FIVE goals from Barry Hall and a dominant first quarter from the Sydney Swans has enabled them to fend off a spirited Melbourne in the second half, running out 40-point winners at Manuka Oval on Sunday.
The Swans defeated the Demons 17.12 (114) to 11.8 (74) to record their sixth consecutive win. Melbourne has now lost five of its past six matches against the Swans.
Hall was outstanding for the Swans, setting the tone – and ultimately the platform for victory – early in the match, with three goals in the first term and four by the main change. The Swans had 28 inside 50s to 16 in a dominant first half.
Co-captain Brett Kirk was outstanding with 27 disposals, while Marty Mattner, Darren Jolly, Craig Bolton and Michael O'Loughlin were key contributors to the win.
For the Demons, Matthew Bate was a standout with four goals, while Lynden Dunn restricted the influence of dual Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes. Brad Green was also among Melbourne's best.
The match couldn't have got off to a worse start for Melbourne.
The Swans got their first on the board just 40 seconds into the match; by the six-minute mark they had three goals to zip – Melbourne had accumulated just seven disposals by this point – and when Hall nabbed back-to-back majors, the Swans were up by 29 points.
Cameron Bruce opened Melbourne's account at the 15-minute mark, but Sydney's dominant seven goal to two opening resulted in a 30-point lead at the first break.
The second term was a goal-for-goal affair, although it was a lacklustre period marred by skill errors. Still, the most important aspect from Melbourne's perspective was its ability to remain with the Swans rather than be blown away.
As a result, the Swans held a similar buffer, up by 32 points at the main change.
Kirk continued his recent All-Australian-like form with 16 touches in the first-half, as well as having the better of Brock McLean, who had been Melbourne's most consistent performer over the past month.
Bate was Melbourne's only shining light when it was struggling. He landed three goals by half time and kept presenting in attack, either pushing up from half-forward or deep inside 50.
Melbourne produced an outstanding turnaround in the third quarter.
Brad Miller kick-started the revival with the first goal of the second half, and when big-man Paul Johnson threaded through a beauty from the pocket at the scoreboard end and Austin Wonaeamirri bobbed up, the Demons trailed by just 16 points.
The Swans landed their first for the term at the 12-minute mark, when Hall booted his fifth, but when Bate landed his fourth, Melbourne had cut the deficit to just 11 points.
But O'Loughlin's second just before three quarter-time gave the Swans some breathing space and a 17-point advantage heading into the final stanza.
And when the Swans posted the first three goals of the final term via Marty Mattner, Nick Malceski and Lewis Roberts-Thomson, they were back out to a 35-point lead and victory was assured.
Sydney Swans 7.2 10.5 12.10 17.12 (114)
Melbourne 2.2 5.3 10.5 11.8 (74)
GOALS
Sydney Swans: Hall 5, Buchanan 2, Mattner 2, O'Loughlin 2, Goodes, Jolly, Malceski, R.O'Keefe, Playfair, Roberts-Thomson
Melbourne: Bate 4, Wonaeamirri 3, Bruce, P.Johnson, McLean, Miller
BEST
Sydney Swans: Hall, Kirk, Mattner, Jolly, C.Bolton, O'Loughlin
Melbourne: Bate, Dunn, Green, P.Johnson, Garland, C.Johnson
INJURIES
Sydney Swans: None
Melbourne: None
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Sully, Grun, Head
Official crowd: 11,437 at Manuka Oval
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
