Wow, what a team and what a performance. We smashed the Tigers at their own game, and we never gave them a chance to break back.
Sure, half-time rolled around, 40-points up and the nerves were there, bubbling away just below the surface. Surely we couldn't hold back this champion team, could we? A team that's won 3 of the last 4 premierships?
Yeah, we could, and we did. 57-point lead before three-quarter time put an end to their resistance, or whatever it was they dished up because they were garbage. But, that's down to the way the Swans played. They never relented and never gave the Tigers a chance to play their under-10s rolling maul style.
I spoke with Heather on the podcast on Thursday night about the way to play (catch it here if you haven't had a listen yet) to beat Richmond. Don't fall into the trap of the loose player, don't bomb down the line, don't let them set up.
The first quarter saw a bit of that, but by that point, the signs of an upset were well and truly there as Richmond wasted the ball time and time again, while the Swans just sprayed the goals and couldn't punish the Tigers.
By the end of the quarter though, the Swans were playing controlled football wide, dragging the Richmond midfielders and defenders to the boundary, then using precise kicking to split their lines through the centre and go fast inside 50.
Richmond was hopeless to stop it, their zoning defence just couldn't deal with the way the ball was coming in, and the second quarter will no doubt be studied by opposition coaches for the year, as the Swans torched the Tigers.
Sam Wicks was given no respect and he booted 2 before half-time and should have had a third, but gave it off to Campbell. An indicator later in the game when he missed a set-shot from a similar distance was that it dropped short.
Fatigue played a big part as well, but the Swans hung tough and didn't let the Tigers blitz their way back to a respectable score, unlike the Eagles and Port.
The third week in a row the Swans have scored 100+ points, the third week in a row the Swans have lead by 50+ points, and the third week in a row the Swans have scored 70+ points from turnovers.
Come to the end of the round, the Swans will be the number 1 ranked team in a lot of categories, given their thorough dismantling of the reigning premiers.
It was damn good to be at the ground to watch it too.
B: J. Dawson, T. McCartin, H. Cunningham
HB: J. Lloyd, D. Rampe, G. Hewett
C: J. McInerney, L. Parker, N. Blakey
HF: E. Gulden, H. McLean, C. Warner
F: I. Heeney, S. Reid, S. Wicks
FOL: T. Hickey, C. Mills, T. Papley
INT: L. McDonald, J. Kennedy, O. Florent, B. Campbell
Bonus rating
) | 29: Shai Bolton | He definitely improved our odds with that shambolic performance. AFL Player Ratings gave him an absolute shlacking, rightly so, he was dreadful for the Tigers, great for us! |
Like what you’re getting? Want more Swans Blog, and the chance to have your input into our site and what we create? We have additional content weekly on our Patreon Service. This is your avenue, what are you waiting for? Sign up today and get more content like this.
If you'd like to support us, you can head over to our Red Bubble Swans Blog Shop, and purchase one of our hideously overpriced mugs, stickers or notebooks. Help keep The Swans Blog alive.
Since you're here...
... we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading The Swans Blog than ever, but we don't accept advertising, and don't want to do so in the future. Unlike many other news and media organisations, fan forums and fan media, we haven't put up a paywall, or displayed ads - we want to keep our content as open as possible.
The Swans Blog is an independent fan blog and community platform. Our content takes a lot of time and hard work to produce. We do it because we love what we do and we believe our perspective matters - because it may be your perspective too.
If everyone who reads our blog, who likes it, is supporting it, our future would be much more secure.
Want instant access to the latest blog and news content from The Swans Blog?
Download our Android App from Google Play today.