Western Bulldogs v Sydney: How tough period away from home is galvanising Swans
While they are flying on the field, the Swans are facing challenges and uncertainty off it. A Sydney star reveals the difficulties they are facing behind the scenes.
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Josh Kennedy hasn’t cuddled his two children in almost three weeks.
There are FaceTime chats in the morning, and bedtime stories over the phone, but when will he next get to tuck six year-old Emilio and two-year-old Isabella in to their beds at night?
Kennedy, 33, isn’t sure.
It’s tough being apart, he said, but tougher for the mums and partners who are juggling work and kids at home and generally feeling the distance as New South Wales stares at an extended lockdown.
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For Kennedy, who is one of only a handful of fathers at Sydney, the win over premiership fancy Western Bulldogs on Sunday was one of the most special victories in recent times, given the challenge they face on the road, the uncertainty of what is ahead, and the difficulty of being apart from his kids.
“It is full-on and you absolutely miss them, and hopefully I will get to see them again soon,” Kennedy said.
“But it takes everyone pulling their weight, especially the families back home.
“They’re the ones who really suffer, and my thoughts are with them and hopefully we can do everything we can to help them out.
“I don’t know (when they will reunite), at this stage.
“Hopefully, maybe, it can work like something last year with the teams up in Queensland (hubs last year).
“The fortunate thing for us is that the club has been fantastic, from Andrew Pridham, Tom Harley, Charlie Gardiner, to everyone here.
“Everyone is going above and beyond to help us and our families so as that we can focus on footy.”
It is hub-life version 2.0 in season 2021 for the two Sydney sides who could be parked here for the remainder of the season.
But in a storyline few pundits predicted, the Swans are on the brink of the top-four and remain a genuine chance to secure a double chance with the help of a favourable run home, albeit based from a Melbourne hotel.
After finishing third-last last season with only five wins, the Swans notched a brilliant win over a genuine premiership heavyweight on the Dogs’ home track, despite losing the centre clearance battle 15-3 and the clearances 46-26.
Tom McCartin produced an All-Australian calibre performance in defence, Callum Mills continued to sizzle as a midfielder, Jordan Dawson showed he has one of the best left foot pegs in the game and Will Hayward pulled out some party tricks to stamp one of their best wins of the season against a team trying to snag top spot. And Lance Franklin and Tom Papley, the two goal kicking guns, were relatively quiet.
In a round of upsets, this was another surge no one saw coming, and the buzz in the rooms afterwards revealed the strong connection and youthful vibrancy fuelling the Swans’ sudden rise.
“It is pretty special,” Kennedy said.
“I am pretty proud of the group for just sticking fat and being able to galvanise through this period and perform like that.
“There are certainly areas to improve on, even today we were beaten out of the middle, but our backs stood up and we certainly feel like we are building.
“If we can continue on the path a keep doing the things we know work, the future will be hopefully be bright.”
From here, the sixth-placed Swans do not play a team above them in the remaining six rounds.
Fremantle is the only team in the top-eight at the moment they encounter on the run home which includes Greater Western Sydney, Fremantle, Essendon, St Kilda, North Melbourne and then Gold Coast in Round 23.
And John Longmire, meanwhile, who the Swans fought hard to keep in the face of a mega poaching bid from North Melbourne two years ago, is a contender for coach of the year.
So far this season, the Swans have beaten top scalps Geelong (by two points) and Brisbane (31) as well as St Kilda (nine), West Coast (92) and Richmond (by 45), as well as the Dogs (19).
Longmire says the trick for the Swans at the moment was to maintain focus on putting “one foot in front of the other”, in light of the tough circumstances, rather than get lost in the what-ifs.
And there is the possibility some players may yet want to go home, something Longmire said the club would consider on a case-by-case basis, if it come to that.
But they are trying to avoid stressing about the daily increase in the New South Wales case numbers, after a frank chat about it all on Wednesday.
The odds are stacked up against them, but the results suggest a premiership is not beyond them, and what a fairytale it would be.
“We have had some challenges, we had three hours’ notice (to get to Sydney airport),” Longmire said.
“Players, staff, in some cases they didn’t get to say goodbye to family, and kids, and you go.
“We would like to give a shout-out to our families and partners back in Sydney and all people back in Sydney because they’re doing it pretty tough in lockdown.
“Hopefully they got some joy out of the game today because they’re doing really hard up there and hopefully they have got a smile on their face.
“The playing group has been fantastic, really focusing on the job at hand, and we are trying to support our families as much as we can.
“It has got its challenges but we are feeling like we are coping pretty well at the moment.”
For Kennedy, a former captain who remains one of the most respected players in the league and has already signed on to play next season, there is no thought to giving it away yet.
The enthusiasm in the squad helps makes up for the soreness in the legs.
“Winning is the fountain of youth,” he said.
“And it certainly helps make the weeks a lot easier, but I can’t speak highly enough of the group.
“It is a bunch of great young guys, we all get along so well, and they certainly keep me young.”
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Western Bulldogs will welcome superstar spearhead Aaron Naughton back from concussion to bolster the club’s “dysfunctional” forward line for the clash against Gold Coast.
The Dogs let slip a golden chance to take top spot when they fell to an inspired Sydney Swans on Sunday despite dominating the clearances 46-26 and centre clearances 15-3.
No.1 draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan made his AFL debut after a long wait but is no guarantee to maintain his spot in the side after a quiet seven possession performance at Marvel Stadium.
