THE SYDNEY Swans will lick their wounds from their second defeat at Telstra Dome in as many weeks before bracing themselves for a vital clash against one of the hottest clubs in the AFL competition.
St Kilda outplayed the Swans, 15.7 (97) to 11.5 (71), on Saturday night, so the Swans will be looking forward to returning to their home ground in round eight for what looms as a huge clash against a rampaging Port Adelaide.
And the Swans, who were shown up by a Saints outfit that out-tackled Paul Roos’ men, have plenty to work on ahead of Sunday’s meeting at the SCG.
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon was able to effectively shut down the Swans forward line, but a lot of that came about due to the enormous pressure his side’s midfield was put under every time they had the football.
The tackle count said it all. The Swans prides themselves on their workrate and creating goals by forcing the opposition into turnovers. But a 55-39 win to the Saints in that area meant it was the visitors who, more often than not, were feeling the heat when they had the footy in their hands.
In the ruck, Darren Jolly and Peter Everitt got their hands to the ball enough, but when the ball did hit the ground the Saints more than matched their opponents.
Brett Kirk inspired with his typically ferocious attack on the ball while Jude Bolton was also gritty around the packs.
But Lyon didn’t allow Adam Goodes to get away after the dual Brownlow medallist started brightly and looked like he might grab this game by the scruff of the neck.
Similarly, the Saints didn’t allow the likes of Nic Fosdike and Jarrad McVeigh – two of the Swans free-running midfielders – to roam free whereas Leigh Montagna provided plenty of run for Lyon’s side.
But perhaps where the former Swans assistant had his biggest win was at each end of the ground.
Not only did both his key forwards in Fraser Gehrig and Nick Riewoldt fire, but his decision to drop men back into the Swans’ attacking zone worked a treat.
Barry Hall tried hard but became increasingly frustrated throughout the night – not only because he was battling two opponents for much of the night but also with the whistle-blowers, as he was on the wrong end of the free-kick count.
Hall needed the ball moved into the forward 50 quickly but the Saints did a good job of getting men back to help out. The Swans, the kings of tempo footy, were ‘out-tempoed’ to a degree by Lyon’s men.
With few other forwards looking likely to kick a winning score – as the hard-working Ryan O’Keefe was doing his best work further afield – the Swans fell down across half forward.
That reliance on Hall is something the Swans have no doubt already addressed in the past but are likely to review again, especially should the Power employ similar double-teaming tactics on their key spearhead.
Saturday’s loss leaves the Swans with a 3-4 record after seven rounds, as opposed to four wins from the first seven matches last season.
Following Port Adelaide next week, the Swans face the Western Bulldogs (Manuka Oval), Essendon (SCG) and Hawthorn (MCG), so they don’t have the easiest month ahead and need to start finding their best if they are to stay in touch with the competition pacesetters.
But the Swans won’t be looking at the bigger picture. Coach Paul Roos knows better than anyone that they need to focus on Port Adelaide and on getting their 2007 campaign back on track.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
