Isacc Heeney of the Swans collides into Sam Fisher of the Saints during the round 22 match on Sunday. Photo: Getty Images
SYDNEY 4.3 10.6 15.10 20.15 (135) ST KILDA 1.5 3.9 4.12 4.14 (38)
Goals: Sydney: I Heeney 4, A Goodes 3, K Tippett 3, M Pyke 2, S Reid 2, T Mitchell 2, H Cunningham, J McVeigh, L Franklin, L Jetta. St Kilda: A Schneider 2, B Murdoch, N Riewoldt.
BEST: Sydney: Hannebery, Mitchell, Heeney, Kennedy, Tippett. St Kilda: Steven, Geary, Roberton, Montagna, Schneider.
Injuries: Sydney: N Smith (hamstring).
Umpires: Shaun Ryan, Jordan Bannister, Andrew Stephens.
Official Crowd: 27,856 at Etihad Stadium.
Something new is always better than something old.
Ted Richards of the Swans is chaired off the ground by Heath Grundy (left) and Sam Reid after a successful 250th game. Photo: Getty Images
But it says plenty about the fickle nature of the football media that more good judges have been willing to write off Sydney as a legitimate premiership contender than teams like West Coast, the Western Bulldogs or Richmond.
In fact, there seemed to be a collective hope, if not a quiet confidence, from many non-Swans supporters that the recent signs of Sydney's vulnerability could extend to a shock loss to the plucky St Kilda on Sunday – thus opening the door for the sexier Bulldogs or success-starved Richmond to snatch the top-four position needed to win a flag.
Not only was any hope of an upset that would expose the Swans as pretenders shut down midway through the first quarter, the encounter at Etihad Stadium became a showcase of why John Longmire's team should be given at least the same benefit of the doubt afforded to fellow established teams like Hawthorn and Fremantle.
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AFL St. Kilda v Sydney Swans
AFL St. Kilda v Sydney Swans Photo: Michael Dodge
It is true that the Swans have their challenges that extend beyond the injury to key midfielder Luke Parker.
But it's not as if the Hawks or Dockers look unbeatable ahead of this most wide-open of Septembers, nor would you wager the farm that any of the now-completed top four — which includes West Coast and the Swans — are not capable of going out in straight sets given the quality of the bottom half of the top eight.
Perhaps the biggest question mark hanging over the Swans is the health of Lance Franklin, a question that wasn't answered in this match yet. Then again sometimes no news is good news.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan joins the kick-to-kick after the Swans-Saints match. Photo: Getty Images
It was hardly a good sign that – early in the third quarter — the 28-year-old needed to be handed the red vest in his first game in a month, but maybe it was an opportunity too good to pass up that Franklin's injured back could be tested for a half.
He was rusty rather than remarkable, spilling his first few marks, over-running a couple of ground balls and getting caught holding the ball in a play where he would have normally shrugged off the tackler and slotted a running snap.
He kicked one goal from a fortunate free kick and set up another with his best involvement, when he shoved away Saint Sean Dempster with disdain and then fed Isaac Heeney for one of the latter's game-high four goals.
Yes, the injury list is worrying, given defender Nick Smith might be added to it, and the Swans effectively beat up on a team which has won only six games for the season, but it was more how they did it that got one thinking about the Swans in the context of a premiership again.
In short, Sydney won the midfield battle, pumped it into a dangerous, multi-pronged forward line and kept it in their forward half by blocking off the exits the Saints usually access. And they did it in the ruthless, professional manner that has been their trademark for more than a decade.
But it was in the offence more than the defence were the Swans made a mark, for this is a year where scoring is king.
The Swans ranked fifth for stopping teams coming into this match, but just ninth for scoring, so it was significant that they were able to continue the momentum they built against GWS last week when they kicked 20 goals.
They punched in 20 against the Saints, but again, it was how they did it – and how the Swans do it is much different to the other major players in September.
The Hawks (Jarryd Roughead), Fremantle (Matthew Pavlich), and, to a lesser extent, the Eagles (Josh Kennedy) have one big forward surrounded by a cast of medium and small options – although the Eagles have another super hybrid player in Jack Darling.
It seems to be the fashion of the home-and-away season – one the Western Bulldogs have used to springboard their surprise rise. However it remains to be seen whether the Swans' twin towers formula of Franklin and Kurt Tippett — combined with two more hybrids, in Adam Goodes and Sam Reid — will not prove to be more dependable when the whips are cracking their hardest in the next four weeks, particularly against backlines that are backing themselves to go smaller and smaller.
Certainly, it was too much for St Kilda to handle, with Tippett continuing his solid from last week, kicking 3.4, which should have been more, and also imposing himself on a few contests that created something out of nothing for team-mates.
He is starting to come on big, and that is big for the Swans.
Reid played his supporting cast role to perfection, chiming in with two goals, 10 marks and four inside 50s, while Goodes bobbed up with three goals every time he was let off the chain.
They were well serviced by the midfield, firstly by ruckman Mike Pyke who won the Canada vs US match-up against Jason Holmes, sneaking forward on the American to contribute two handy goals.
Tom Mitchell (35 disposals) and Josh Kennedy (nine clearances, eight inside 50s) were both terrific, but they were just competing for the two and one votes after Dan Hannebery surely secured another three in his pursuit of the Brownlow Medal with a game-high 39 disposals and seven inside 50s.
Sometimes it doesn't matter how you get to September. It's about what you do when you get there.
