SYDNEY 2.6 4.8 6.13 12.14 (86)
MELBOURNE 1.1 2.3 3.6 4.7 (31)
Goals: Sydney: L Franklin 4 B McGlynn 2 D Towers 2 G Hewett J Kennedy J Lloyd T Nankervis. Melbourne: C Petracca 2 D Kent J Hogan
Best: Sydney: McVeigh, Kennedy, Jones, Hannebery, Franklin, Parker, Towers
Melbourne: Jones, Viney, Bugg, Gawn
Umpires: Chris Donlon, Scott Jeffery, Chris Kamolins, Andrew Stephens.
Official Crowd: 19,086 at SCG
For those who love the way the game used to be played, this was the match for you. It was also a reminder that sometimes the past is not as good as you remembered.
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The 19,086 at the SCG who saw Sydney return to the winners' list against Melbourne with an emphatic 55-point victory deserve a medal for putting up with the atrocious conditions and sticking around to see the torrid "spectacle" that unfolded.
The quicker this match is forgotten the better. This was a three-way contest that pitted the Swans and the Demons against each other and the elements. The Swans claimed the four points but Mother Nature was the most influential factor on the ground.
![Swans v Demons](/web/20161101201631im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/m/p/x/7/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gpmlwy.png/1466342775621.jpg)
Simple skills such as chest marks became a challenge. So hard was the ball to pick up there were times when the game resembled a rolling maul.
There is a perception the Swans' style is made for the slush but their game relies on clearing traffic with a chain of quick handballs – a tactic not suited in the wet.
It does, however, reward the team that is more prepared to roll its sleeves up and get its hands dirty. The biggest difference between the two sides lay not in skill but application, best demonstrated in the lopsided tackle count: 155-87. That figure represented an AFL record, beating the 142 tackles made by Richmond in 2010. The Swans' top nine, led by Luke Parker with 17, laid more tackles than the Demons' 22.
The Swans' tally eclipsed their previous club record of 135 in similar conditions against the Gold Coast a fortnight ago.
![On target: Lance Franklin revelled in the wet, booting four goals.](/web/20161101201631im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/m/o/k/3/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gpmlwy.png/1466342775621.jpg)
The margin hovered around the three to four-goal mark for much of the game but the physical toll the Swans inflicted on the Demons told in the last quarter as the score blew out.
"In these conditions you have to put pressure on," Dan Hannebery said. "We got a reward in the last quarter for the effort we put in the first three quarters."
While it's said the wet can be a leveller, it can also accentuate the importance of skill. No player mastered the conditions but Jarrad McVeigh was the least impeded by them. Playing as a sweeper, McVeigh had the ball 25 times with a disposal efficiency of 84 per cent. His ability to read the play and clear the ball stopped numerous forward thrusts from the Demons.
The Dees did not help themselves. Paul Roos' return to the SCG was not a happy one as his team, which has made decent strides this year, turned in its worst performance of the season.
Despite Max Gawn's domination of the hitouts, which was expected given Kurt Tippett's absence, the Demons were beaten at the clearances.
When they did win the ball, usually through Jack Viney and Nathan Jones, they were blunted by the desperate Swans.
As a result, their entries inside 50 lacked polish, Not surprisingly, their twin talls of Jesse Hogan and Chris Dawes had little impact. The weather was a factor though it did not stop Lance Franklin from jagging another four goals, though he received far better service from his midfield.
The usual suspects, Hannebery and Josh Kennedy, featured prominently for the Swans but they received good service from less recognisable types Dean Towers, Zak Jones and James Rose.
Towers, in his first senior appearance since his forgettable finish to the Richmond game, starred with 27 disposals and two goals. Equally important was Zak Jones, whose intensity typified that of his team. His 25 possessions matched those of his brother though bragging rights at the next family catch-up will be firmly with the Swan.
VOTES
Jarrad McVeigh (Sydney) 8
Josh Kennedy (Sydney) 7
Zak Jones (Sydney) 7
Dan Hannebery (Sydney) 7
Lance Franklin (Sydney) 7