Australian Football

Match Report

After a difficult week, Sydney has scored a big win over Adelaide at the SCG on Saturday to maintain a hold on a place in the top four. The Swans were without Adam Goodes, who chose to stand out of the game after being the subject of ongoing booing over many weeks. Public debate had raged over the nature of the booing with the AFL and Sydney declaring that it would be considered to have a racial element if directed at Goodes. The Swans the controversy aside - or were perhaps inspired by the upheaval - to put in a strong performance against the Crows, ultimately winning by 52 points. 

Lewis Jetta got the Swans off to a perfect start, with a goal after just one minute but Jarryd Lyons put Adelaide on the board with his first soon after. Sydney then took control of general play and translated that into a run of four consecutive goals, two to Kurt Tippett and one each to Lance Franklin and Dan Hannebery, to take a 23-point lead. Tom Lynch got one back for the Crows but a third to Tippett at the 24-minute mark gave Sydney a four-goal lead at the first break. 

An early second-quarter goal from Eddie Betts cut the margin to 18 points but the Swans moved into overdrive after that, goals to Franklin (two) Jake Lloyd and Sam Reid extending the margin to 43 points at the 13-minute mark. The Crows managed to stem the flow after that, but couldn't make an impact on the scoreboard themselves. Each side added a further 1.2 after the Swans onslaught, the margin still 43 points at the long break. 

Tom Lynch's second goal at the three-minute mark cut the difference to six goals but Sydney responded through Josh Kennedy a minute later. From that point goals proved hard to come by over the next 20 minutes, both sides adding seven behinds between them without a major. When a goal finally came it went to the Swans' Luke Parker, giving them a 49-point lead but late goals to Lynch and Taylor Walker saw the margin back to 37 points at three-quarter time. 

With the final margin the only real unknown when the last quarter began, neither side scored a goal in the first eight minutes. Parker's second and Jarrad McVeigh's first put Sydney 51 points after 13 minutes, and the two sides traded goals after that, Josh Jenkins getting two for the Crows and Hannebery and Kennedy adding another two for the Swans. When the final siren sounded, the Swans were 52 points to the good. 

Best for the Swans included Hannebery (40 disposals, 10 marks) and McVeigh (37 touches, eight marks) while Adelaide was well served by Lynch (10 marks, three goals), Patrick Dangerfield (27 disposals, five marks) and Scott Thompson (25 possessions and five tackles). 

Sydney will face the improving Geelong at Kardinia Park next Saturday night, with Goodes set to return to the side, while the Crows, who slipped out of the eight after the loss, will host sixth-placed Richmond at the Adelaide Oval on Friday night. 

GOALS
Sydney: Tippett, Franklin, Hannebery 3; Parker, Kennedy 2; Jetta, Reid, Lloyd, McVeigh
Adelaide: Lynch 3; Walker, Jenkins 2; Lyons, Betts

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Sydney: McVeigh, Hannebery, Rampe, Parker, Kennedy, Mitchell
Adelaide: Lynch, Dangerfield, Thompson, Douglas, Wright, Smith

BEST - SMH.COM.AU
Sydney: Hannebery, McVeigh, Kennedy, Tippett, Rampe, Parker
Adelaide: Lynch, Talia, Dangerfield

INJURIES
Sydney: Nil
Adelaide: Brodie Martin (illness) replaced in selection side by Matt Crouch.

SUBSTITUTES
Sydney: Brandon Jack replaced Ben McGlynn in the last quarter.
Adelaide: Matt Crouch replaced Riley Knight in the last quarter.

REPORTS: Ben McGlynn (Swans) reported for rough conduct on Patrick Dangerfield (Crows) in the third quarter.

UMPIRES: Margetts, Pannell, Mollison

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Dwayne Russell, Jason Dunstall, Jonathan Brown, David King