Sublime Swans teach 'hopeless' Giants a lesson in the west
The Swans have delivered arguably the biggest boilover in the Sydney derby's eight-year history, holding Greater Western Sydney to their equal lowest-ever score while ripping an enormous hole in their 2020 plans.
Heavily depleted in every department, Sydney confounded all pre-match predictions to notch a stunning 41-point win and leave the Giants' top-eight hopes in major strife.
Swans players celebrate a goal against the Giants on Thursday night.Credit:Getty
It'll go down as the weirdest Sydney derby of all time – it took place at Perth's Optus Stadium, after all, in front of just a few thousand fans on a Thursday evening. So perhaps it was fitting that there was a shock result that nobody saw coming.
This should have been an opportunity for the Giants to boost their own confidence against a weak Swans team with no Isaac Heeney, Josh Kennedy, Lance Franklin, George Hewett or Aliir Aliir.
Instead they dished up a simply putrid performance, slumping to an alarming 10.6 (66) to 3.7 (25) defeat – one that puts their finals hopes in real jeopardy and should invite a fresh round of questioning over coach Leon Cameron's ability to draw the best out of his uber-talented list.
Now 6-5 for the year and stuck in a mid-ladder logjam, GWS look a shadow of the team that bulldozed their way to a maiden grand final appearance last season, and appear to be coasting in the expectation that the same will magically happen again.
The Swans, meanwhile, gave their fans a tantalising glimpse of the future, swarming with intensity from start to finish. They're still learning on the job right now, but soon enough they'll be able to do this kind of thing week in, week out.
Young gun James Rowbottom was exceptional in midfield with 20 disposals and eight clearances, coach John Longmire's decision to move Nick Blakey paid off handsomely with 18 touches and two goals, while the slick Jordan Dawson also kicked two majors. Co-captain Luke Parker was everywhere, as usual, with 29 possessions and the Brett Kirk Medal for best afield.
The Giants, granted, had no Phil Davis or Toby Greene. But they also had no answers.
Josh Kelly (31 disposals) stood out among a well-beaten pack, with 12 Giants players finishing the game with 10 or fewer possessions.
The only three goals they mustered were from questionable free kicks – to Jeremy Cameron in the second term, Jeremy Finlayson in the third, and Zac Langdon in the last, by which stage the game was well and truly gone.
James Rowbottom was one of the Swans' standouts with 20 disposals and eight clearances.Credit:Getty
Langdon's late effort at least saved GWS from the ignominy of setting a record for their worst-ever score. Instead they repeated the same sorry numbers they put up in last year's forgettable AFL grand final.
Their first-half score of 1.3 (9) was their worst first-half effort since their inaugural season.
An honest Stephen Coniglio summed it up perfectly at the long break, speaking to Fox Sports as he trudged off the field: "Hopeless, really. I think they want it more. Just simply not good enough."
But when they emerged from the sheds, the Giants provided little in the way of a response, and the Swans continued to mop up everything they threw at them.
Debutant Zac Foot's maiden AFL goal gave Sydney an emotional boost in the third term, before Jackson Thurlow converted a free kick to give them a game-high 28-point lead.
It was one of four goals kicked by the Swans in a dream-like final term. For GWS, this was the stuff of absolute nightmares.