If the Swans are to win their first premiership since 2012, they know they have to learn to win ugly. Friday night’s six-point victory over Collingwood at the SCG was the perfect place to start.
The Swans were forced to chase down a 33-point second-quarter deficit, before Collingwood ruckman Oscar Steene injured his left knee and was unable to play on. It changed everything.
Swans star Brodie Grundy, who played 177 games with Collingwood and was twice a best-and-fairest winner and All-Australian in the black and white, finished with 34 disposals, 46 hitouts, 12 clearances and six score involvements against the inexperienced Magpie rucks, winning the Goodes-O’Loughlin Medal in the process.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae admitted in his post-match press conference that they suspected Steene, 22, would need a knee reconstruction (though they’ll get scans to confirm it).
“It’s not looking good, unfortunately,” McRae said.
“To see what he was capable of against Brodie [Grundy], who clearly is one of the better ruckmen in the competition, he was really holding his own, and we had a lot of ascendancy from that. I think we might have been 16 points up, or close to it, around that time and then, the game changes.”
Grundy then feasted on the likes of makeshift rucks Jack Buller (a former Swan) and Ned Long, and acknowledged what a game-changing moment the Steene injury was, not just for his own game, but for his side’s fortunes on the night.
“Obviously, tonight I was rucking against some of Collingwood’s midfield players, so you’ve got to acknowledge that,” Grundy said.
“It was disappointing for them, I hope Oscar’s OK. He looked quite bad, so best wishes to him, he’s a great young talent, and I’ve been watching him all year.
“He’s given me a few headaches there in the centre … he can jump through the roof, I just hope he’s OK.”
Collingwood had arrived in Sydney undermanned and unfancied. Clearly the Magpies weren’t buying into it.
Their first quarter was particularly impressive, shutting down the Swans’ corridor game with relentless pressure acts and hoovering up telling disposals through Jordan De Goey. Nick Daicos was predictably tagged by James Jordon but still finished the quarter with two goals.
In the second term, the Magpies could manage just 1.7 to the Swans’ 2.2 and McRae was left disappointed by what could have been for his team.
“You lose by a goal, [and] it’s all those moments, isn’t it?” he said.
“Someone had a set shot, someone could have stabbed a goal – both teams kicked 15 behinds [for the game]. It was tricky conditions.
“With that energy and effort that we had tonight, plus [the way we are] defending the ground, we’re going to be in a lot of games.”
Swans defender Nick Blakey finished with 39 disposals and 10 marks, and was outstanding in a team that often struggled to handle the football cleanly in the wet conditions.
But the man affectionately known as “the Lizard” much preferred to pay tribute to his teammate, and housemate, James Rowbottom post-match.
It was Rowbottom who came up with a telling late tackle on the dangerous Dan Houston, causing a holding-the-ball decision as the Pies looked for one last forward foray.
“We were up against it and could have easily folded over and said it was too hard. But we never say die,” Blakey told Kayo Sports.
“[It was] Rowy’s 150th, and it was fitting that the toughest man on the ground lays that last tackle [on Dan Houston].
“They were off [looking to pump the ball forward], and they are so good at playing those moments and they are never out of it.
“He doesn’t get a lot of recognition. He’s my best mate, and we live together and are thick as thieves, and he’s very underrated.”
Swans Coach Dean Cox said it was Blakey who typified their side’s ability to adapt under pressure and find another way to win when the corridor was almost completely closed off.
“What I’m really excited about is how mature [we are]. We can become a team that, if something’s thrown at us, we can adapt and move and do it a different way,” Cox said.
“Whether that’s around the contest, stoppage, defensively or offensively. I think Nick’s in that space at the moment – he’s a mature player, he’s played a lot of footy. He understands his role, but he doesn’t push it too far, which has been really good, and that’s been part of his development.”
Swans forwards Tom Papley and Logan McDonald finished with two crucial goals apiece, while Joel Amartey and Charlie Curnow were held to just one goal between them.
Cox spoke of the difficulty he faced when omitting forward Hayden McLean after his three-goal performance against North Melbourne.
“I think as a coach they’re the hardest decisions to make, but they’re ones that you have to make, and they’re ones that you’re hopefully in a position to make,” Cox said.
“It means everyone plays their role, to bring Charlie [Curnow] back in was important, but Hayden [McLean] and Logan [McDonald] and Joel [Amartey] had been playing their roles, and did last week against North.
“It was just unfortunate we weren’t going to go with four talls. The set-up we’d been using with Logan had been working, so that’s what probably held him in favour.”
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