It was the onslaught that never abated and forced the Swans to reimagine their season amid dire predictions about their premiership hopes.
From the opening bounce at Adelaide Oval in August, Sydney was overpowered by Port Adelaide in a staggering 112-point loss that shook the competition.
In one regard, it was an aberration for Sydney.
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‘It’s not great for the stress levels!’ | 02:30
Never before had a John Longmire-coached team lost by such a margin and rarely had they looked as ineffective. Even in Geelong’s demolition of Sydney in the 2022 grand final, the Swans had their moments.
This was something else and Longmire labelled the performance “completely and utterly unacceptable”.
But the scope of the defeat aside, it was a continuation of some worrying trends for Sydney.
It was the Swans fifth loss from six games during a period where the minor premiers resembled anything but the flag fancy they had appealed as during a brilliant Autumn.
It was also their eighth straight loss to Port Adelaide, a streak that has been dissected and reconsidered in recent days given the significance of Friday night’s preliminary final.
Alarmingly, it was the most vivid demonstration yet of what has shaped as an Achilles heel for the Swans flag ambitions throughout 2024, namely their propensity to start slowly.
Of the eight sides to qualify for the finals, the Swans have by far the worst opening term record and have led at the first break in just nine matches this year.
Hawthorn was the only other team with a negative opening term record (12-13) but five of those deficits came in their horror opening stretch before a Rd 6 win sparked their season.
And it is not just the fact that the Swans have been trailing. As a comparison of percentages, while every other finalist was above 100, Sydney’s quarter-time percentage is 75.93.
FIRST QUARTER RECORDS — AFL FINALS TEAMS IN 2024
1. Sydney — 9-1-14 For: 62.76 (448) Against: 88.62 (590) Percentage: 75.93
2. Port Adelaide — 17-1-7 For: 87.70 (592) Against: 65.73 (463) Percentage: 127.86
3. Geelong — 16-0-8 For: 88.64 (592) Against: 62.66 (438) Percentage: 135.16
4. Giants — 17-0-8 For: 80.62 (542) Against: 68.89 (497) Percentage: 109.05
5. Brisbane — 21-0-4 For: 104.87 (711) Against: 55.59 (389) Percentage: 182.78
6. Bulldogs — 13-0-11 For: 80.74 (554) Against: 69.50 (464) Percentage: 119.40
7. Hawthorn — 12-0-13 For: 74.64 (508) Against: 73.65 (503) Percentage: 100.99
8. Carlton — 14-2-8 For: 79.74 (548) Against: 68.57 (465) Percentage: 117.85
Source: finalsiren.com
Port keen to move on from Ken’s blow-up | 01:21
It remains the biggest conundrum stemming from the loss to Port Adelaide in August ahead of tonight’s preliminary final and, potentially, the grand final in a week’s time at the MCG against either Geelong or Brisbane.
A freshen up for players away from the club in the days after the Port Adelaide loss proved the catalyst for a form reversal, beginning with the gallant win over Collingwood, after Longmire realised “they were just a bit tired”.
“We have been able to come back and find some form just through competing … and what we are most pleased about is just finding different ways to get over the line,” he said.
As champion Swan Isaac Heeney said this week, there is a stark difference in Sydney’s form now compared to when they were in a rut.
“That was in the past and we were out of a bit of form at that stage, but I feel like we are back,” he said.
“The boys are really confident and we know our best holds up against anyone and we will be ready to go.”
The merits of the eight match streak are arguably inconsequential, as Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley noted on Wednesday.
It is a rare occasion where the two rivals play more than once in a season and most of the matches in the streak were played at Adelaide Oval.
None of the top 20 highest-performing players in the past five matches between the preliminary final rivals have played every game.
“You have these runs. It has absolutely nothing to do with what will happen on Friday night,” Hinkley said.
“The next game is a lineball game and you have to be ready. And we have a big challenge with the Sydney midfield. We respect them enormously. We have to bring our absolute best or we will not be in the game.”
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Swans lose skipper to training injury | 01:42
But the Achilles heel remains, for even though the Swans have won their past four games, they have conceded leads at quarter-time in three of them and only led the Crows by seven points despite kicking a season’s best seven goals in their Rd 24 clash.
For the most part, the Swans have proven good enough to reel rivals in. To borrow from recent clashes between Australia’s best two middle-distance horses, the Swans have begun like champion galloper Mr Brightside when pitted against star mare Pride of Jenni.
Last week it conceded a significant start before pulling back the margin in the straight in the Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington.
But the Port Adelaide loss was like Pride of Jenni’s demolition in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick in April.
Just as she extended her lead the further the race went, Port Adelaide put the foot to the floor against the Swans six weeks ago and continued to accelerate away from a top-class opponent.
Longmire, who described Port Adelaide as “a terrific footy team” this week, is well aware of the problem, though it was not addressed in a pre-match press conference this week.
Google Sydney Swans and slow starts and there will be quotes galore from the 2012 premiership coach this season lamenting the issue and vowing to address it.
As a case in point, after Fremantle snapped the Swans 10-match winning streak with a one point win at the SCG in Rd 16, courtesy of a seven goal to two opening term, Longmire said; “We have looked at it closely, so it’s not as if I have to look at it any closer.”
“It’s a bit of everything but when we get back to pretty basic footy and we get our pressure up, it’s amazing what happens from that. It’s very simple, but we’ve got to do it a bit earlier,” he said.
The Swans squared with St Kilda at 2.2 (14) apiece a week later at Marvel Stadium but in the eight matches since, only twice have they led at the first change – the Rd 24 clash against the Crows and the Rd 18 win over North Melbourne, where they took a two point advantage into the second term.
Heeney, who is playing his 200th game tonight, said the Swans “know we need to start well against Port and we will be up for it from the get go”.
Former St Kilda champion and Fox Footy analyst Leigh Montagna stressed this week on both the network and also Triple M that Port Adelaide have a legitimate chance of continuing their streak against the Swans.
But although they kicked a big winning score in the thrashing last month, he said they had a better chance of winning by preventing the match from becoming a shoot out and restricting the Swans in the opening term is a critical step.
In games where less than 160 points have been kicked as a combined score, Port Adelaide have won 11 of the 13 matches.
“I know it feels like this is the one where everyone just assumes the Sydney Swans (will progress),” Montagna said.
“I was having a look for a segment for The Watch List and making the case for Port Adelaide and if they can turn this into a scrap and turn it into an arm wrestle, they are every chance of winning this game. In the last 11 weeks, they have only conceded more than 75 points twice.
“They are defending really well. The Geelong game was a disaster … but if you take the broader body of work, they are defending really well. They can win an arm wrestle.
“When it opens up into a high-scoring game, they are five and six, so I don’t think a shoot out will work against the Swans. But if they can make it a scrap, they are right in this game.”
Source Agencies
