THE SYDNEY Swans have taken a huge step towards securing a finals berth, defeating top-eight rival Hawthorn by 44 points at the SCG on Saturday afternoon.
The Swans led by 47 points after a superb first half, but the Hawks rallied to trail by less than four goals midway through the third quarter.
However, the home side steadied to claim their 10th win of the season, 19.15 (129) to 13.7 (85), and leapfrog the Hawks into seventh place.
Kieren Jack was outstanding at the clearances all day, Heath Grundy held Lance Franklin at bay for three quarters while Ryan O'Keefe and Adam Goodes shared seven goals.
Draftee Lewis Jetta finally broke a run of 19 successive behinds with his first league goal midway through the final term sparking a standing ovation from the SCG crowd.
Swans coach Paul Roos said it was his side's best win of the season, surpassing previous efforts against Carlton at Etihad Stadium and Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.
"We played a super game against Carlton [but] I think the way Hawthorn have been going, they have arguably been the form side in the comp over the last two months. It was a really good effort," he said.
"I thought the effort in the last quarter was terrific. [The Hawks] lifted their work rate in the second half and they kicked three or four really quick goals, so for us to get away with such a big victory was pleasing."
The Hawks had few four-quarter performers with Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell and Brent Guerra among their best. Franklin finished with four goals, all of which came in the second half.
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said his players were "shattered" by their first-half display and he acknowledged their past two games had been long off the standard set during their seven-game winning streak.
However, he drew some solace from the resilience already shown by his side in 2010 after losing six of its first seven games.
"We've been in a deep and dark hole early in the season and we find ourselves in a little bit of a hole at the minute. We pulled ourselves out of it last time; we've got to do the same," he said.
"We've got three games to go and places are really hotting up in the bottom half of the eight. We're going to need to play some better footy than we have in the past two weeks to secure ourselves a finals berth."
The Swans were utterly dominant in the first half, rekindling the form that carried them to the top of the ladder after six rounds.
Jack, Jude Bolton and Josh Kennedy controlled the clearances, allowing their outside runners plenty of time and space to execute their passes.
In contrast, Shaun Burgoyne and Clinton Young were locked down at every opportunity and the Hawks appeared to miss Cyril Rioli's creativity in tight spaces.
The Swans led by almost eight goals at half time but the Hawks emerged a far more committed unit in the third quarter, booting five of the first six goals.
Lewis was a constant threat across half-forward, setting up teammates and kicking two majors of his own. However, his influence was matched at the other end by O'Keefe, who added two goals for the term.
When Goodes added his third goal late in the quarter, the Swans led by 30 points and the Hawks' revival looked to have been in vain.
An early goal to White in the final quarter made the margin six goals and effectively snuffed out the visitors' charge despite Franklin's best efforts for the Hawks.
Sydney Swans 5.4 10.10 13.12 19.15 (129)
Hawthorn 1.1 3.5 9.6 13.7 (85)
GOALS
Sydney Swans: O'Keefe 4, Goodes 3, McGlynn 3, Dennis-Lane 3, Moore, McVeigh, Jack, Kennedy, White, Jetta
Hawthorn: Franklin 4, Lewis 2, Roughead 2, Stratton, Ladson, Bateman, Moss, Burgoyne
BEST
Sydney Swans: O'Keefe, Jack, Goodes, Grundy, McGlynn, McVeigh
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Gibson, Lewis, Franklin, Burgoyne, Stratton
INJURIES
Sydney Swans: Nil
Hawthorn: Nil
REPORTS
Sydney Swans: Nil
Hawthorn: Nil
Umpires: Donlon, Chamberlain, Jeffery
Official crowd: 29,431 at the SCG
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
