Swans forward Logan McDonald’s kick after the siren to win Saturday’s AFL match against Fremantle came up short, but Sydney coach John Longmire looked elsewhere when finding cause for a first defeat in 11 matches.
A long, straight shot from McDonald from just outside the SCG’s 50m arc would have given the Swans another come-from-behind win. Instead, they suffered a first home loss in 2024.
“It didn’t quite get there but those sort of things happen,” Longmire said. “I’m very much that’s one moment in many others that were probably more important, that we needed to get right, and take away that feeling of hope, take away that luck.
“We want to make sure we control the things we can control. Sometimes that happens, a shot like that, and there’s not much you can do about it. He’ll learn from that, and we’ll all learn from that. But I’m not focused on that now. It’s more about the other stuff we did in the first half.”
McDonald had hardly been sighted in a game where the Swans trailed all day after being jumped by Fremantle before levelling the scores with the last goal of the game when he marked and kicked beautifully at the 22-minute mark of the final team.
Fremantle managed to scramble a couple of points and the Swans dragged one back with a wayward snap before McDonald led and marked 50 metres out on an angle. He was lining up when the siren went. His shot at glory drifted to the right and fell short.
Swans forward Logan McDonald lament his missed shot at goal.Credit: Getty Images
Fremantle deserved to win the match. They controlled the Swans’ usually dominant midfield, with Brownlow Medal winner Nat Fyfe keeping Isaac Heeney unusually quiet.
It was the seventh time the Swans had trailed at quarter-time and the fourth time in their last five matches they had trailed at the main break.
Source Agencies
