A clinical Sydney had little trouble dispatching a Melbourne team limping to the line at the MCG.
On a round packed with mouth-watering contests and this certainly wasn’t one of them, but Sydney has a lot to be excited about.
Aliir Aliir, Jordan Dawson, James Rowbottom, Ollie Florent, George Hewett, Nick Blakey, James Bell, Tom McCartin and more. The Swans’ young talent had a chance to shine, while the Demons didn’t look like they wanted to be there.
Here’s everything you need to know!
The Talking Point: Lyon praises well-drilled Swans, slams Dees
Garry Lyon pulled no punches on his old side Melbourne, but was full of praise for Sydney’s ability to play their style without key players … something the Demons have not been able to do.
“The really impressive thing tonight, take away the opposition who have been just appalling, is how Sydney has played to a system and played from the start to the finish,” Lyon told AFL Nation.
“Their pressure has been great, they’ve known what each other is doing and their back-half has defended beautifully. So what it says is this is a really well organised club who are all on the same page. They’ve been hard and tough from start to finish.
“Though, 40 plus points is just not the difference between these teams. It’s embarrassing for Melbourne.
"They've had one of the worst years you can imagine and that has just been rubber stamped again tonight."
The Difference: Ruck-less Swans out-work Dees
Max Gawn won 52 hit-outs to Sydney’s 19 and yet the Swans won the clearances.
The combination of Aliir Aliir and Sam Reid in the ruck didn’t put up much of a fight with their craft, but worked hard around the ground and got into good positions all night.
The Sydney midfield meanwhile sharked Gawn’s taps all night and were far more effective from their clearances than the Dees were.
Josh Kennedy was hugely impactful in the middle, winning 10 clearances himself, while Oliver Florent was also excellent.
What’s next?
Neither team will have any role to play in September and will wrap up their seasons next weekend. For the Dees, this horrid year ends in Tasmania against North Melbourne next Saturday afternoon.
As for the Swans, they finish at home against St Kilda, likely with the chance to celebrate Lance Franklin’s 300th and farewell a champion of the club in Jarrad McVeigh.
Full Score
Melbourne: 3.1, 3.3, 3.7, 5.12. (42)
Sydney: 4.1, 7.3, 10.3, 15.5. (95)
BEST
Melbourne: Gawn, Melksham, Viney, Hibberd
Sydney: Kennedy, Florent, Rampe, Reid, Aliir, Parker
Reports: Nil
Injuries: Nil
