Swans clear out on top as Blues suffer another injury blow

SWANS 17.15 117 d BLUES 9.11 65

KEY POINTS

SWANS ARE THE REAL DEAL: Sydney were caught on the hop early on Friday night at the SCG as the Blues kicked the first four goals of the game and led at the quarter-time break by nine points.

But from then on, it was all red and white. They ran out 52-point winners.

Sydney players are all smiles after producing a dominant display.Credit: Getty Images

They led at the half-time break by 14 points and then piled on seven goals in the third term to stretch the margin to 45 points. They move the ball with precision and pace through the middle of the ground. They are well-balanced, fast and efficient.

They are comfortable ladder leaders, having just dropped one game for the year - incredibly to the now battling Richmond. This is their best start to a season since 1945.

As good as they are, the Swans can get even stronger in coming weeks with the expected return of Luke Parker, Callum Mills and Tom McCartin. They lost Robbie Fox on Friday night after he injured his AC joint.

To think the Swans filled a hole by bringing in ruckman Brodie Grundy who was unwanted at Collingwood and Melbourne.

HORROR RUN WITH INJURIES CONTINUES: Carlton have suffered a huge injury blow after subbing out key defender Jacob Weitering at half-time.

The defender copped a knock at the end of the first term, and had his right thigh heavily strapped by the trainers. The commentators called it a corky.

Carlton star Jacob Weitering suffered a game-ending corky.Credit: Getty Images

Weitering returned to the field for the second quarter but looked to have limited mobility.

At half-time, the Carlton medics made the call to pull him out of the game. The Blues have had a horrific run with injuries, losing Jack Martin (calf), Adam Cerra (hamstring) and Matthew Cotterell (navicular bone) from last week’s win against Melbourne.

His presence would have helped in the second half, but the Blues were outplayed. James Jordan tagged Sam Walsh and kept him to 20 possessions, while Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay could manage only three goals between them for the game.

Carlton have lost four of their past six and they are clinging on to eighth spot, but they will almost certainly drop out once the round is completed.

WILL WARNER INCIDENT COP ANY HEAT? Chad Warner might find himself being looked at by the MRO tomorrow after a fend-off that went wrong.

The gun midfielder, who won the Goodes-O’Loughlin Medal for best on ground, had the ball in his hand and looked to push off Marc Pittonet with his forearm, but he caught the Carlton ruckman in the face with his elbow.

While it wasn’t forceful contact, he did connect with an opponent’s head, and that can be a worry. The umpire paid a free-kick against Warner for the action.

Chad Warner celebrates one of his three goals.Credit: Getty Images

Warner had a massive night, kicking three goals, amassing 28 disposals and having 14 score involvements. He is part of a dynamic midfield, alongside Brownlow Medal favourite Isaac Heeney who also kicked three and had 24 possessions, and Errol Gulden who racked up 28 possessions.

They epitomise the Swans efficiency. The Swans barely headed the disposal count, 354 to 341, but headed the inside 50 count 60 to 49, and won by 52 points.

Carlton had the game’s biggest possession winner in Nic Newman with 32, and Patrick Cripps had 24 possessions, but they were comprehensively outplayed.

Carlton coach Michael Voss says a lack of midfield supply let down his key forwards against Sydney on Friday night, as he waits to hear the outcome of Jacob Weitering’s badly corked thigh.

Voss said his Blues could not handle the Swans heat after his Blues caught the Sydney side napping in the opening 20 minutes of the first quarter.

“They just dialled up the pressure really,” Voss said after Friday night’s loss at the SCG. “They started to dial up what they were doing around the ball, and we weren’t able to absorb it, and we couldn’t create our own.

“So, it’s one thing for a team to turn it up, but you have got to step it up yourselves.

“Their ability to be able to retain the ball and be able to find a teammate and release to the outside and then get the game in transition, we were sort of chasing a fair bit.

“As opposed to probably us lacking a little bit of ball security and getting some cheaper type turnovers.

“I mean, the game really turned in the third quarter with their centre-square dominance. I think they kicked three goals, maybe four goals, they kicked five for the game (from centre square clearances).

“So, that’s something that clearly they looked at our game, and sort of thought that’s something they need to invest a bit of time in, and they executed extremely well.”

Voss said the Swans had good players in good form and were on top of the ladder for a reason.

“We felt like we were on top of the match up a little bit on Heeney early, but then Warner got off the hook,” Voss said.

“And then we tried to shift over to him and then Heeney got off the hook. But that’s what good midfields do, they cover for one another.”

Voss said forwards Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay were victims of the way the Blues played.

“I just felt like we lacked any drive through the middle part of the ground,” Voss said.

“So when you lack that sort of drive and being able to own territory, then the guys at the front are always going to struggle a little bit.”

Voss said Weitering was subbed out of the game at half-time with a corky, and they would have to wait and see how quickly he could overcome the injury.

John Longmire said the Sydney coaching staff were hanging out for quarter-time to push the reset button after Carlton kicked the first four goals of the game at the SCG on Friday night.

“But the good thing is, probably the last 10 or 12 minutes of that quarter, the first quarter, we started to turn the tide,” Longmire said in his post-match press conference.

After trailing by 26 points, the Swans were able to kick three goals at the end of the opening term to minimise the damage of the Blues’ opening onslaught.

“To be able to turn the tide, the way we’re able to in the last 10 minutes was really good,” Longmire said.

“We were able to shift the momentum back our way a little bit after clearly, we didn’t have it for that first 15 minutes.

