SYDNEYÂ 4.2Â Â Â Â 7.4Â Â Â Â 11.7 Â Â Â 15.8 Â Â Â (98)
GEELONGÂ 3.1 Â Â Â 5.1 Â Â Â 7.4 Â Â Â Â Â 9.6Â Â Â (60)
GOALS - Sydney: Jack 3, Towers 2, Papley 2, Mills, Hewett, Kennedy, Lloyd, Franklin, Parker, Richards, Jones.Â
Geelong: Menzel 2, Hawkins 2, Enright, Murdoch, Cockatoo, Dangerfield, Smith.
BEST - Sydney: Rampe, Mitchell, Kennedy, Jack, Parker, Towers.
Geelong: Dangerfield, Mackie, Selwood, Enright.
UMPIRES Meredith, McInerney, Hosking.
CROWD 24,339 at Simonds Stadium.
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Swans win for Jack
Sydney have sent the competition a message with a dominant 38-point win over Geelong at Simonds Stadium.
If football was played purely on facts and figures Sydney may as well not turned up. They were fielding one of their least experienced sides in many years, against a team with an extra week's break, at a ground where they rarely win, and Geelong nearly never lose.
But this is a game where heart and passion still matters. Against the odds, the Swans honoured Kieren Jack's 200th game by pulling off one of their finest wins of the John Longmire era and reaffirming their premiership credentials while also raising doubts over another challenger.
After a week of tumult, Jack celebrated with the first and last goal of the game. The Swans let their football do the talking with a 38-point win, their fourth victory in Geelong in 25 years and the Cats' eighth loss from their last 72 games at Simonds Stadium.
Few gave the Swans, fielding nine players yet to play 50 games, any hope of upsetting the Cats but this is a club that cannot be underestimated.
Much of the Swans' pre-game planning bore fruit. Their re-shaped forward line, which included Ted Richards, showed they could kick a winning score even with Lance Franklin not at his best.
Their less heralded types like Dean Towers, Tom Papley and Aliir Aliir also delivered. But the grunt was done by their midfield, with Tom Mitchell, Dan Hannebery, Luke Parker and Josh Kennedy all influential.
The same could not be said for the Cats, whose reliance on Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood shapes as a weakness. Dangerfield finished with 34 possessions, 18 of which came in the first term, while Selwood was still one of the team's best but did not have as big an influence as normal.
The key forward combination of Tom Hawkins and Mitch Clark, in his first game since May last year, had almost zero impact.
The Swans made their move after half time, blowing the margin out to 40 points early in the last term as their midfield gradually wore down the disappointing hosts.
Sydney started in marked contrast to the way they finished last week. By seven minutes, they had three goals;Â the first coming from Jack, who was mobbed by his teammates.
They were harder, cleaner and more committed than a Cats side shaking off their cobwebs from the bye.
Gradually, the hosts worked into the contest, inspired, of course, by Dangerfield and Selwood.
Geelong's tall forwards were quiet but Daniel Menzel was proving dangerous in the air and at ground level, his second goal giving the hosts the lead.
The game had now changed complexion, played predominantly in the Swans' defensive half. It seemed a matter of when, not if, the Cats' control would be reflected on the scoreboard.
The Swans had pushed so many numbers behind the ball they had few options once they cleared the danger zone, allowing the Cats to clear with ease.
The Cats' problems started once they entered their 50, where their twin towers of Hawkins and Clark were well held by Heath Grundy, the impressive Aliir and Dane Rampe, who was zoning off his opponent effectively.
Sydney were rewarded for their perseverance midway through the second term with goals to Papley and George Hewett. Their ball movement improved, finding holes in the Cats' defence with their preparedness to honour the leading forward rather than bombing long.