A SIZZLING third-term blitz has helped the Sydney Swans to a 91-point victory and the Marn Grook Trophy against Essendon at ANZ Stadium at Homebush.
The Bombers worked themselves to within two goals late in the third quarter but a late five-goal run gave the Swans a 42-point three-quarter time lead.
They extended that in the final term in emphatic fashion to run out big winners 21.17 (143) to 7.10 (52).
Michael O'Loughlin was the most effective forward on the boggy field with six goals, including three in the last term, while Craig Bolton did a superb job in keeping Matthew Lloyd to just one goal.
Amazingly the Swans kicked the last 13 goals of the match.
Injuries to Tadhg Kennelly (dislocated knee) and Craig Bird (elbow) were the only sour notes in the win.
The Swans raced away to a 27 point lead by quarter time with ruckman Darren Jolly the star with two goals.
Essendon was kept goalless despite having plenty of inside 50s and ended the quarter with just 0.2 to their name.
But the Bombers came out firing in the second term booting the first four goals to draw to within three points.
And it was their ruckman David Hille who was the star of the second quarter with two goals of his own.
The Swans fought back late with goals to O'Loughlin and Henry Playfair stretching the margin again at half time to 16 points.
In a game where the momentum seemed two be swinging between the two sides on a quarterly basis, an inspirational piece of play from O’Loughlin appeared to spark a Swans’ stampede in the third term.
Having taken a courageous mark just outside the 50m arc he converted the set shot then just minutes later a Ryan O’Keefe major brought the lead out to 28 points.
Again the Bombers’ surged to keep themselves in the game. With Matthew Lloyd still quiet, Andrew Welsh, Leroy Jetta and Jay Neagle took over the goal scoring responsibility with a major each again reducing the deficit to two goals.
But every time the Bombers attempted to build on their momentum, the Swans found a way to suppress them. This time it was O’Keefe who took the sting out of their revival with his second goal of the day and his seventh of the season so far. It sparked a goal spree for the home side.
First Amon Buchanan collected an uncontested mark just inside fifty and converted for a 23-point cushion. Then leaping Leo Barry swapped his defensive duties for goal kicking to extend the lead even further before Henry Playfair and Brett Kirk got in on the action to give the Swans their biggest lead of the game at 41 points at the last change.
With the contest effectively over going into the final term Michael O’Loughlin bagged three more goals to seal the victory with Jarred Moore scoring his second and Henry Playfair taking his tally to three.
With the game completely blown open the Swans were lining up to get their names on the score board with Ted Richards and Kieran Jack registering a major while Jolly also clinched a hat trick.
Classy Swans defender Nick Malceski showed he had lost none of his pace or poise in his first game back after a knee reconstruction.
But the Swans will need him to produce the goods given Kennelly's latest injury.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or the clubs.
MATCH DETAILS
Sydney Swans 4.5 6.11 13.15 21.17 (148)
Essendon 0.2 4.7 7.9 7.10 (52)
GOALS
Sydney Swans: O'Loughlin 6, Playfair 3, Jolly 3, O'Keefe 2, Moore 2, Barry, Buchanan, Kirk, Jack, Richards
Essendon: Hill 2, Welsh 2, Jetta, Lloyd, Neagle
BEST
Sydney Swans: Jolly, O'Loughlin, Moore, Barry, Kirk
Essendon: Hill, Welsh, Reimers, McVeigh, Fletcher, Stanton
INJURIES
Sydney Swans: Kennelly (dislocated knee), Bird (elbow)
Essendon: TBA
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Armstrong, Avon, McBurney
Official crowd: 34,904 at ANZ stadium
