adam Schneider a shot at the sticks.
With both kicks converted, it was the Swansby an even two goals as the visitors tactically shifted from closing down theiropposition to making an impact on the scoreboard.
Franklin then re-entered the fray and kicked a goal, which was cruelly nullifiedwhen Ted Richards ran into an empty goal-square up the other end, but the bestwas yet to come from the man they call "Buddy".
Franklin accepted a handpass in the centre square deep into red time andproceeded to run almost 50m before slotting his fifth, which put the Hawkswithin a goal.
O'Loughlin then out-marked Brown and kickedhis first for the afternoon after the siren, which made it a nine-point ballgame with a quarter to go.
The tight contest continued and the firstgoal came at the 10-minute mark when the Hawks shanked a kick-in that wascrumbed and expertly slotted by Nick Davis.
A free kick awarded against Robert Campbellfor catching Amon Buchanan high gave the Swans their 11th goal – anda 23-point lead – which looked enough at the 15-minute mark, considering thenature of the game.
The Hawks salvaged another two goals viaCampbell and Buddy, but ran out of time and cruelly fell nine points short ofthe suffocating Swans.
They now face the Blues on Friday night atTelstra Dome in the first match of the split round, before embarking on theirmid-season week off.
HAWTHORN 4.3 5.5 7.9 9.12 (66)
SYDNEY 1.3 5.3 9.6 11.9 (75)
GOALS
Hawthorn: L Franklin 6, R Ladson, C Bateman,R Campbell
Sydney: Davis 3, L Barry 2, S Dempster, T Schmidt, A Schneider, T Richards, M O'Loughlin,A Buchanan
BEST
Hawthorn: B Sewell, C Brown, S Mitchell,L Franklin, S Crawford
Sydney: B Kirk, N Fosdike, L Barry, N Malceski, J Bolton
INJURIES
Hawthorn: TBA
Sydney: L Ablett (back) out, replaced in selected side by T Schmidt, T Kennelly(knee), D Jolly (corked knee)
Reports: TBA
Umpires: McBurney, James, Rosebury
Official crowd: 48,398 at the MCG
