History shows that did not transpire, but the Swans may have found their one-two forward punch for the upcoming season, with Hall and Scott Stevens proving a lethal combination on Sunday.
With Lockett watching on from the outer, Hall booted five first half goals before being rested and Stevens finished with four goals, as the Swans hung on to an eight point win over Essendon in the first inter-club match of the AFL pre-season.
The Swans looked sharp in their first pre-season game under Paul Roos, and took to the small ground, drizzle and modified 15-a-side rules better than the Bombers.
Sydney was in control for most of the first half, and moved to a 17-point half-time lead before both coaches took a leaf from English soccer manager Sven Goran Eriksson’s book, making mass changes at the main break.
With a number of first year and rookie players getting their opportunity to impress in the second half, the pace and intensity of the game slowed, before Essendon’s unknowns gave the game a thrilling finale.
Sydney led by 32 points late in the final quarter before the likes of Ken Hall, Ben Haynes, and Jason Laycock turned the game on its head as the Bombers roared home to take the lead.
Ted Richards’ goal late in time on gave Essendon a four-point lead, its first advantage since just after quarter time, before Stevens and Adam Schneider put the Swans back on top and secured the win.
The Bombers started the game well, with Lloyd and McVeigh goaling early in proceedings. Hall then took control, kicking four goals for the term and putting one shot into the fig tree that overhangs the ground to give Sydney the lead. With the teams trading goals, the Swans went to the first break with a nine point edge.
Sydney took control in the second term. After goals to Corey McGrath and Misiti, the Swans kicked six unanswered goals to move to a 40-point lead. With the potential to treat the crowd to a rout, Sydney took its foot of the accelerator to allow the visitors back into the contest.
Back-to-back 50 metre penalties against Hall and Nicks saw Jason Laycock move from centre half back to within 30 metres of goal, and his conversation saw momentum turn.
Goals to Adam McPhee, Jobe Watson and Mark Bolton saw Essendon’s deficit cut to 17 points at half time, and was the signal for both coaches to swing the changes at the major break.
The third quarter saw Stevens kick two more goals and Josh Thewlis goal with his first kick for Sydney, while Lloyd kicked two to take his tally to four and Watson kicked his second.
Dean Rioli warmed up with Essendon but left the field before the start of the contest and did not play, while Dean Solomon, returning from knee surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2002 campaign, did not take part.
Match Details:
Sydney: 5.5 12.7 15.11 19.13 (127)
Essendon: 4.2 10.2 12.4 19.5 (119)
Goals: Sydney: Hall 5, Stevens 4, J.Bolton 2, Dempster 2, Williams 2, Maxfield, Nicks, Thewlis, Schneider. Essendon: Lloyd 4, Watson 2, Laycock 2, Bolton 2, McVeigh, Ramanauskas, McGrath, Misiti, McPhee, Haynes, Hall, Cupido, Richards.
Best: Sydney: Hall, Stevens Goodes, Williams. Essendon: Lloyd, Laycock, Johnson.
Injuries: Sydney: nil. Essendon: nil
Reports: nil.
Umpires: Gavin Dore, Stuart Wenn, Stephen McBurney
Crowd: 7,328 at North Sydney Oval, Sydney
