Swans Teach Inept Hawks Lesson

The Sunday Age

Sunday May 28, 2006

By MARTIN BLAKE AT THE MCG

IF NOTHING else, last night provided a lesson for Hawthorn. The Hawks may have imagined they were something fancy when they won four of the first five games, but confronting a real contender at the MCG, they were put in their place by Sydney.

Inept is the word that comes to mind. Hawthorn did not give up, as its president had ventured during the week, but the Hawks' mistake rate would not have pleased Emperor Kennett, who was conspicuously subdued when he stood up to speak at the corporate dinner he hosted before the match.

For his team, it all began 10 minutes into the first quarter when Brent Guerra tried a squaring pass from half-back and, finding himself nudged by an opponent as he kicked, managed only to put the ball directly into the path of Sydney's sharpshooter, Nick Davis.

The Swans forward had never kicked an easier goal, for he found himself in possession with nothing but 30 metres of green grass between him and the big sticks.

This was the pattern of the game. Sydney was clinical, torching the Hawks with a string of successful kick-out drills, for instance, employing a huddle. At times, the Swans were brilliant, such as when they took the ball from full-back to full-forward in two kicks in the first quarter for another Davis goal.

Hawthorn worked industriously, winning at the stoppages and thus removing one of Sydney's primary weapons, drawing an excellent game from Jordan Lewis in the middle. But each time the Hawks moved within striking distance, they shot themselves in the foot with a brain-fade or a poorly executed disposal.

Red-and-white clad Sydney supporters outnumbered the Hawthorn fans in the stands, with just 28,387 people turning out on a chilly night at the Colosseum. Perhaps they knew that in its current state, Hawthorn seemed quite a distance from being competitive with the top teams.

Mostly it was a dawdle for Sydney, which continues to look superior to its 2005 vintage. Coming back to the MCG for the first time since its grand final triumph, there was a feeling of deja vu. "It was like coming home after you've been away a couple of years," said Adam Goodes, who was best afield. "It brings back all the memories."

The Swans' method was familiar, going one-on-one into every corner of the vast arena, closing out the space that Hawthorn's highly rated midfield loves to work in. The Swans paid particular attention to Luke Hodge (who had Luke Ablett for company) and Sam Mitchell (worn by Brett Kirk).

Elsewhere the Hawks could not find a match-up for Goodes, trying Ben Dixon and then Lance Franklin without success.

Sydney spent several years trying to find the right role for the Brownlow medallist, and right now he appears to have found it, as a free-running midfielder. His Brownlow odds will shorten considerably, for he has had a great month, but already last night he was beginning the customary footballer's style of deflecting the attention. "I don't think anyone can take it off Chris Judd this year," he said.

Before the game Hawthorn did not look to have a player capable of subduing Barry Hall, and so it turned out.

Coach Alastair Clarkson sent Robert Campbell, his usual second-ruckman, down to centre half-back for the night, and Campbell was serviceable at times. But as the night wore on Hall's power in the contests started to tell, and he finished with four goals.

It was summed up halfway through the final quarter when Hall wrenched Campbell away from his personal space just beyond the 50-metre line, stepped around him and drilled one home.

Hall did not venture even the hint of a celebration. He just walked back to centre half-forward. The body language said plenty, for it encapsulated his team's mood as well. "Bigger fish to fry," it appeared to say.

SYDNEY

5.2 7.3 14.3 19.5 (119)

HAWTHORN

0.3 3.6 6.11 7.12 (54)

GOALS

Sydney

Hall 4, Davis 4, O'Loughlin 3, O'Keefe 2, Williams, Fosdike, Schneider, J Bolton, Kirk, Buchanan.

Hawthorn

Williams 2, Roughead, Crawford, Guerra, Dixon, Croad.

BEST

Sydney

Goodes, Kirk, Hall, J Bolton, Williams, Fosdike.

Hawthorn

Lewis, Kane, Hodge, Everitt, Smith, Mitchell.

INJURIES

Sydney

Malceski (hamstring), Crouch (shoulder).

REPORTS

Hawthorn

Guerra by field umpire Ryan for allegedly striking Roberts-Thomson (Sydney) in the fourth quarter.

UMPIRES

Head, Ellis, Ryan.

CROWD

28,387 at the MCG.

THE COACHES

Every win is a good win. I thought the first half, we probably didn't play that well, but I was really pleased with the second half.

PAUL ROOS (Sydney)

It's great experience for us to come up against sides like that, because they're the benchmark of the competition perhaps, along with Adelaide and West Coast. Sydney, more so than any other team, I don't think they've got as much raw talent as those other sides, but their ability to work for one another and their discipline is just outstanding.

ALASTAIR CLARKSON (Hawthorn)

© 2006 The Sunday Age

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