Australian Football

Match Report

A powerful performance from Sydney has delivered a rare hometown thrashing to Adelaide at Football Park in the round 11 Saturday twilight game. The Swans poured on the pressure in every facet of the game from the opening bounce to open up a massive 87-point lead over the Crows by the time the three-quarter-time siren sounded, before easing down to win by 77.

Swan Dan Hannebery produced one of the most dominant first-half midfield performances in AFL history, garnering an amazing 28 touches and kicking a goal before the long break. The Crows placed a tag on him in the second half but he still managed to collect the ball 10 times in the third quarter, and on four more occasions in the last.

Both sides had the ball on 410 occasions but Sydney's relentless hassling and tackling of the Crows players meant that Adelaide could not get any real system into its game at any stage. Coach Brenton Sanderson described the Crows' performance as insipid, pledging that such a performance "won't happen again", while Swans' coach John Longmire lauded an his players' ferocity around the ball.

As well as Hannebery, Kieran Jack was also a fine player for Sydney, with 32 touches and a goal, while Tom Mitchell, playing just his second AFL match, looked like a seasoned veteran as he picked up 31 possessions of his own and also kicked a goal.

For Adelaide, Rory Sloane (31 possessions) tried hard over all four quarters, continuing his fine season, while Patrick Dangerfield (27 disposals, one goal) was also a solid contributor.

Te win enabled the Swans to consolidate a place in the top four as they head into a bye, while Adelaide, who will take on Richmond at the MCG this Saturday, are precariously placed in 10th spot with five wins from their 11 matches. They sit one game behind Carlton and West Coast, who are inside the top eight, and ninth-placed Richmond.

GOALS
Adelaide: McKernan 2; Callinan, Dangerfield, Lynch, Vince
Sydney: Morton, McGlynn, White 3; Bird, Bolton 2; Hannebery, Parker, K. Jack, Everitt, Mitchell, Goodes

BEST - SPORTAL.COM.AU
Adelaide: Dangerfield, Sloane, Vince, Douglas, Talia, Rutten, Lynch
Sydney: O'Keefe, Hannebery, K. Jack, Mitchell, Morton, Everitt, Parker, Malceski, White, McVeigh

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Adelaide: Sloane, Smith, Dangerfield, Rutten, Talia, Douglas
Sydney: Hannebery, K.Jack, Malceski, O'Keefe, Mitchell, Morton, White

COACHES' COMMENTS
Brenton Sanderson (Adel): We were beaten by a much better team. We were embarrassed actually, on our home deck. An unacceptable performance right across the board. It won't happen again. We'll see how much it hurt; we'll see how much we can learn this week and we'll insist internally that [today's performance] was a one-off.

John Longmire (Syd): Winning away in Adelaide is a tough one. They're a good team and to win here is not an easy thing to do. I was really pleased with the way we attacked the ball, the way we tackled - we had 82 tackles and really put enormous pressure on the ball-carrier. You need to do that early when you come away and that's what we were able to do. The players were fantastic in that area.

INJURIES
Adelaide: Mackay (hip) replaced in the starting line-up by Callinan; Petrenko (shoulder); Jacobs (knee)
Sydney: Mumford (fractured cheekbone)

SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Jason Porplyzia replaced Jared Petrenko (shoulder) at half time
Sydney: Brandon Jack replaced Shane Mumford at three-quarter-time

UMPIRES: Stevic, Nicholls, Findlay