Australian Football

Match Report

Fremantle has come from 27 points down mid-way through the final quarter to draw with Sydney in a thrilling encounter at the SCG on Saturday night. The Swans led for much of the night and appeared to have the match in their keeping until a withering late burst from the Dockers saw them kick 4.3 to zero to tie the match in the dying moments.

The Dockers even had a chance to win the match with Michael Johnson sending the ball to the goal-square with a kick in the match's dying seconds. But Sydney's Sam Reid, who had been switched to defence by Swans coach John Longmire, took a big mark to deny Fremantle one last score. The siren went seconds later, and the 151st draw in VFL/AFL history had been registered, leaving fans, players and coaches unsure of their emotions.

While the Sydney Swans would have been disappointed to have given up a 27-point lead, they would have also been relieved not to have lost a match in which the opposition had 10 more scoring shots. The Swans were by far the more accurate of the two sides, kicking 11.4, while Fremantle, which finished on 9.16 would have rued many misses throughout the match.

The result leaves the two sides locked on five wins and a draw, with Sydney's superior percentage giving them a place in the top four ahead of the Dockers. While percentage will no longer be a factor for these clubs in terms of their fight for a top four place with other clubs (unless there is another draw), it may be an important factor if the two end up with the same number of points come round 23.

Dan Hannebery was the stand-out player for Sydney, kicking four goals and gathering 27 possessions. For the Dockers, Nathan Fyfe (23 disposals, two goals) was excellent as was David Mundy (24 touches).

Fremantle return to Subiaco next Sunday to take on Melbourne in a match the Dockers will be expected to win and win well. The round nine assignment for Sydney is much tougher. The Swans will head to the MCG on Friday night to take on the in-form Magpies.

FUN MATCH FACT: This drawn match was the fourth in history to finish with a final score of 70 v 70. The others all occurred in the 1920s. South Melbourne and Carlton drew 10.10 apiece at the Lake Oval in 1921, Richmond and Melbourne tied 9.16 to 10.10 in 1925 and Hawthorn and North Melbourne each finished at 10.10 at Glenferrie Oval in 1926.

GOALS
Sydney: Hannebery 4; McGlynn 2; Bolton, Everitt, Jack, Pyke, Jetta
Fremantle: Fyfe, Ballantyne 2; Suban, Mayne, Clarke, Duffield, Johnson

BEST - THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Sydney: Hannebery, Jack, Kennedy, Goodes, Malceski
Fremantle: Fyfe, Barlow, Johnson, Mundy, Duffield

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Sydney: Hannebery, O'Keefe, McVeigh, Pyke, Richards, Goodes
Fremantle: Mundy, Fyfe, Clarke, Ballantyne, Duffield, Barlow

COACHES' COMMENTS
John Longmire (Syd): When you're four goals up half way through the last quarter, your initial reaction is disappointment obviously but both teams probably did a lot right at different times. We did a few things that we didn't quite get right in the last 10 minutes of the game. We learn from it; we train for it. It's my responsibility to get that right.

Ross Lyon (Frem): There's disappointment about the whole night but I think we scored rapidly late, so we probably would have pinched it in the end [had we won] but we displayed a really good character and never-give-up attitude. The second quarter was really poor on lots of levels. But the ability of the players to adapt and adjust and get the game back on our terms was really pleasing.

INJURIES
Sydney: Martin Mattner replaced in the selected side by Andrejs Everitt
Fremantle: Hayden Crozier replaced in the selected side by Tendai Mzungu, Walters (ankle)

SUBSTITUTES
Sydney: Mitch Morton replaced by Craig Bird at three-quarter time
Fremantle: Alex Silvagni replaced by Tendai Mzungu in the third quarter

UMPIRES: Rosebury, Stevic, Ryan