JOHN Longmire was pleased with how Sydney got to work after another poor start on Friday evening.
The Swans gave up 36 inside 50s to Essendon in the first half, but were aided by the Bombers' poor efficiency in attack, trailing by just seven points at the main break. After that, they put the foot down to create a 46-point turnaround, running out 39-point winners.
"I don't think that first half will go down in the history books, but that makes it even better and more satisfying in a lot of ways," Longmire said post-match.
"I mean, some of the games we've been able to win this year, we've been able to win with really strong, dominant performances from early on and we've been able to fizz the ball around and things are working pretty well and your system's all up and going and you sit back and say, 'that's a really good game'.
"But probably last week's battle that we had and our ability to hang in and come back, and tonight's win was even more pleasing."
Sydney has now won back-to-back games after a six-week patch in which it won just one game. The victories have come through grit and determination.
"It's not always about great footy, and you're not going to play super footy every game," Longmire said.
BOMBERS v SWANS Full match coverage and stats
Slow starts have been a persistent problem for the ladder-leaders, who have won just eight over their 22 games this year. Against the Bombers, they gave up the first two goals and trailed by five points at quarter time.
"Let's focus on the first quarters," Longmire said with a laugh.
"So, the first 15 minutes last week, we were really good. We just kicked a couple of goals really quickly; they kicked a couple of goals quickly. So, I thought our first quarter last week was pretty good except for that.
"There's been different things at different times, but we'll keep working on it."
The coach also praised Callum Mills for his role down back after a difficult start to his life as sole captain.
"It's been a challenging time for him," he said.
"He's been outstanding with his leadership, absolutely outstanding all season, even when he was out… and I thought tonight he was very good, and very good from the first bounce."
Longmire also wouldn't speculate on the future of Luke Parker, who kicked three goals in a strong performance.
When asked about suggestions that Parker was looking for a new home in 2024, he was short.
"No, let's just enjoy the moment," Longmire said.
Meanwhile, Brad Scott was frustrated once more with Essendon's inability to capitalise on the opportunities it created, particularly in the opening half.
"Unfortunately, it's been a bit of a trend in our season," Scott said of his side's poor forward efficiency.
"It's always got the feeling that if you don't take your opportunities, they're going to take theirs at some stage, which they did."
In the second half, the Bombers kicked four goals from 10 scores compared to Sydney's 12 goals from 16 scores. The performance follows Essendon's last-gasp loss to Gold Coast last week in which it kicked 1.9 to two goals in the last quarter to ultimately lose after the siren.
"it's a bit of polish, a bit of system, a bit of class that is the difference between us and the best. It's not the effort in the contest," Scott said.
The coach downplayed comparisons to last season, in which the Bombers fell away in a similar fashion late in the year.
"I get the correlation… I mean, four weeks ago is ancient history really. The foundation of what we're doing is really solid. We were incapable of competing against the best when it mattered last year," he said.
The Bombers are now effectively out of the finals race, while Sydney has all but sewn up the minor premiership, righting the ship with finals on the horizon.
