Roos take a leap back in huge loss to Swans; Yze hints at Balta’s return; Marvel crowd issue explained

Roos coach Alastair Clarkson.Credit: AFL Photos

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has defended his side’s improvement, despite them being thumped by a severely undermanned Sydney Swans tonight, 18.9 (117) to 8.4 (52).

Clarkson dismissed the comment from skipper Jy Simpkin that the Roos thought those kind of losses were “the old us”.

“I think we are on the right path,” Clarkson said.

“Players get emotional because of the scoreboard, but we’ve made some progress as a footy club and we played against a very, very good side and we couldn’t put the pressure on that we would have liked.

“It’s disappointing we didn’t make the most of our chances in the first half, and they did.”

Clarkson said his side was unable to stop the Swans running through the corridor and they were poor in the second half.

“Despite the margin, we were spanked at stoppages in the second half and that’s usually a part of our game that’s very strong. Grundy and their midfielders got on top of us in the second half,” Clarkson said.

“The blow out in the scores in the third quarter, they had the game in their half for almost the whole quarter.

“Outside of that, I thought we competed well enough and did well with ball-in-hand, but they forced us into spots on the ground where we didn’t want to be.”

Clarkson said the Roos would bounce back against Gold Coast in Gather Round.

“We will roll up the sleeves, pick up the pieces – the sun will come up tomorrow, despite it not feeling like that right now,” Clarkson said.

“We will get back to work. There is a fair gap between us and Sydney right now, but we will get back to work.”

Former teammates Luke Parker and Braeden Campbell embrace post game.Credit: AFL Photos

Thanks so much for joining us throughout the day and tonight.

The Suns won a thriller over the Crows, the Lions were too good for the Tigers, and the Swans have thumped the Roos tonight.

We will have plenty more AFL stories to come on Sunday and into next week, so please keep visiting our sports sites.

We will be back with more live blogs next round.

Please have a lovely evening and bye for now.

Roos coach Alastair Clarkson.Credit: AFL Photos

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has defended his side’s improvement, despite them being thumped by a severely undermanned Sydney Swans tonight, 18.9 (117) to 8.4 (52).

Clarkson dismissed the comment from skipper Jy Simpkin that the Roos thought those kind of losses were “the old us”.

“I think we are on the right path,” Clarkson said.

“Players get emotional because of the scoreboard, but we’ve made some progress as a footy club and we played against a very, very good side and we couldn’t put the pressure on that we would have liked.

“It’s disappointing we didn’t make the most of our chances in the first half, and they did.”

Clarkson said his side was unable to stop the Swans running through the corridor and they were poor in the second half.

“Despite the margin, we were spanked at stoppages in the second half and that’s usually a part of our game that’s very strong. Grundy and their midfielders got on top of us in the second half,” Clarkson said.

“The blow out in the scores in the third quarter, they had the game in their half for almost the whole quarter.

“Outside of that, I thought we competed well enough and did well with ball-in-hand, but they forced us into spots on the ground where we didn’t want to be.”

Clarkson said the Roos would bounce back against Gold Coast in Gather Round.

“We will roll up the sleeves, pick up the pieces – the sun will come up tomorrow, despite it not feeling like that right now,” Clarkson said.

“We will get back to work. There is a fair gap between us and Sydney right now, but we will get back to work.”

Roos skipper Jy Simpkin admits his side’s performance was not good enough tonight.

“We thought that was the old us – not the new us,” Simpkin told Fox Footy.

Luke Parker of the Kangaroos is tackled.Credit: Getty Images

Simpkin was most disappointed with how his side couldn’t combat the Swans’ ball movement and runs through the corridor, something they worked on throughout the week.

“The first three weeks have been really positive, we haven’t got the results we wanted, but we felt good,” Simpkin said.

“The first half we were in the game, but didn’t get things on our terms. But the second half was just not up to standard. I think they kicked 10 or 11 goals in the second half.

“That’s very disappointing.

“We scouted that all week and couldn’t get it done tonight.

“Our whole team defence wasn’t up to scratch. They could just chip through us, march up the ground and then get handball receives and break through the middle with speed.

“That was bloody disappointing.

“We’ve got a resilient group of boys. We are a very united team and one thing about us is that we will always stick together.

“We will bounce back.”

Chad Warner celebrates a goal.Credit: AFL Photos

Swans coach Dean Cox has revealed Chad Warner was ill overnight but was able to play in tonight’s game.

Warner kicked two goals and had a handful of possessions and Cox said he took Warner off in the final term when it was clear the win was theirs.

“We just wanted to be smart with Chad, and we have a six-day turnaround,” Cox told Fox Footy.

Sydney’s Riley Bice.Credit: Getty Images

Swans second-gamer Riley Bice is already fan-favourite after a stellar display tonight.

Bice had 26 disposals, seven score involvements and nine intercepts while playing off half-back.

Will Hayward described the former Ovens and Murray player as an “assassin”.

“He’s lethal with that left foot. [He’s a] quiet guy, but he’s been an assassin for us,” Hayward told Fox Footy.

Bice admitted he doubted he would get an AFL deal before being picked at No.41 in last year’s national draft, following a strong season in the VFL with Werribee.

“I definitely wouldn’t have thought I would be here, not too long ago I was just playing local footy,” Bice told Fox Footy.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity – this win was massive tonight.

“Definitely, probably [I doubted I would get to the AFL]. But I had a few people in my corner pushing me.

“I went down to Werribee not sure what was going to happen, but the coaching staff were excellent and gave me confidence in the way I played.”

Will Hayward celebrates a goal.Credit: Getty Images

Swans defender Matt Roberts got a 50-metre penalty in the middle, and he’s booted a goal to finish off a brilliant win for his undermanned side.

The Swans are missing some big names, but their system and discipline meant those fit enough to be on the field were far too strong for the Roos.

Will Hayward, Riley Bice, Jake Lloyd, Brodie Grundy and many others were exceptional, while the Roos had few winners.

Harry Sheezel had a heap of possessions, and Luke Parker battled hard.

Nick Larkey has had a dirty night and just couldn’t get the footy on his terms. But he has come up with a late mark and kicked an accurate set shot from the right boundary, before slotting another from further out on far less of an angle.

One other bonus for the Roos is that Jy Simpkin has returned in this last term and kept playing. The Roos will be very relieved.

Jy Simpkin of the Kangaroos and Riley Bice of the Swans.Credit: AFL Photos

This game is fading out a bit as we reach the last 10 minutes.

The Roos know they have copped a belting and the Swans are trying to keep a handle on the tempo and manage this game to a close.

I haven’t mentioned Riley Bice too much tonight as he’s been so often a part of the chain, and rarely the finisher. Regardless, he’s been stellar for the Swans.

Their recruiters really know their kind of players and people who will thrive in their team.

Swans 105, Roos 40 with seven minutes to go.

Super sub Angus Sheldrick has burst into the contest, running through a ball-up and booting a goal.

He has only just come on for Chad Warner, who has been put on ice before Gather Round.

The Swans just keep on keeping on.

Is this clock ticking slower than usual?

Swans 105, Roos 39 with 14 mins to play.