In a see-sawing battle at the SCG on Friday night, Sydney’s unanswered five goal burst in the third quarter was the difference between the sides, clinching the Marn Grook trophy.
Sydney’s 30-point win makes it their ninth win from their last ten matches against Carlton and cements their place inside the top 4.
Isaac Heeney was superb throughout the match and was named best on ground, winning the Goodes-O’Loughlin medal.
Carlton were tough at the contest in the first half, leading the contested possessions and clearances, two stats the Swans pride themselves on.
The Swans on the other hand, while clean with the ball in hand, looked flat and lethargic, rarely applying enough pressure to force turnovers.
Isaac Heeney was one of a handful of Swans players that provided a genuine forward half threat, but Liam Jones was the star or the first half, with five intercept marks.
Callum Sinclair was the standout player on the night (7 marks, 4 contested), booting two goals in the third quarter, while collecting 22 disposals, 12 contested.
Sinclair had an intriguing battle with his Carlton counterpart Matthew Kruezer all night, with Kruezer arguably besting him in the ruck contests, but Sinclair running him off his feet once the ball hit the deck.
Superstar forward Lance Franklin finished with three goals for the match but found it tough to influence the match, with Liam Jones intercepting everything in the air, and Sam Rowe on the ground.
Swans midfielders Luke Parker (21 possessions), Josh Kennedy (26 possessions) and Isaac Heeney (22) worked hard throughout the match, combining for four goals.
Youngsters Will Hayward (2 goals), Oliver Florent (20 possessions) and George Hewett (9 clearances) were instrumental in the Swans’ second-half turn around.
Swans coach John Longmire was pleased with the way his side responded to the Carlton challenge.
"The first part of that quarter we were getting beaten around the ball, then we turned that around in the last 10 minutes," he said.
"The players noticed it at three-quarter time and spoke about it, that last 10 was important for us with our intensity."
Trailing by one point at half-time, the Swans came out breathing fire in the third quarter, with ruckman Callum Sinclair kicking his first goal of the night inside the first three minutes.
Two goals to Callum Sinclair, Will Hayward and Lance Franklin proved the difference between the teams, especially with Franklin finally breaking the Rowe shackles.
While Carlton had plenty of opportunities to work their way back into the match, their inaccuracy let them down and released Sydney, who repeatedly punished them on the counter.
The Swans were uncharacteristically undisciplined early in the match, giving away several free kicks to Carlton inside their forward 50.
Pat Kerr and Charlie Curnow capitalised on the Swans mistakes, kicking a goal from a 50-metre penalty and a free kick inside 50.
The lead changed three more times in the first quarter, with the Swans heading into the first break, leading by four points.
Sydney threatened to break-away early in the second quarter, but their pressure and work rate fell away, gifting Carlton a way back into the match.
Sam Kerridge (29 possessions) was influential for the Blues early on, dominating Dan Hannebery (12 possessions), while Kade Simpson (27 possessions) and Ed Curnow (7 tackles) gave the Swans midfielders a football lesson.
A blast at half-time from the Swans coach John Longmire stirred the Swans into action – they reacted with five unanswered goals after the half-time break.
NEXT UP
The Swans travel to Melbourne to face St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, with Tom Papley a chance to return. The Swans’ recent record at Etihad is the best in the league, but they’ll need to bring their fire and intensity from the opening bounce.
SYDNEY 3.5 5.7 10.9 13.13 (91)
CARLTON 3.1 6.2 6.6 9.7 (61)
INJURIES
Nil
GOALS
Franklin 3, Sinclair 2, Parker 2, Hayward 2, Heeney 2, McVeigh, Jack
BEST
Sinclair, Parker, Heeney, Hewett, Smith, McVeigh, Cunningham
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