Sydney Swans demolish Gold Coast Suns to strengthen finals push

SYDNEY’S unlikely charge to September continues to gain momentum with a percentage-boosting win over a lacklustre Gold Coast at the SCG.

Lance Franklin celebrates a goal against Gold Coast.

THE goals flowed as the Swans smashed Gold Coast by 67 points but it was their relentless shut down defence which has them in premiership mode.

After trailing by five points at quarter time, Sydney kept the Suns goalless for the next two quarters something the AFL hasn’t seen since 2014.

In the end, Gold Coast scored just one goal in the final three quarters.

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None illustrated the Sydney’s miserly attitude more than Dane Rampe who had conceded three first-quarter goals to Suns’ gun Tom Lynch but fought back to dominate him for the next three.

“He was fantastic after quarter time,” Swans coach John Longmire said.

“You have to respect Lynch he’s one of the best forwards in the comp. We put pressure on up the field and Ramps was very good.”

Gary Rohan produced a career-best haul of goals.

The win moves the Swans back into the top eight and remarkably within striking distance of the top four, a seemingly impossible position after starting 0-6.

In a season where nobody has been able to string wins together the Swans have won seven of their last eight games to develop genuine momentum with just seven games before the finals.

The lack of opposition from the Suns makes premiership credentials difficult to judge but next week’s Sydney Derby against the Giants at Spotless Stadium will provide some answers.

“It’s an important game,” Longmire said.

“All of them are when you start like we did. Being the other Sydney team adds to it and they’re a good team.”

John Longmire will go into the match with a host of players at the peak of their form, none more than Gary Rohan who was on from the opening bounce when he booted consecutive goals, both from the top shelf, and finished with a career-best five.

Callum Mills gets into a scuffle with Tom Lynch and Ben Ainsworth.

His first came from a stunning burst of speed where he took on all challengers at half forward and bounced the ball into a close-range finish. The second was from a brilliant mark from behind directly in front of goal.

In a team which gets so much of its scoring power from Lance Franklin, Rohan’s marking inside 50, speed and defensive pressure adds another dimension to the Bloods.

He is in career best form after kicking match winning goals against Richmond and Essendon.

“He was fantastic,” Longmire said.

“Gary’s pressure and clean ball handling was at an incredibly high level. When he’s running around like that he’s hard to contain because of his speed and hardness but he was really composed.”

Dean Towers was another who went a long way to cementing his spot in the team for the rest of the year with a non-stop 21-possession and two-goal performance.

Lance Franklin finished with three for the night and could easily have had five or six had he kicked straight. His contest with Steven May was a highlight as was the Rampe-Lynch battle at the other end of the ground.

Luke Parker takes a one-handed mark.

Luke Parker takes a one-handed mark.

After starting the match with enormous defensive pressure the Suns fell away badly in the last three quarters.

Rodney Eade said his team’s performance was in part due to Sydney.

“They’re a good side,” Eade said.

“They were 0-6 but they didn’t lose by a lot and they had a lot of injuries. They were in the grand final last year and they’re back to their best, a hard running side who are very strong and tight.”

Gary Ablett’s absence was levelled out when the Swans lost captain Josh Kennedy with quad tightness before the first bounce.

“We expect him to (be right for next week),” Longmire said.

“He felt OK this morning but it was a bit too risky for him to play.”

It’s just the fourth match Kennedy has missed in his eight seasons in Sydney and only the second in the last three seasons.

VOTES

3. Gary Rohan

2. Dean Towers

1. Dane Rampe

Originally published as Sydney Swans demolish Gold Coast Suns to strengthen finals push