Collingwood’s 11-game winning streak has been snapped by a hot Sydney side 77–50 at the SCG on Sunday.
In the pre-game, the Magpies lost star midfielder Jordan De Goey to a hip flexor injury with Trent Bianco his replacement in the 22.
With De Goey sidelined and Taylor Adams already missing, the Magpies were forced to run with a makeshift on-ball unit from the first bounce.
In the first term, it was Sydney who quickly picked up the ascendancy with three of the first four goals of the game.
While the margin would be just 13 points at the first break, it could’ve been uglier for the Magpies who didn’t look like they had any dare with ball in hand.
The second quarter would be more of the same in terms of Sydney dominance but neither side could get going in front of goal as there was just one goal apiece kicked in the quarter.
Things began to open up for the Swans early in the third as they began to kick away with the first three goals of the quarter, but they weren’t able to put the Magpies away holding just a 23-point lead at the final break.
While the Magpies have come from behind on multiple occasions this season, Sydney repelled one final Collingwood surge in the fourth and strike on the counterattack to keep their opposition at bay and win by 27 points.
For the Swans, the game was won as they didn’t allow Collingwood any space to operate on the smaller surface of the SCG as they played their home dimensions beautifully.
As well as suffocating their opponents, Sydney helped themselves to key statistical wins in disposals (393-321), clearances (45-38), tackles (71-49) and inside 50s (56-52).
Former GWS coach Leon Cameron believes the Swans’ ability to dominate their opposition at the contest led to the win.
“They’ve won the inside game and they’ve won the outside game,” Cameron said on AFL Nation.
“They were physically stronger than Collingwood, and they’re a more mature side than Collingwood who were missing De Goey and a couple of players.
“But they won the inside battle and then they used the ball and then they were smart when they used it on the outside.
“They deserve to be in second spot now … they’re going to like their chances at the end of September.”
Callum Mills (29 disposals), James Rowbottom (one goal, 24 disposals) and Luke Parker (25 disposals) were huge in the midfield for John Longmire’s side while Robbie Fox and Ryan Clarke had strong games to nullify the impact of Jamie Elliott and Nick Daicos respectively.
For Collingwood, Josh Daicos continued his stellar season with one goal and 25 disposals while Scott Pendlebury (26 disposals) fought hard in the centre without De Goey in the side.
Unfortunately for the Magpies, young forward Jack Ginnivan succumbed to a hamstring injury and will be sweating on scans this week while the Swans seemed to escape injury free.
Collingwood next gear up for the biggest game of the home and away season against archrivals Carlton where a win will see them earn a top-four finish while a loss will book the Blues a finals finish.
As for Sydney, they face St Kilda in the final game of Round 23 as they’ll hope to pick up a big win and secure a home qualifying final.
FULL SCORE
Sydney: 4.4, 5.7, 9.10, 11.11. (77)
Collingwood: 2.3, 3.4, 6.5, 7.8. (50)
GOALS
Sydney: Franklin 3, Heeney 2, Papley 2, Hayward, Gulden, Rampe, Rowbottom
Collingwood: J Daicos, N Daicos, Johnson, Cameron, Cox, Ginnivan, Mihocek
BEST
Sydney: Luke Parker, Callum Mills, Robbie Fox, Isaac Heeney, Errol Gulden
Collingwood: Josh Daicos, Scott Pendlebury, Darcy Cameron, John Noble
INJURIES
Sydney: n/a
Collingwood: Jack Ginnivan (hamstring)