Patrick Ambrose - 4
Had the all-important job on Lance Franklin in the first half and was taught a lesson as Buddy ran riot in the second quarter. Lifted in the second stanza but the damage was done.

Mark Baguley - 4
Brave as usual but looked as flustered as his teammates during the Swans’ second-term tsunami. Sent a shiver through the SCG with a nasty-looking neck twist in a marking contest with Isaac Heeney but got up shaken to complete the game. 

Josh Begley – 5
Wasn’t the Dons' worst forward and slotted a pair of goals once the margin had blown out. Can only learn from such a finals lesson.

Full match coverage and stats

Tom Bellchambers - 7
One of the Bombers' few winners, providing good service from the tap with 44 hit-outs, even if those running off him were unable to take advantage.

Travis Colyer - 4
Had 20 touches and laid six tackles, but struggled to find any space to show his speed and get the Swans on the back foot. He certainly wasn’t alone in that group, though. 

Joe Daniher - 6
Got Bomber hearts pumping early with a soaring first-quarter mark and goal as it looked like he might get the better of Dane Rampe. Might have had more impact if given better service but his effort was constant.

Orazio Fantasia - 4
The game was well out of Essendon’s control before Fantasia got going. His dash was there but his impact was limited until an early final-quarter goal. 

Martin Gleeson - 6
Picked up as many touches as any Bomber other than Michael Hurley but his quality of disposal wasn’t the best and the Swans were happy to pounce on his errors. 

Brendon Goddard - 5
Played the loose man in defence for much of the night and tried manfully to keep the Swans at bay but had little time to find targets coming out of defence and thus his influence on the game was muted.

Michael Hartley - 3
Will learn a lot from the experience of playing finals footy. Did his best to support Michael Hurley down back, but the going was tough and Hartley was left another spectator in the Buddy show. 

Five things we learned from Sydney v Essendon

Dyson Heppell - 6
Was given hardly anything by Luke Parker and struggled to find a way to make an impact. Some wayward kicking didn’t help his cause but the skipper battled on to notch 24 touches and six tackles.

Michael Hurley - 6
The star defender got plenty of the ball but didn’t have a great evening. He couldn’t keep Callum Sinclair quiet and turned the ball over regularly coming out of the backline. Finished with 30 touches, the most of any Don and plucked ten marks. 

James Kelly - 6
The retiring veteran suffered a head knock in the first term and was powerless to stop the rampaging Sydney forwards. Battled on even once the war was won in his final game. 

Andrew McGrath - 5
The Rising Star winner showed glimpses of his best but was yet another Bomber to be overwhelmed by the Swans’ pressure.

Conor McKenna - 4
Struggled with his ball handling under Sydney’s defensive pressure. Ended up with 17 possessions but had little effect. 

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti - 3
Well beaten by Mills and Lloyd who, in tandem, kept the dangerous forward’s influence to a minimum. Desperately wanted space to run but was denied.

Zach Merrett - 5
Got up to speed nearing the end of the opening term but was clearly targeted by the Swans, who kept his impact well in check. 

David Myers - 6
Another to surrender blood in the first term, but the injury-cursed midfielder battled on and made some valuable contributions, including a goal in the second quarter.  

Darcy Parish - 7
Led the Bombers’ inside work with a team-high 14 contested possessions, eight clearances and made five tackles.

James Stewart - 3
Had little impact on the game at forward, unable to adjust to the game’s tempo and flow. Missed an important early set shot that could have settled the Dons.

Jobe Watson - 5
Looked out of sorts early on, despite 12 touches in the first half. Finished with 20 in the end, including 10 contested, but couldn’t halt the Swans’ rampage through midfield. The champ departs with just a single finals win to his name. 

David Zaharakis - 7
A chief protagonist of Essendon’s early forward pressure and finished with a game-high 11 tackles, nearly twice as many as the next highest Bomber.