Sydney has smashed their home ground curse at the SCG with a comprehensive 59-point win over the struggling Fremantle Dockers, who succumbed to their fifth loss of the season.
Jake Lloyd was prolific for the Swans with 41 disposals and 15 marks, while Lance Franklin experienced a successful return with three goals, including his 300th as a Swan.
Having lost three of their last four games at the SCG, the pressure was on Sydney to get over their inconsistencies and put together a four quarter performance in front of their home crowd.
Young gun Will Hayward kicked off proceedings with a classy finish just two minutes into the game, before being followed by last week’s hero, Ben Ronke.
As the two Sydney youngsters made their mark on the game early, the Swans immediately looked too classy and far more skilled than their opponents.
An Isaac Heeney screamer got the crowd out of their seats, as the home side looked to be at their absolute damaging best in the opening passages.
The Dockers eventually found their feet halfway into the term and began to match it with the battle-hardened swans, yet couldn’t convert with three straight behinds in the space of ten minutes.
After absorbing the pressure of their young opponents, it would be none other than skipper Josh Kennedy to respond, giving Sydney a 17-point lead at quarter-time.
Sydney would continue to make the young Dockers pay in the second term, as they continued to get right on top around the contest and keep their flailing opposition goalless.
After a dominant first quarter, Lloyd’s night continued to get better as he put through his first goal of the evening to inflict even more pain on the Purple Army.
Lloyd's major was soon followed by Kennedy’s second, as Fremantle simply could not get near the class and skill of the Sydney side.
It would be a shocking defensive turnover which got the Dockers on the board, as Michael Walters forced a spillage and converted from a sleek snap.
But the Dockers' spark amounted to nothing, with a swift Sydney response from Heeney restoring the Swans' dominance in the second term.
As Franklin put his name on the scoresheet right before half-time, the Swans held a comprehensive 33-point advantage at the main change.
The dour form of the Dockers carried on into the third term, as Tom Papley and Tom McCartin extended the margin out to 46 points just minutes into the quarter, with the latter's major the first of his AFL career.
With the night quickly turning into an embarrassment for the Dockers and their score resting at just 1.9, a response to save themselves from an absolute annihilation was desperately needed.
It took 22 minutes for Fremantle to kick their second goal through a strong mark from the ever-consistent Aaron Sandilands, who minimised the humiliation, albeit temporarily, as Franklin's second goal put the Swans up by 51 points up at the final change.
After a low-scoring first three quarters, the game would finish with a flurry for both sides with 11 combined goals.
Looking to avoid a hefty demolition, Walters put through his second goal to cut the margin below 50 points, but once again, the Swans mustered a quick response with star midfielder Luke Parker getting in on the action with his first goal of the night.
Young Docker Ed Langdon was handed some reward for effort early in the final term, with the Dockers' fourth goal as the scoring floodgates opened.
Franklin eventually put the cherry on top of a successful return with his third goal to extend the margin beyond ten goals, with some late consolation majors from Hayden Ballantyne and a well-held Nat Fyfe allowing Fremantle to walk away with some pride.
Despite the final 59-point margin, the Dockers' pasting won't be the biggest story to come from the Saturday night clash.
The big headline of the night surrounds the returning Franklin, who will without a doubt come under scrutiny following a stray elbow on Joel Hamling, which saw the Fremantle defender come off the ground with concussion.
Sydney will look to continue their good form with a third straight win as they travel the GABBA to face the winless Lions. Whilst Fremantle will be happy to return home to Optus Stadium as they face an in form North Melbourne side in what looks to be one of the games of the round.
SYDNEY 3.3 7.4 11.6 17.9 (111)
FREMANTLE 0.4 1.7 2.9 7.10 (52)
GOALS
Sydney: Kennedy 3, Franklin 3, Papley 2, McCartin 2, Hayward, Ronke, Lloyd, Heeney, Parker, Sinclair, Hewett
Fremantle: Walters 2, Sandilands 2, Langdon, Ballantyne, Fyfe
BEST
Sydney: Lloyd, McVeigh, Rampe, Kennedy, Franklin, Parker
Fremantle: Langdon, Ryan, Neale, Blakely, Fyfe, Wilson
INJURIES
Sydney: Jones (head) Fremantle: Hamling (concussion)
Comments