Swans smash Pies by 80 points
Lance Franklin makes a triumphant return as Sydney monsters Collingwood in a horror start to the Piesâ season.
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SYDNEY 3.9 10.12 14.21 18.25 (133) COLLINGWOOD 1.1 1.4 5.6 7.11 (53)
Goals: Sydney: L Franklin 4, T Mitchell 3, T Papley 3, H Cunningham 2, D Hannebery, D Towers, G Hewett, I Heeney, L Parker, Z Jones. Collingwood: A Fasolo, A Treloar, B Maynard, D Moore, J Crisp, J de Goey, L Greenwood.
BEST Sydney: Parker, Franklin, Mitchell, Jack, Papley. Collingwood: Treloar, Adams, Sidebottom, Blair, Greenwood.
Injuries: Collingwood: D Swan (cracked fibula, foot fractures), M Williams (knee), N Brown (hamstring).
Reports: Collingwood: S Sidebottom (Collingwood) for rough conduct on D Hannebery in the third quarter.
Umpires: Justin Schmitt, Jeff Dalgleish, Jordan Bannister.
Official Crowd: 33,857 at SCG.
The Swans' blueprint to remain a competition power in the post-Adam Goodes era has been devastatingly laid out in an extraordinary 80-point defeat of a shell-shocked Collingwood.
Imperious: Lance Franklin was in fine form for the Swans. Photo: Cameron Spencer
Sporting 11 players with under 50 games' experience, including three debutants, and missing injured regular starters Jarrad McVeigh, Sam Reid and Ted Richards, Sydney began with a stirring goal inside the first 40 seconds to Lance Franklin and never looked back.
The champion forward headed the Swans' charge in an unforgettable celebration of his return after mental health issues forced him to stand down from the team late last season.
In a match scheduled to have been played at ANZ Stadium until the club's deal with the ground was ended a year early, Sydney returned 'home' for their 350th match at the SCG and put the cleaners through one of the form teams of the pre-season challenge in front of 33,857 fans.
Scott Pendlebury's Magpies had a horrid night. Photo: Getty Images
Certainly, questions will be asked as to whether Collingwood's inept display was at least partly due to an emotional toll from the leaking of information about a number of their players testing positive to illicit drugs in the off-season.
The Magpies' woeful night was compounded by what appeared to be a serious injury to Dane Swan, who hyper-extended his ankle in a challenge with Zak Jones in the first quarter and did not return. And even though former GWS Giants star Adam Treloar topped Collingwood's list of possession gatherers, the boom midfielder will not look back on his first game in the famous black and white fondly.
In contrast to the Magpies' troubles, Sydney for most of the game ran like a well-oiled machine, controlling all areas of the ground for long periods. Their dominance was reflected statistically, particularly in contested possessions, which they won by nearly 50. Had they been a bit more accurate in front of goal they would have inflicted considerably more damage.
Setting it up: Isaac Heeney of the Swans handpasses to launch an attack. Photo: Cameron Spencer
A fit and determined Franklin kicked four goals and appeared to love every minute. Tom Mitchell kicked three and Harry Cunningham two. Luke Parker gathered a career-high 40 touches, teaming with Jake Lloyd, Kieren Jack (35 each) and Dan Hannebery to strangle Collingwood's much celebrated midfield, while Heath Grundy kept Travis Cloke scoreless.
Additionally - and encouragingly after the departures of Goodes, Rhyce Shaw, Mike Pyke, Lewis Jetta and Craig Bird - first-gamers Callum Mills, Tom Papley and George Hewett looked right at home. Small forward Papley scored three goals and laid five tackles, No.3 draft pick Mills was in the action with 18 disposals and Hewett had 15 touches and made seven tackles.
New signings ruckman Callum Sinclair and defender Michael Talia also seemed to be singing from the right sheet, tuning in well to coach John Longmire's game plan.
Good catch: Levi Greenwood of the Magpies marks under pressure. Photo: Cameron Spencer
The Swans led by 20 at the first break and opened up a gap of 10.12.72 to 1.4.10 at halftime, keeping Collingwood to just three points in the second quarter. The Magpies' best showing came in the third term when they managed 4.2 to Sydney's 4.9, leaving the score at 105 to 36. Sydney scored a further 28 to 15 in the last quarter to seal a huge win.