“We started to keep their influence out of the contest, we started to get the ball forward and our front half were able to score. But then we were able to stop them scoring as well and reduce the influence of their good players.”

The Swans scored five goals from centre bounce clearances, an area of the game usually dominated by Carlton.

“Brody (Grundy) has made a significant difference, his ability to be able to win it around the ground at ground level and contests, he’s just another big body mid for us around the ground, which is terrific,” Longmire said.

“But I thought his centre-bounce stuff and his tap work were really good today and sort of helped shift the momentum a little bit.”

The Swans coach praised the versatility of his midfield.

“They were able to get different looks at different times, which is important,” he said. “They spread the load and they’re all happy to play different roles at different times.

“So that’s been important. Whether Chad (Warner) goes forward or inside, or (James) Jordan or Isaac (Heeney) or we’ve got (Justin) McInerney, there’s a couple of them there that all do different jobs, obviously, they’ve got some flexibility, which is important.”

SWANS 17.15 117 d BLUES 9.11 65

KEY POINTS

SWANS ARE THE REAL DEAL: Sydney were caught on the hop early on Friday night at the SCG as the Blues kicked the first four goals of the game and led at the quarter-time break by nine points.

But from then on, it was all red and white. They ran out 52-point winners.

Sydney players are all smiles after producing a dominant display.Credit: Getty Images

They led at the half-time break by 14 points and then piled on seven goals in the third term to stretch the margin to 45 points. They move the ball with precision and pace through the middle of the ground. They are well-balanced, fast and efficient.

They are comfortable ladder leaders, having just dropped one game for the year - incredibly to the now battling Richmond. This is their best start to a season since 1945.

As good as they are, the Swans can get even stronger in coming weeks with the expected return of Luke Parker, Callum Mills and Tom McCartin. They lost Robbie Fox on Friday night after he injured his AC joint.

To think the Swans filled a hole by bringing in ruckman Brodie Grundy who was unwanted at Collingwood and Melbourne.

HORROR RUN WITH INJURIES CONTINUES: Carlton have suffered a huge injury blow after subbing out key defender Jacob Weitering at half-time.

The defender copped a knock at the end of the first term, and had his right thigh heavily strapped by the trainers. The commentators called it a corky.

Carlton star Jacob Weitering suffered a game-ending corky.Credit: Getty Images

Weitering returned to the field for the second quarter but looked to have limited mobility.

At half-time, the Carlton medics made the call to pull him out of the game. The Blues have had a horrific run with injuries, losing Jack Martin (calf), Adam Cerra (hamstring) and Matthew Cotterell (navicular bone) from last week’s win against Melbourne.

His presence would have helped in the second half, but the Blues were outplayed. James Jordan tagged Sam Walsh and kept him to 20 possessions, while Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay could manage only three goals between them for the game.

Carlton have lost four of their past six and they are clinging on to eighth spot, but they will almost certainly drop out once the round is completed.

WILL WARNER INCIDENT COP ANY HEAT? Chad Warner might find himself being looked at by the MRO tomorrow after a fend-off that went wrong.

The gun midfielder, who won the Goodes-O’Loughlin Medal for best on ground, had the ball in his hand and looked to push off Marc Pittonet with his forearm, but he caught the Carlton ruckman in the face with his elbow.

While it wasn’t forceful contact, he did connect with an opponent’s head, and that can be a worry. The umpire paid a free-kick against Warner for the action.

Chad Warner celebrates one of his three goals.Credit: Getty Images

Warner had a massive night, kicking three goals, amassing 28 disposals and having 14 score involvements. He is part of a dynamic midfield, alongside Brownlow Medal favourite Isaac Heeney who also kicked three and had 24 possessions, and Errol Gulden who racked up 28 possessions.

They epitomise the Swans efficiency. The Swans barely headed the disposal count, 354 to 341, but headed the inside 50 count 60 to 49, and won by 52 points.

Carlton had the game’s biggest possession winner in Nic Newman with 32, and Patrick Cripps had 24 possessions, but they were comprehensively outplayed.

That’s a wrap. The Swans by 52 points over the Blues at the SCG. They are now two games clear at the top of the ladder.

Sydney has quashed an early last-quarter fight back from the Blues.

With six minutes remaining, they lead Carlton by 51 points.

Their last goal, and 17th for the game, was scored by Hayden McLean.

Chad Warner might find himself being looked at by the MRO tomorrow after a fend off went wrong.

The gun midfielder had the ball and looked to push off Marc Pittonet with his forearm, but he caught the Carlton ruckman in the face with his elbow.

While it wasn’t forceful contact, he did connect with an opponent’s head, and that can be a worry.

The Blues have kicked two goals in the last quarter, one from Zac Williams and the other through George Hewett. But the Swans have answered back.

Isaac Heeney kicked his third for the match, while James Rowbottom kicked the second.

The Swans are leading by 38 points.

Carlton midfielder George Hewett,Credit: Getty Images

The Swans have subbed out Robbie Fox after he injured his shoulder. The Swans are saying it is an AC joint and not a dislocated shoulder.

The unfortunate injury happened late in the third term.

Sydney activated sub Braeden Campbell.

3QT: It is a small consolation, but Matthew Kennedy has kicked a goal for the Blues just before three-quarter time.

The Swans absolutely dominated the third term, kicking 7.4 to the Blues 2.3

Not only were Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner able to control the midfield but they both pushed forward to kick two goals apiece for the term. Warner has three for the match.

The Blues are not in the same class, and this looming loss will see them slip from the eight.

Sydney, however, are showing why they deserve to be top of the table.