THE SYDNEY Swans have kept pace with fellow premiership favourites Hawthorn in the hunt for top spot on the ladder after toppling Port Adelaide by 26 points.
The teams were locked in a dogfight until the Swans gave themselves enough breathing space in the second half to win 12.12 (84) to 7.16 (58) at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
With million-dollar recruits Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett well held by Power duo Jack Hombsch and Alipate Carlile, Ben McGlynn rose to the occasion for the Swans kicking three goals and collecting 21 touches.
Brownlow contender Josh Kennedy terrorised the Power with 33 disposals along with fellow midfield stars Luke Parker, Kieren Jack and Craig Bird, who combined for an impressive 25 tackles.
Young gun Harry Cunningham was also impressive with three goals.
Swans coach John Longmire praised the even spread of performance form his playing group.
"That's what we rely upon but there's no secret to that. It's across the competition to make sure that you have a number of contributors and we thought we had a pretty even performance form our team tonight," he said.
"There's always a focus on a couple, but we think in general it's an even team performance that usually gets us over the line."
The Swans opened the scoring when Cunningham broke clear into an open 50 and goaled, but Port hit back instantly when Jake Neade slotted a free-kick.
Neade was in the thick of it again to set up Chad Wingard for a goal before McGlynn leveled proceedings, only for the Power to regain a slender one-point lead at the first break.
The Swans moved back in front when Franklin goaled after benefiting from a controversial decision.
Franklin bundled Hombsch to the ground with a hefty push, but the umpire was unmoved as the superstar forward strolled in to kick his first goal.
It was all Franklin needed to escape Hombsch's clutches momentarily as the dual premiership player booted a second.
Goals failed to materialise following Buddy's back-to-back effort, until Power ruckman Matthew Lobbe stepped to the plate.
McGlynn bagged another major on the half-time siren to give the Swans an 11-point buffer.
McGlynn then grabbed his third after the break before Kurt Tippett got in on the act, but just as the visitors attempted to pull clear Port skipper Travis Boak pegged the margin back with a sweet finish from a tight angle.
Both sides then traded goals with Cunningham and Boak - the beneficiary of a 50-metre penalty - adding to their tally.
Tippett popped up in traffic to kick his second to start the fourth term, shortly before being handed the red vest.
The Swans kicked three more goals in his absence to the Power's two, with Cunningham icing the victory after the siren.
Ultimately, Power coach Ken Hinkley was left to lament missed opportunities; his side failed to convert a host of chances from very gettable positions.
"We put ourselves in positions to probably affect the scoreboard more than we did, we didn't complete the task," Hinkley said.
"That's the difference between a very good side and a good side."
It was a tough contest from start to finish, as Adam Goodes can attest to. Picture: AFL Media
PORT ADELAIDE 2.3 3.7 5.12 7.16 (58)
SYDNEY SWANS 2.2 5.6 8.9 12.12 (84)
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Boak 2, Neade 2, Wingard, Lobbe, Westhoff
Sydney Swans: Cunningham 3, McGlynn 3, Franklin 2, Tippett 2, Rohan
BEST
Port Adelaide: Boak, Gray, Polec, O'Shea, Hombsch, Ebert
Sydney Swans: McGlynn, Parker, Richards, Kennedy, Bird, Cunningham
INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Nil
Sydney Swans: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Port Adelaide: Jackson Trengove replaced by Jasper Pittard in the third quarter
Sydney Swans: Kurt Tippett replaced by Jake Lloyd in the fourth quarter
Reports: Nil
Port Adelaide: Nil
Sydney Swans: Nil
Umpires: Fisher, Rosbury, Chamberlain
Official crowd: 50,087 at Port Adelaide Oval
