SYDNEY SWANS 5.2 9.2 13.4 16.4 (100)
HAWTHORN 2.2 7.5 11.6 17.10 (112)
GOALS: Sydney Swans: White 3, Parker 3, Rohan 2, Bolton, K. Jack, Mitchell, McGlynn, Pyke, Mumford, Morton
Hawthorn: Roughead 4, Franklin 2, Breust 2, Gunston 2, Birchall, Lewis, Hale, Mitchell, Puopolo, Anderson, Lake
BEST: Sydney Swans: Mumford, White, McVeigh, O'Keefe, Parker, Kennedy
Hawthorn: Lewis, Sewell, Roughead, Birchall, Burgoyne, Puopolo
The memory doesn’t need to stretch far back to recall the last meeting between Hawthorn and Sydney ahead of the Qualifying Final, with the two teams having played each other last Friday night.
Different to this Friday night’s all-important clash, however, the game was played at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, where the Hawks sewed up the minor premiership with a hard-fought 12 point victory.
Sydney were without a number of stars, including leading goal kicker Kurt Tippett, Dan Hannebery, Lewis Jetta, Adam Goodes, Sam Reid, Nick Smith and Lewis Roberts-Thomson, but that didn’t seem to matter.
It was a nice tune-up for both sides ahead of the 2013 finals series, with both teams attacking the ball and man with ferocity, laying a combined 151 tackles – Sydney 81 and Hawthorn 71.
The Hawks were forced to, for the second week in a row had to take a different approach at half time, with the Swans on top in the opening half thanks to their manic pressure around the ball.
Sydney dominated the first team, with 22 tackles, which helped turn into 15 inside 50s to eight and a three-goal quarter time lead.
The Hawks coped better in the second term with the Sydney pressure, booting five goals to four, but the Swans still controlled the midfield battle and made use of their opportunities in front of goal – booting 9.2 to 7.5 to lead at the main break.
Led by Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis and Shaun Burgoyne in the midfield, Hawthorn took control in the midfield in the second half, winning both the contested footy and clearances, which enabled them to overrun a determined Sydney.
The Hawthorn forward line was too dangerous for the Sydney backling to handle, with Jarryd Roughead, Lance Franklin, Jack Gunston and Luke Breust all kicking multiple goals.
It was Roughead thought who inflicted the most damage as his team’s leading goal kicker with four – sewing up the Coleman Medal, while Lance Franklin kicked three as he worked further up the ground to set up his forward teammates.
For Sydney, it was Josh Kennedy and Kieren Jack who did the most damage in the midfield with 33 and 27 touches respectively.
But one of the most damaging player wearing a Swans guernsey was Ryan O’Keefe who kept Mitchell relatively quiet, particularly in the first half, while gathering 27 disposals himself along with 11 tackles and five clearances.
The Hawks were reminded too of the dangerous and potent nature of the Sydney forward line with or without Tippett.
Luke Parker and Jesse White kicked three, while Jude Bolton, Ben McGlynn, Mike Pyke, Mitch Morton and Gary Rohan all kicked goals as players rotating through the forward line.
What the coaches said
Hawthorn’s Alastair Clarkson: “I didn’t think we played particularly well, I thought Sydney were the better side on the night.
“We weren’t particularly pleased in the way we played in the first half of the game, they beat us in contested possession and clearances.
“(But) we’re pleased we could win interstate, it’s hard to win up here and particularly against Sydney.”
“We found a way somehow in the end to win the game so that was pleasing.”
Sydney’s John Longmire: “I thought we had a lot of positives come out of the game even though we got beaten on the scoreboard.
"We were minus-30 in the tackles last week and we were plus-14 or so tonight (81-69).
"That was a really good start, and I thought our first half in particular our ability to cause some turnovers and score on those turnovers were good.”