But several stars are on their way back with Naughton to come back in, Josh Dunkley (shoulder) a big chance to make his comeback and Adam Treloar progressing from an ankle injury.
Coach Luke Beveridge admitted the run of injuries including ruckman Stef Martin (groin) had taken its toll on the Dogs, but said they would have to improve considerably in the forward half.
“We were pretty dysfunctional forward of the ball,” Beveridge said.
“We have had a lot of change sweep through there and a lot of personnel change since the start of the year so the chemistry is not always going to be there.
“We have been just doing enough, but today they dominated us in their back end and then they kept their shape pretty well and spread the ground.
“The forward half turnover statistic is probably the one that explains the day and I think they had 22 and kicked five or six goals and we had only 15 and didn’t score.
“It is pretty diabolical from our point of view, we probably did well in the end to – because they squandered some opportunities – we did pretty well to keep them to that score.”
The Dogs had nine marks inside 50m – down on their season average of 15, with Tim English looking the most threatening in Naughton’s absence.
Beveridge said some inexperience in the forward end was a considerable factor as Ugle-Hagan worked well to the contest at times but dropped some marking opportunities.
The No. 1 pick could have kicked his first league goal in the first quarter but was smothered and tackled on the goal line in a desperate defensive effort from the hungry Swans’ backmen.
Beveridge said Ugle-Hagan was not a lock to play next week against the resurgent Suns on Saturday, but would benefit from the taste of AFL regardless.
“It was probably one of those ones (debuts) that a lot of new players have where you get involved a few times and don’t quite capitalise on a few of your involvements and you will be better for it next time,” he said.
“At times he looked like he was going to threaten in the air and then at ground level he probably overran a few that he would normally sweep up.
“So it’s good for him to get the money off his back and then work towards – like someone of our other young guys too – building some AFL experience and being influential players in a team that aspires to be at the top.
“We need to field a team that is going to win the game and has got enough experience in it as well so we will wait and see on ‘Marra’.
“We get Naughts back next week and that influences how many talls we play.”
SWANS SEND MESSAGE, SHOCK DOGS
Sydney have sent a statement to the rest of the competition with an impressive 19-point victory over the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium.
The Swans backed up their 92-point thumping over West Coast a week prior, completely stifling their opponents and taking complete control of the outside game (229-192 uncontested possessions) while out marking their opponents by 56.
Coming home with their tenth win of the season not only puts them within a game of the top four but carries extra significance given New South Wales being declared a ‘red zone’ during the game – casting extra doubt over when Sydney can return home.
Jordan Dawson (26 disposals, three goals) and Jake Lloyd (33 disposals, 12 rebound 50s, nine marks) were sensational off halfback while Callum Mills (31 disposals, nine marks) continued his superb season in the middle.
Despite being right in the game for most of the contest, the Bulldogs were wasteful in key moments – squandering guilt-edged opportunities to get back into the game, ultimately missing a chance to go back on top of the ladder.
In a seesawing opening quarter, both sides traded goals but the Swans’ control of the uncontested ball (75-37 in first quarter) allowed them to assert themselves on the contest – taking a slender six-point lead into the first break.
The Bulldogs railed but were unable to make the most of their chances in front of goal with Josh Bruce in particular missing a great chance to give them the lead.
Following the major break, the Swans’ stranglehold of the contest kept the home-side at an arm’s length before Luke Parker’s late snap extended the margin to 20.
After a brief Bulldogs final-quarter resistance and a couple near chance, Lance Franklin finally broke his duck – putting the game to bed with his 977th career major.
DAWSON DOMINANT
With the game in the balance early, Jordan Dawson helped tip the scales in Sydney’s favour early.
Not only was Dawson brilliant with his ball-use off halfback, but he was equally prolific in front of goal kicking three goals inside the opening quarter and a half to help build an early advantage following a seesawing opening.
His third, in particular, coming at a point which gave the Swans a fourth straight goal and a 17-point lead.
JAMARRA DEBUT
After weeks of biding his time in the VFL, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan finally made his much-anticipated debut.
The Bulldogs fans inside Marvel Stadium rose in anticipation each-time the ball came near the no.1 pick as he used his large frame to impose himself aerially in the early stages of the contest with his dropped mark leading to a Caleb Daniel goal.
Unfortunately, his first game ended up without a first career victory and goal finishing with six disposals and two marks.
AMARTEY PARTY
It was a Joel Amartey party at Marvel Stadium.
In the dying moments of the second term, Taylor Duryea’s casual kick across the face of goal was intercepted by Amartey’s foot – who cleverly volleyed the ball home with a finish straight from the wheelhouse of a striker at the Euros.
SCOREBOARD
WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.2, 5.5, 6.6, 8.12 (60)
def by
SYDNEY 4.2, 7.4, 9.8, 11.13 (79)
GOALS
Dogs: Smith, Wallis, Richards, Daniel, Scott, Bruce, Young, English
Swans: Dawson 3, Hayward 2, Florent, Bell, Heeney, Parker, Franklin, Amartey
NICK D’URBANO’S BEST
Dogs: Daniel, Macrae, Dale, Bontempelli, Smith
Swans: Dawson, Lloyd, Mills, McCartin, Parker, McInerney
NICK D’URBANO’S VOTES
3 — Jordan Dawson (SYD)
2 — Jake Lloyd (SYD)
1 — Caleb Daniel (WBD)
Crowd: 24,817
Venue: Marvel Stadium
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