Sydney Swans vs. North Melbourne: Isaac Heeney stars in big win

Isaac Heeney had one of the best individual games this century to light up a dour affair between the Swans and Roos, with the Sydney superstar proving how far off the pace the Roos truly are.

Individual brilliance from Isaac Heeney and Brodie Grundy ensured the Swans’ faint glimmer of September remained after they ran away with a 31-point win over North Melbourne.

The Roos kept the contest close across the first three quarters and went into the final term with just a two-goal deficit. But Heeney took the game away from the visitors with a sensational final quarter that included three goals, four clearances and nine disposals.

Sydney started quickest with some impressive one-on-one wins inside forward 50 to both Hayden McLean and the ever-improving Jack Buller inside the first 10 minutes of the match.

Isaac Heeney had 19 touches and two goals in the first half. Picture: Phil Hillyard.

However, the Kangaroos’ pressure and intensity completely limited the Swans’ freedom to move the ball. While a hallmark of Sydney’s resurgence over the past two months has been their slower ball movement, they couldn’t find their usual punch through the middle.

And by the time Cooper Harvey snapped a clever goal in the pocket, Sydney only went into the first break with a six-point advantage.

Despite Grundy’s dominance in the ruck, the Roos had levelled the clearances, won the centre clearances, and by the time Jack Darling kicked his first in the early stages of the second quarter, the scores were all tied up.

But the Swans’ superstars were slowly simmering in the background, and once they got going, the gulf in class between the two sides became clear.

Isaac Heeney kicked his second for the day, Chad Warner was racking up disposals through the middle and Errol Gulden was finding targets inside 50 like floss going through teeth.

Once Buller kicked his second and McInerney converted from a strong tackle on Harry Sheezel, the hosts had a deserved 18-point lead at the main break.

There wasn’t much to write home about in the third term as the two teams combined for just one goal and eight behinds, but it created a nervous energy around the SCG as the Swans searched for the win that would keep their season alive.

And even though they rarely got out of third gear all afternoon, Sydney’s All-Australian talent quickly settled those nerves. Heeney and Warner both slotted important goals, while a brilliant finish from Braeden Campbell sealed the result with about 20 minutes to go.

The two sides traded goals until the final siren, as Heeney brought up five majors for the day, but another fourth-quarter fade out from North Melbourne would leave their fans frustrated that their early effort wasn’t rewarded.

Brodie Grundy dominated in the ruck. Picture: Matt King/AFL Photos/for Getty Images.

GRUNDY’S DAY OUT

Brodie Grundy has been one of the form players in the competition over the past two months, well and truly putting himself into the All-Australian ruck conversation, but he was on world record pace around the stoppages on Saturday afternoon.

With North Melbourne struggling for a ruck presence after Tristan Xerri’s suspension and Callum Coleman-Jones’ calf injury saw him subbed out of the game in the first term, Grundy stepped up to make the stoppages his own.

By half time, the 31-year-old had 40 hit outs and 10 hit outs to advantage, and was a serious chance of hunting down Todd Goldstein’s record of 80 hit outs in a match.

His pace slowed down slightly with just the 15 hit outs in the third term, while Pete Ladhams took some of the workload in the final term, but it was another masterclass from Grundy.

He finished the match with 62 hit-outs, 13 hit-outs to advantage, 11 clearances, 22 possessions and 18 contested possessions. It’s Grundy’s world, and we’re just living in it.

BRICK BY BRICK

For 90 minutes, Roos fans would have been fairly happy with their resolve at the SCG as they pushed last year’s minor premiers to the limit.

The Swans are certainly back to their best footy, but Alastair Clarkson’s side set the standard for tackling pressure and contest throughout the first three quarters. They also created some nice handball chains and had plenty of good looks inside 50.

But fundamental errors proved far too costly. Wasted shots at goal, misplaced kicks and errant handballs would have had Clarkson tearing his hair out.

In the end, North Melbourne only went at 30.4 per cent inside 50 efficiency throughout the match, which made it difficult for their forwards to have a say in the result. While a five-goal final quarter to the Swans saw the result blow out to another disappointing margin once again.

SCORE REVIEW GROAN

The AFL’s score review system continued to be questioned during the third quarter of Saturday afternoon’s clash, with two controversial decisions drawing contrasting responses from the SCG crowd.

The first was a clear deflection off Harry Cunningham’s hand, which was clearly seen by everyone except the umpires. After the quickest score review of all time, and audible groans from the fans in attendance, a rushed behind was quickly confirmed.

Not long later, the ARC was called into action after an apparent rushed behind was awarded as a goal to Paul Curtis. Swans players seemed adamant it wasn’t a goal, and even though Curtis barely celebrated, the umpires took the ball back to the centre circle for a ball up.

Eventually, after a bit more than a minute and a myriad of replay angles, the ARC was eventually satisfied that the ball was rushed behind, but the SCG crowd were up in arms, and once the decision came up on the screen, they let out their biggest cheer of the night.

Originally published as Sydney Swans vs. North Melbourne: Isaac Heeney stars in big win