Sydney’s returning cavalry has been put to the sword by a ruthless GIANTS side in a 42-point derby victory that leaves the Swans with their worst start to a season in nearly a quarter of a century.
Sydney welcomed Kurt Tippett, Gary Rohan and Isaac Heeney back for the Saturday night mission to halt the GIANTS’ three-match winning streak and prevent them scoring their first ever win at the SCG.
With four goals in the first five minutes the crowd of 35,824 had reason for optimism, but from that point on, the GINATS gained control and hardly gave an inch.
GIANTS scored the next nine goals to lead by 32 at half-time and, though Sydney rallied in the third term to reduce the margin by 10 points, the GIANTS’ rode their depth of talent to drive home.
On a bleak night for the red and white, there was something worth cheering late in the match when Lance Franklin kicked his third goal to take his career tally to 800, not that it meant much in the context of 2017, which now joins 1993 as seasons in which Sydney went winless in the first five games.
The GIANTS, meanwhile, can hang their hat on obliterating the Swans in contested possession and clearances, allowing their outside runners to run rampant.
The load was shared, with nine players grabbing over 20 touches, including Callan Ward (27), Nick Haynes and Jeremy Cameron (24 each) and Tom Scully and Zac Williams (23 each).
Toby Greene continued his stellar season with four goals, propelling the GIANTS to a winning margin that equals their previous biggest win over their cross-town rivals.
Sydney’s month of frustration exploded into a blistering start to the match in which they scored 24 points while denying the Giants a single possession. But the first half would turn out to be demoralising.
After easing their way back into the contest, the GIANTS completely reversed the momentum, scoring 34 of the next 35 points.
They took the lead with a typically opportunistic Steve Johnson goal in the 28th minute of the first term and made it a 10-point quarter-time lead with Cameron’s first goal.
A further four majors in the second term to Sydney’s three behinds sent the GIANTS to a 9.6.(60) 4.4.(28) half-time advantage as GIANTS midfielders Scully, Josh Kelly and Ward dominated their celebrated opponents.
Ward was particularly influential in the second quarter, while Scully was a beneficiary of Shane Mumford’s clear ascendancy in the ruck over Tippett and Callum Sinclair.
As in the opening exchanges of the first half, Sydney had joy at the start of the second, with goals to Sinclair and Rohan reducing the gap to 20 points.
But they got no closer, trailing by 22 at the final break despite playing a much better controlled period in which they stifled the GIANTS’ run.
The GIANTS showed its prowess again in the final quarter, piling on another four goals to one.
GOALS
Sydney: Franklin 3, Tippett, J. Kennedy, Papley, Rohan, Sinclair, Parker
GIANTS: Greene 4, Cameron 2, Smith 2, Patton, Lobb, Johnson, Ward, Tomlinson, Williams, S.Reid
BEST
Sydney: Kennedy, Hannebery, Lloyd, Jones
GIANTS: Mumford, Scully, Greene, Cameron, Haynes, Williams, Davis
INJURIES
Sydney: Nil
GIANTS: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Deboy, Meredith, Ryan
Official crowd: 34,824 at the SCG
