THE SYDNEY Swans have leapt to the top of the AFL ladder after pipping Essendon by four points in a remarkable match at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
The Swans led by as much as 48 points late in the third quarter before Essendon stormed home with a nine-goals-to-two final term to get within four points in the dying minutes.
With just seconds remaining, Bomber defender Courtenay Dempsey marked outside 50 and played on just as the siren went, preventing him from taking a difficult set shot and allowing the Swans to win, 13.8 (86) to 11.16 (82).
Five talking points: Essendon v Sydney Swans
Just two minutes earlier, Swans speedster Lewis Jetta, the most influential player on the field with his pace, field kicking and goal sense, had put the Swans 10 points clear with his third goal.
The Bombers fell agonisingly short of recording what would have been the greatest comeback after three-quarter time, when they trailed by 47 points.
It was a stunning finish to a match that had long appeared over.
Swans coach John Longmire was naturally pleased with his team's effort for three quarters and was just relieved to escape with the points.
"I couldn't have been happier at three-quarter time to come down and play Essendon … who are equal top on the ladder, on their home deck, in front of a good size crowd and (lead) 11 goals to two," he said.
"There are some things we needed to do better in the last quarter. You can’t hide from that fact … We stopped but ultimately we were able to get over the line."
Essendon coach James Hird lamented the Bombers' poor delivery and conversion.
"We didn’t execute in our forward line very well - whether that's bad football, it probably is," he said. "We didn’t kick goals when we should have and we didn’t convert our opportunities early in the game, which left us with too far to go.
"But the end shows a lot of fight and spirit in this football team. You've just got to convert those wins and hopefully next [game] we will."
For most of the night, the Swans proved too sharp, composed and fanatical for the Bombers.
The past four clashes between the two clubs have been decided by a total of 19 points - for two wins apiece.
Click here to see the best match pics
The Swans appeared home when they held the Bombers to just 2.15 by three-quarter-time and made surprisingly easy work of the contest.
After conceding the first goal of the match inside five minutes, the Swans piled on nine consecutive goals. Meanwhile, Essendon added 13 straight behinds before scoring their second goal, which didn't come until midway through the third term.
The signs weren't good for the Bombers even before the first bounce, with midfielder David Zaharakis withdrawing with a quad tear that will sideline him for up to six weeks. But for three quarters, the Bombers were lacking a lot more than Zaharakis.
Remarkably, Essendon lost despite convincingly leading the inside 50s (78-50) and contested possessions (180-151) - but the Dons let themselves down with deplorable kicking to their forwards, caused largely by the Swans ferocious pressure.
The Swans teamed superbly with chains of quick handballs that released teammates like Jetta, Marty Mattner, Tony Armstrong and Rhyce Shaw into space, and that's where they did much of the damage.
The Bomber concerns about the Swans' pace were evident at half-time when they subbed off ruckman Tom Bellchambers for David Myers.
Meanwhile, Swans midfielder Dan Hanneberry was subbed off with a shoulder injury in the third term.
By virtue of the Swans' strong percentage, and the fact West Coast and Adelaide have byes, and Collingwood doesn't play until Monday, they have vaulted from fifth to first as a logjam forms at the head of the table. The Bombers would have claimed top spot themselves if they had won.
The Bombers have now lost consecutive games and will no doubt do much soul-searching when they have their bye next week, before a tough assignment against the Fremantle Dockers at Patersons Stadium.
ESSENDON 1.5 1.11 2.15 11.16 (82)
SYDNEY SWANS 5.3 8.6 11.8 13.8 (86)
GOALS
Essendon: Davey 3, Watson 2, Hocking, Howlett, Jetta, Lovett-Murray, Myers, Stanton
Sydney Swans: Jetta 3, Jack 2, Reid 2, Bolton, Everitt, McVeigh, Mumford, Roberts-Thomson, Shaw
BEST
Essendon: Watson, Davey, Dyson, Howlett, Heppell, Hooker, Dyson
Sydney Swans: Jetta, Bolton, Armstrong, Bird, Kennedy, Richards, McVeigh
INJURIES
Essendon: David Zaharakis (quad) replaced in selected side by Nathan Lovett-Murray
Sydney Swans: Hannebery (concussion)
SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Tom Bellchambers replaced by David Myers at half-time
Sydney Swans: Dan Hannebery (concussion) replaced by Nick Malceski in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, Meredith, McInerney
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
