The Sydney Swans have dominated the Gold Coast Suns, cruising to a 53-point win on a perfect Sunday afternoon at the SCG in Brodie Grundy's 200th AFL game.
The Swans got off to a flying start, piling on the first five scores of the game, en route to a strong 25-point quarter time lead.
John Longmire had the Swans set up masterfully, overloading the stoppages to halt the influence of Matt Rowell and the Suns’ midfield while holding the likes of Nick Blakey behind the ball to clean up and open the ground off turnovers.
The plan entering forward 50 was evident; lower the eyes and find the open man. Sydney managed 16 marks inside 50, with all of their first 10 goals coming directly from set shots.
Gold Coast did not go without answer, upping the pressure significantly and locking the ball in their forward half through the second term.
Strong efforts from young gun Jed Walter and an impressive showing behind the ball saw the Suns claw back into the game, holding Sydney to just one behind in the second quarter.
Unfortunately, the Suns were unable to secure too much return for effort, and as a back-and-forth battle broke out in the second half, the Swans took advantage of their talent to pull ahead.
Some Tom Papley magic saw the Swans reach the largest lead of the game, kicking seven goals in the third term to pull 43 points clear ahead of the final change.
The fourth quarter saw much of the same, as Sydney booted away to extend the margin, finishing the game 17.8 (110) to 8.9 (57).
The impressive showing saw the Swans hold the lead for the entirety of the game, making it five wins from six and leapfrogging into second on the ladder ahead of their battle against Hawthorn next Sunday.
As for the Suns, their inability to contain the Swans’ transition saw the game slip away, however, positive signs remain for Damien Hardwick’s young mob. Their strong midfield core went toe-to-toe with Sydney’s stars, while impressive signs from some of their debut season jets sees the Gold Coast in good stead for the coming seasons.
The Suns are set to take on a hot West Coast side next Sunday, as they look to get back on winning terms.
FULL SCORE
Sydney: 5.3, 5.4, 12.8, 17.8 (110)
Gold Coast: 1.2, 3.5, 5.7, 8.9 (57)
GOALS
Sydney: Amartey 4, Papley 3, Wicks 2, Hayward 2, McDonald 2, Warner, Heeney, Jordan, Grundy.
Gold Coast: King 2, Humphrey, Clohesy, Miller, Walter, Anderson, Fiorini.
BEST
Sydney: Nick Blakey, Brodie Grundy, Tom Papley, Isaac Heeney, Matt Roberts.
Gold Coast: Matt Rowell, Sam Flanders, Jarrod Witts, Sam Clohesy, Brayden Fiorini.
INJURIES:
Sydney: N/A
Gold Coast: N/A