The Swans have broken this one wide open. And they did it fairly quickly too, with Tom Papley booting his second goal after just 30 seconds, and then his third two minutes later.
Chad Warner would have added another, as explained a little earlier, if he wasn’t so damn honest.
Paul Curtis of the Kangaroos and Brodie Grundy of the Swans contest the ball.Credit: Getty Images
The Kangaroos had their chances to hit back but Nick Larkey – the bloke who touched Warner’s kick – missed two very gettable shots on goal, and they were duly punished by James Jordon and Logan McDonald, who made no such mistakes.
Then Warner got his goal – and then he got another – and that made it six in a row by the Swans. Brodie Grundy added goal number seven.
Larkey finally stemmed the bleeding for North with three minutes to go with a brilliant checkside, squeezing it out while surrounded by four defenders to cap off a lovely team move out of the middle.
Sydney’s lead now at half-time is 42 points, and you’d imagine they won’t be letting that slip today.
Especially with the Swans being statistically the AFL’s best second-half team, which is an ominous thought for North right now; they were very competitive in the first term but had no answers once Sydney gathered some real momentum.
Papley and McDonald both now have three goals each, while Warner has two to go with 17 disposals and four inside 50s.
As for Callum Mills, he’s had a pretty quiet afternoon so far, with just seven touches as he blows out a few cobwebs in his long-awaited return. For North, Colby McKercher has a game-high 19 disposals.
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