Lachlan McKirdy analyses Sydney’s Opening Round loss to Hawthorn

One of Dean Cox’s off-season moves looks to be a resounding success. But as LACHLAN MCKIRDY writes, the new Swans coach will need to conjure a lot more than that.

• SuperCoach takeaways from Hawthorn’s win over Sydney

The Sydney Swarm might be back and more assertive than ever, but it was the Hawks who landed the knockout blow as three goals to Will Day inspired the visitors to a massive win in the first game of the AFL season.

By the time the opening bounce finally arrived at the SCG, there was a familiar feeling in the air for the thousands of fans who packed the ground like they did throughout 2024.

The dominant trio of Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner and James Rowbottom positioned themselves at the opening stoppage, ready for the first centre bounce of the season.

After withstanding some early pressure, it was that man Warner – who had already been the subject of countless headlines before a ball had been bounced – who kicked the opening goal of the match.

And of course, there was the occasional counter punch from Nick Blakey as he searched for the ball off the halfback line.

But in reality, this was a new-look Swans side as Cox showed his cards early in the first game of the season.

“To play against a really good footy team, to come back in the third quarter and get to a position in the last quarter and let it slide the way we did was disappointing,” Cox said.

“(It’s) a little bit sour, but I think there’s still a lot of things that we need to improve on, we know that.

“(The defensive system) will take a little bit of time, and it will be clunky. But for parts of it, we were really good and forced them long down the line to stop their uncontested mark chains and then for parts of it we let ourselves down again.

“That’s the cohesion we need between all lines. We need to make sure that we all know we defend as an 18-man unit. That’s really important. The best teams do it.”

Defence was promised as a priority – a clear reaction to the manner of their grand final defeat to Brisbane last September – and Sydney’s pressure game was obvious in the early exchanges.

Swans defenders ran tirelessly across the ground as they frantically closed down space. At stages, it worked. Sam Wicks’ transition to defence looks set to be a masterstroke as he produced a magic trick on the Wizard, Nick Watson, to make him disappear.

However, for the majority of the first half, the high-risk strategy looked more like disorganised chaos.

The goal of the strategy was clear: limit the opposition’s ability to take uncontested marks. The fact that the Hawks led that statistic 44-33 at the main break was a sign that things weren’t quite clicking for the hosts.

“That’s one of (Hawthorn’s) strengths, their aerial presence even when it was wet,” Cox said. “When you had Barrass, Battle and the like being able to intercept behind the ball, it made it really tough to get ascendancy and field position.

“(With) Tom, it’s a progress. It’s going to take time, and (it’s hard) when you’re playing against the best defenders. He presented well, that’s one thing that we want him to do, it’s not about kicking four or five, it’s playing as part of a system.

“We just didn’t get enough inside 50s, we didn’t get enough supply to our forward line.”

Hawthorn was finding plenty of love across the field. They were efficient through the corridor by hand, as typified by Karl Amon’s brilliantly taken second-quarter effort. While Day and Lloyd Meek both went into half time with multiple goals to their names on the back of easy marks that led to scoring opportunities.

Mabior Chol marks.

When the Hawks extended their lead to 27 points after an early Mabior Chol goal in the third term, the Swans looked devoid of ideas. But that’s when the best teams lift, and some important defensive tweaks from Cox had a massive impact.

James Jordon, who made a name for himself last season for his tagging ability, went straight to Day and blanketed Hawthorn’s midfield maestro. Will Hayward was also deployed in a similarly selfless role as he sat on James Siciliy and stopped the Hawks skipper from floating freely in defence.

That turned the tide for the Swans as they got on a roll. Joel Amartey marked strongly to kick his third, before Warner, Tom McCartin and Hayward all combined to bring the Hawks lead back to just two points.

The pressure the Swans brought in the third term was extraordinary and completely flipped the first-half script. When Nick Blakey kicked their fifth goal of the quarter, the Swans suddenly believed that the game was within their reach.

Sam Wicks looked at home in the Swans defence.

Jarman Impey tries to stop Swans debutant Tom Hanily.

But as the rain fell sideways and the conditions worsened, suddenly wet-weather footy played against Cox’s side.

The Hawks used every ounce of gamesmanship and their Hollywood ‘flair’ to manage the final quarter beautifully. They won free kicks, kept the ball forward of the half and kicked the only three goals of the last term to secure a massive victory to start their campaign.

It was a deflating end to a spirited comeback from the Swans, but in the context of the season, it was a far-from-disappointing way to start their year.

Cox would have been buoyed by the green shoots across the ground. Heeney still looked damaging around the stoppages and finished with 10 clearances. Warner was electric as he broke through tackles and looked to have gained a yard of pace. While Wicks, Blakey and Lewis Melican performed admirably across the back.

However, with so many key players missing in the early weeks of the season, the Swans are going to have to find different ways to win against the top sides. And Cox will have to find that spark quickly with two tough matches against reigning premiers Brisbane and then Fremantle to come.

“This is my first official game so no doubt I’ve got some things wrong,” Cox said.

“We’ll have a look at that. We review not only the way the players play but what we do as well. We want to make sure that we’re giving them the best chance possible.

“They’re a really good football team. You saw what they did at the back end of last year…they’re one of the best teams in the competition. We got back in the arm wrestle and then to their credit, they played a really strong four-quarter game and were too good for us.”

Originally published as Lachlan McKirdy analyses Sydney’s Opening Round loss to Hawthorn