A DOMINANT midfield display led by Josh Kennedy has seen the Sydney Swans grind out a nine-point win over Fremantle in a scrappy affair at Drummoyne Oval on Sunday afternoon.
On an afternoon where there was sunshine, wind, heavy rain and frequent planes directly overhead, the Swans did what they needed to without losing any of their prime players to fresh injuries.
The Swans raced out of the blocks and held off a late Fremantle charge to win 1.7.14 (65) to 1.6.11 (56).
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Fremantle may face a nervous wait after star forward Michael Walters was reported for misconduct against Craig Bird during the third quarter.
Coach Ross Lyon was quizzed about the incident after the game but said he didn't see it.
Sexual equality was celebrated with rainbow colours on the 50m arc, the goal pads and the umpires' flags, which marked the AFL's first official pride game.
But those who packed the small, picturesque ground in Sydney's inner west would have been disappointed with the game time of Lance Franklin, with the Swans' boom recruit kept to limited minutes.
When he did play, he was met by Michael Johnson and often double-teamed by Alex Silvagni, which made life difficult for the former Hawk as the wind picked up and the ground got slippery.
Franklin didn't play much after half-time and was subbed out at three-quarter time in his first competitive hit-out for the year, after just six touches and one goal.
But there was plenty for the pro-Swans crowd to enjoy with Kennedy racking up 33 possessions and Luke Parker, Kieren Jack and Dan Hannebery enjoying solid games.
"It was pretty scrappy most of the day, actually, but we were just happy to get some pressure and some hit around the ball," Swans assistant coach Henry Playfair said after the match.
"We were pretty disappointed with how we played last week [against the Brisbane Lions] and to come out and win the tackles by 25 and the contested ball by 23 … to get that hit was really important for us."
Talented youngster Isaac Heeney was hard to miss, and it wasn't just his shock of platinum hair that caught the eye.
He collected 13 touches and had a handful of shots at goal that could have translated to more than one major had the wind not been so influential.
Lewis Jetta looks to be spending more time across half-back and had 16 touches while Adam Goodes played everywhere after starting at full forward.
The Swans had 17 members of last year's Grand Final team playing while the Dockers' side featured a number of their A-graders, including Nat Fyfe on return from a hamstring injury.
Lyon worried about Ballantyne's injury
Fyfe was one of the Dockers' best and proved his fitness when he went on a long run down the wing and blasted the ball inside 50.
He failed to hit Matthew Pavlich, who had a quiet game and one possession in the first term, which was indicative of the skills of many of the players in an early pre-season game.
"It was a difficult day for both teams, I would have thought," Lyon said.
"Small narrow ground, 50km winds howling down one way, and in the end the rain came.
"But I thought there was good intensity, they were beating us around the contest for a fair bit of the day and we probably didn't handle the conditions that well.
"We fought it out, exposed some of our young players and got within six points … the last quarter was reflective of the conditions – whoever had it basically got on top."
Lachie Neale showed again why he'll be in pretty much everyone's Fantasy teams this year with 33 possessions; 19 of which were in the first half.
But as the wet set in, the Dockers failed to score in the third quarter before coming home with a bang in the last to make the final margin tighter.
They travelled without Aaron Sandilands and Luke McPharlin, who pulled out before the bounce, as well as Ryan Crowley, Michael Barlow and Zac Dawson.
The Swans were cautious and didn't play Jarrad McVeigh, who is coming back from a calf injury, while Kurt Tippett, Ben McGlynn and Sam Reid were also out.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Sydney Swans: The Swans are gradually getting time into their forwards and are all about the gently-gently approach with their veterans – Franklin and Goodes were on limited minutes and there were no risks taken with McVeigh, whose calf tightened up after training on Friday. But we saw that even when conditions are atrocious, the Swans' blue-chip midfield finds a way to get things done. Dean Towers also won the praise of Playfair after a solid start where he provided plenty of pressure and Dan Robinson played well in the second half. Jetta also appears to have been given an off-season positional change and spent more minutes across half-back. Heeney is also not doing his chances of playing in round one any harm either, with back-to-back impressive performances.
Fremantle: Hard to get a gauge on much given the conditions and players out but Neale doesn't look like easing off at all after his breakout 2014. He was the Dockers' leading ball winner and their best midfielder, and won a massive nine clearances. Not an easy day for the bigger guys either and while the majority of Freo's best backmen were out, Alex Silvagni was composed against Franklin at times when the defence was under siege.
NEW FACES
Sydney Swans: No new faces for the Swans this week but Isaac Heeney continued to impress in his second competitive game and won the praise of Playfair after the match. He commands attention when he goes near the ball and plays like someone with years more experience.
Fremantle:Lachie Weller started as the substitute and came on for just two possessions for the last quarter when the rain was bucketing down.
Michael Johnson and Josh Kennedy compete for the ball during Sunday's contest. Picture: AFL Media
SYDNEY SWANS 0.3.6 0.5.8 1.6.13 1.7.14 (65)
FREMANTLE 0.0.3 0.3.7 0.3.7 1.6.11 (56)
SUPERGOALS
Sydney Swans: Parker
Fremantle: Clarke
GOALS
Sydney Swans: Bird 2, Cunningham, Hannebery, Heeney, Franklin, B. Jack
Fremantle: de Boer 2, Fyfe 2, Suban, Mayne
BEST
Sydney Swans: Kennedy, Parker, Jack, Hannebery, Heeney
Fremantle: Neale, Johnson, Fyfe, Mundy
INJURIES
Sydney Swans: McVeigh (calf – pulled out before game), Bird (corked quad)
Fremantle: Ballantyne (calf), Mzungu (hamstring tightness)
SUBSTITUTES
Sydney Swans: Lance Franklin and Craig Bird (corked quad) subbed out for Toby Nankervis and Xavier Richards at three-quarter time
Fremantle: Tendai Mzungu subbed out for Lachie Weller
Reports: Walters (Fremantle) reported for misconduct against Craig Bird (Sydney Swans) in the third quarter.
Umpires: Fisher, Rosebury, Brown, Hay
Official crowd: 4343 at Drummoyne Oval
