Australian Football

Match Report

Sydney has bounced back from its disappointing loss to Hawthorn in the 1st Qualifying Final to defeat Carlton in the First Semi Final at Stadium Australia on Friday night. The Swans overcame early injuries to Kurt Tippett and Tom Mitchell and then survived a last quarter comeback from the Blues to win by an even four goals and advance to a Preliminary Final meeting with Fremantle next Saturday night.

The two teams traded early goals, one to Eddie Betts and one to Kieran Jack before the Swans suffered their first injury blow when Kurt Tippett suffered a knock to a knee that had already been giving him trouble leading to this match. He managed to take a strong mark and kick a behind soon after but then almost immediately left the field. Shortly thereafter, he donned the red substitute vest and was replaced by Lewis Jetta.

Luke Parker broke free at the seven-minute mark to kick the Swans’ second, after which both teams’ defences took control of the match. It wasn’t until the 21-minute mark that the next goal was scored, with Carlton’s Jarrad Waite receiving a handball inside 50 and steering through the Blues’ second goal.

Sydney gained a quarter-time edge via a Jude Bolton goal just before the siren, enabling them to take a six-point buffer into the first break.

The first 13 minutes of the second term saw Sydney gain a significant edge, with goals to Josh Kennedy, Ryan O’Keefe and Jarrad McVeigh in that period. Carlton was not without its own chances in that period but could only convert them to four behinds, two rushed and one each to Jeff Garlett and Mitch Robinson.

With the Swans out to a 21-point lead, Dennis Armfield finally broke Carlton’s second quarter drought with a running goal after receiving a handball from Lachie Henderson. Less than two minutes later, however, Lewis Jetta responded with a goal from inside Sydney’s goal square to restore Sydney’s three and a half goal buffer.

Shortly after the Blues suffered an injury blow of their own, with Curnow subbed out with a knee injury, replaced by Tom Bell. Harry Cunningham took a clever mark and converted to take Sydney’s lead to 26 points just before time on but Bryce Gibbs responded for the Blues with a long bomb from outside 50 to reduce the margin to 22 points at half time. The Swans dominant second quarter was due in no small part to McVeigh, who had an incredible 20 possessions for the term.

With a Preliminary Final place on the line, Sydney came out after half time and completely dominated the third quarter. The Swans were unable to turn the dominance into goals for the first 10 minutes of the term, but a mark and goal to Luke Parker triggered a run of five for the Bloods, with further majors coming from Parker again, Kieran Jack, McVeigh and Cunningham.

Throughout that period the Blues could not manage so much as a behind and their scoreless third quarter translated to a massive 54-point deficit at the last change of ends.

After not troubling the scorers in the third term, the Blues mounted a spirited challenge of their own in the last quarter, amazingly keeping the Swans scoreless, meaning the entire second half of the match saw scoring occur at only one end of the ground.

But as good as Carlton was, kicking 4.6 for the term, the three-quarter-time gap was one that was far too wide to bridge, and the Blues ultimately fell short by 24 points.

Jarrad McVeigh was magnificent for the Swans, finishing the match with 24 kicks, 18 handballs and two goals. He received great support from Dan Hannebery (33 possessions) and Luke Parker (three goals and 22 touches). In defeat, Carlton was well served by Andrew Walker (30 disposals), skipper Marc Murphy (25 possessions) and Kade Simpson (28 touches) in his 200th match.

The next stage in Sydney's premiership defence entails a trip to Subiaco to take on Fremantle on Saturday, no easy task considering the Swans long injury list and the Dockers' fine home record this season. The winner of that match will take on the victor of Friday night's Preliminary Final between Hawthorn and Geelong, in the Grand Final.

Despite the loss, Carlton will look back on 2013 as a season of progress, with Mick Malthouse taking the Blues back into the top eight, albeit by unconventional means (as a result of Essendon being banned from playing finals), and winning a final against arch-rivals Richmond. More will be expected from the Blues in 2014, at least externally.

GOALS
Sydney: Parker 3; Cunningham, McVeigh, Jack 2; Jetta, O'Keefe, Kennedy
Carlton: Waite 3; Betts 2; Robinson, Gibbs, Armfield

THE SUNDAY AGE
Sydney: McVeigh, Hannebery, Richards, Grundy, Parker
Carlton: Walker, Simpson, Robinson, Murphy, Yarran

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Sydney: McVeigh, Parker, Jack, Hannebery, Grundy, Cunningham
Carlton: Walker, Murphy, Simpson, Henderson, McLean

COACHES' COMMENTS
John Longmire (Syd): I thought our players showed an enormous amount of character tonight. To lose two players so early in the game - half way through the first quarter - and to continue to play like we did until the final siren was a real credit it to them. I thought they showed a lot of mental strength and a hell of a lot of resilience.

Mick Malthouse (Carl): We were taught a massive lesson in commitment by all players. Without naming players, we probably had nine, maybe 10, who would say "yep, we weren't too bad". That leaves a lot of other players who would have learned a great lesson from the day. No lesson that a coach could took about. You only learn that lesson from a very seasoned campaigner that sets a high standard.

INJURIES
Sydney: Tippett (leg); Mitchell (ankle)
Carlton: Troy Menzel (soreness) replaced in the selected side by Brock McLean; Curnow (knee); Jamison (head)

SUBSTITUTES
Sydney: Kurt Tippett replaced by Lewis Jetta in the first quarter
Carlton: Ed Curnow replaced by Tom Bell in the second quarter

UMPIRES: Margetts, Rosebury, Nicholls

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network

COMMENTATORS: Brian Taylor, Luke Darcy, Matthew Richardson, Cameron Ling