By Vince Rugari
Records are made to be broken, and a couple of them went on Saturday afternoon. First, the Swans finally ended the Giants’ three-zip run in finals derbies. Second, Adam Kingsley’s 23-zip run of victories in matches where the Giants led at three-quarter-time also came to an abrupt, heartbreaking conclusion.
The tsunami, on this occasion, was red and white. And once it got going, it was unstoppable.
Sydney’s Isaac Heeney celebrates a goal against the Giants in Saturday’s qualifying final at the SCG.Credit: Getty Images
This felt like a seismic moment for the Swans, the code, the city. The sort of game they’ll talk about decades from now. At full-time, when the Swans’ remarkable comeback was complete, you could feel the stands at the SCG trembling, as if the thunder had actually been shaken down from the sky.
The crowd of 43,189 – almost all of them Swans fans, except for a strip of orange behind the Paddington end goals, and a couple of other splatters here and there – couldn’t believe what they’d seen. And you couldn’t blame them.
Deathly quiet for much of the first half, Swans fans had lost their voice. A bloke by the name of Isaac Heeney helped them find it.
As he is wont to do, at half-time, he decided to become a superhero. His side needed him. Down by 21 points at the long break, Heeney emerged from the sheds wearing an invisible cape, his manic attack at the football making things happen.
It was his hustle which enabled Dane Rampe (of all players) to kick a mood-boosting goal. Then Heeney booted one himself, his second of three for the match. Then he soared onto Jack Buckley’s shoulders and took what should be regarded as mark of the year in front of the members’ stand. Or it would be, if marks in finals were eligible for the prize.
The Giants wrestled back momentum not long after that, but Heeney wasn’t done.
In the mad scramble towards the end of the match, with the game in the balance, the Swans broke from defence and Heeney, having spotted an empty goal square, launched a bomb from inside the centre square. It bounced through. And suddenly, scores were level.
The finishing touch was added by Joel Amartey, the young key forward who kicked nine goals a few months ago, but hasn’t done much since. He’ll remember the feeling that followed that goal forever.
Sydney’s Joel Amartey gathers the ball as he prepares to kick the winner.Credit: Getty Images
Australian rules once felt like an invasive species in NSW; now it’s just part of the habitat. It’s what Sydney people do; all the inner-city and eastern suburbs social butterfly types, the people who like to be seen at things, were all there on Saturday, because the SCG is where you get seen these days. And they all rode the waves of the contest like it was the Bondi surf.
Like this sport in Sydney, the rivalry between the Swans and Giants used to feel a little confected, but not any more. The hatred is real and spectacular, and was evident before the match began, with a minor scuffle before the first bounce and an all-in scrap at quarter-time, which included a brief coming together between Tom Papley and Giants football boss Jason McCartney. Replays suggested it was entirely avoidable on the former’s part.
Heeney completes his extraordinary mark over the Giants’ Jack Buckley.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The Swans took the bait, and at times seemed distracted by the niggle. When Will Hayward kicked a goal late in the second term to get his side back within three goals, he made a beeline for his opposite number, Connor Idun, to celebrate in his face. Meanwhile, Giants players celebrated goals with each other. There’s no written credo which defines what the fabled “Bloods culture” actually is, but it’s probably not that.
Fortunately for their sake, they eventually remembered what it was, straightened themselves out, and can now look forward to a week off and a home preliminary final.
For two-thirds of this season, the Swans were just about perfect. The wobble that emerged can now be excused, but probably not repeated if they are to take the next step.
When they reached the grand final two years ago, they were obviously too green; this year, they have reached the final stage of their maturation. They seized the moment on Saturday. Two more to go.
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