Roos said the win was a tribute to team persistence – and some individual brilliance – after Port hit the front late in the match and seemed to have all the momentum.
“They (Port) had all the momentum going and their good players were starting to get hold of the ball,” Roos said.
“Things were going horribly wrong there for 15 minutes (in the last quarter). So to actually get it back on track and to get two goals up before the end of the game was pretty good.
Roos heaped praise on Jarred Moore, who starred in just his 18th match, and said the game’s turning points included a tackle from ex-Crows defender Martin Mattner on Danyle Pearce as the Port wingman ran into a seemingly open goal 21 minutes into the last quarter.
“Marty Mattner’s tackle on Pearce, that was really special,” Roos said.
“I thought Jarred Moore’s effort today was just outstanding. I thought he was just phenomenal for a kid that hasn’t played a lot of footy; some of the things he did today were unbelievable.
“I think Kirky and Goodesy stood up in that last 15 minutes too. There were probably four or five guys that at that particular time just raised their game to another level, and that allowed us to overcome their brilliance and then go on and win the game.”
The Swans had another testing time with the new interchange rules, including having six players on the bench at one stage during the first quarter after Lewis Roberts-Thomson came off with the blood rule.
“When Lewis Roberts-Thomson came off I think the guys were a bit spooked about going on, so we just need to clarify that." sais Roos.
" think you’re allowed to go on straight away and don’t have to worry about the paperwork in that instance, but that’s something we need to clarify.”
Roos played down Sydney’s good record against Port – it was the Swans fifth win from their last six starts against the Power – as well as his side’s top four aspirations.
“(Of course) you’re aware of the ladder and you assess where you are in relation to other teams,” Roos said.
“Really we’re just trying to play like we did today on a weekly basis and not worry too much about what’s happening around us.”
