Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Star full-forward Charlie Curnow kicked a season-best eight goals while Hayden McLean booted four as the Swans played themselves back into form with a 114-point demolition of Richmond at the SCG.
The Swans rested a number of bodies for the rare visit of the Tigers to Sydney, but the hosts were still far too strong in a commanding performance that went some way to restoring confidence after last week’s 27-point loss to Geelong. The pre-game AFL Record proved prophetic: “2nd v 17th and it’s at the SCG. This won’t be close”.
After struggling on the narrow oval in Geelong, Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner were delighted to return home to the sun and wide open spaces of the SCG. Both men had 32 disposals, with Heeney kicking five goals and Warner three.
The Swans finally rested ruckman Brodie Grundy, who had played all 11 games this season. In his absence, cult figure Peter Ladhams stepped up for his first appearance of the season, adding one goal to his 28 hit-outs and 24 disposals on a rare outing at the SCG. If the Swans are to challenge for the Premiership, the continued fitness of Grundy is crucial.
Swans coach Dean Cox was pleased with Ladhams’ work after swapping the suburban football grounds of the VFL for the SCG.
“I was speaking to Brodie throughout the week and being such a competitor, he wants to play, he wants to train every day, he wants to play every game,” Cox said.
“But with workload that he’s had, we had to rest him at some stage and with Pete being in great form, we had to make sure that we had to do it then and there. He performed really well and played the way he’s been playing every week which was really good to see.”
The teams were well-matched in the opening stages. Richmond played the opening quarter with no fear, kicking goals through Noah Roberts-Thomson, Jasper Alger [2] and Tyler Sonsie.
The Swans were inconsistent, typified by forward Logan McDonald missing a straightforward shot 10 metres out, then minutes later kicking a much harder goal from 40 metres and a tight angle. McDonald smiled ruefully as the ball sailed through.
It felt like it was going to be one of those games for Sydney, but the efforts of the indefatigable Nick Blakey, with five score involvements for the quarter, ensured there would be no slip-ups. Majors came through James Jordon, Heeney, Curnow [3] and Warner as the home side finished the first term with a 20-point lead.
Curnow kicked his fourth and fifth goal of the game to start the second quarter to extend the Swans’ advantage to 25 points. Richmond’s decision to place inexperienced 20-year-old Luke Trainor on the full forward looked ambitious at best and irresponsible at worst. After Curnow’s fifth goal, Trainor’s nightmare was over, with Ben Miller taking over.
Playing his 100th AFL game, McLean kicked two goals in the second term while Ladhams snapped his first goal of the year from 25 metres out. Both men have had to toil patiently in the VFL for the majority of the season.
Warner is a dangerous proposition with time, space and the sun on his back. By the second quarter, the midfielder was tormenting Richmond and had seven score involvements.
McDonald’s second goal and Curnow’s sixth created a 58-point buffer. The game was essentially over with over a half of football left in Sydney, despite two Richmond majors from Mykelti Lefau and Oliver Hayes-Brown.
Heeney had his best quarter of the game, with 15 disposals for the quarter and a goal, alongside stepping in to help his team win clearances.
McLean opened the third quarter with his fourth major and was joined by fellow forward Joel Amartey, who grabbed his first after a rare quiet game. Curnow’s seventh goal straight in front equalled his season-best performance, against the Western Bulldogs in round seven.
Heeney’s third and fourth major in the quarter took the Swans to 139 points, pushing them past their previous highest total of the year, 132 against Carlton. Warner’s second goal extended the lead to 97 points.
By the final quarter, the Swans were content to handball without providing the goal-kicking threat that had been the theme of the afternoon.
After four consecutive Swans behinds, Curnow kicked his eighth major to give him his best return this season and the loudest cheer of the afternoon from the 38,000-strong crowd at the SCG.
Heeney’s fifth goal of the afternoon came from via an assist from debutant Harry Kyle, who was cheered on by five friends each with a letter of his last name – and his number, 32 – painted on their bare chests.
Warner’s third goal put the full stop on a contest that had started as a competitive game of football and ended as a training drill against a demoralised Richmond team.
The Swans will review injuries to midfielder Justin McInerney and defender Lewis Melican on Monday ahead of next Sunday’s clash against St Kilda at the SCG. Captain Callum Mills is also expected to return to action.
“Justin rolled his ankle so it was an option to put him back out just after half-time, but it was still a bit sore,” Cox said. “So it was about trying to manage him the best way we could not make it any worse.
“He was walking around the change rooms, which is good and Lewis’s hamstring got a bit tight so we’ll get scans on both of those. Hopefully, there’s not much there and we can move on to St Kilda pretty quickly.”
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