In an uninspiring contest Sydney Swans registered a comfortable 52-point victory against lowly Gold Coast Suns, with the game ending Swans 13.15.93 to Suns 5.11.41.
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Midfield star, Dan Hannebery led the way for the Swans with an incredible 42 disposals, while Dane Rampe marshalled the defence well and collected a highly impressive 31 touches for a defender.
An undermanned Goal Coast side could take some positives from the performances of ruckman Tom Nicholls and emerging midfielder Kade Kolodjashnij who was his team’s leading possession getter with 27.
It was an encouraging display from a team that’s decimated by injuries and Suns coach Rodney Eade would have been pleased with the endeavour his hugely inexperienced side showed.
On the other hand, Swans coach John Longmire must have not been happy with his team’s uncharacteristic skill errors, as they let an opportunity to gain significant percentage slip.
The game started slowly with both teams struggling to effectively use the ball by foot, however, Adam Goodes reaffirmed his class with this brilliant roving goal.
Lance Franklin scored the goal of a rather dull quarter (see below) as the Swans took a deserved 21-point lead at the first change.
A similar trend ensued at the beginning of the second quarter as the Swans extended their lead with three well worked goals.
The Swans completed a swift move when Tom Mitchell kicked this set shot to put Sydney out to a 37-point lead and effectively put the game beyond all doubt.
It was a goalless quarter for the Suns, as their opponents comfortably transitioned from end-to-end and created clear goalscoring opportunities to hold a commanding 44-point lead at the main change.
The third term was a dismal affair as the Suns locked down the game and restricted their opponents to limited ball use inside 50.
It took all of 14 minutes until Kurt Tippett scored his third goal (see below) and provided a rare highlight of the quarter.
However, two goals from Gold Coast to round off the term saw them win their first quarter in over 10 quarters of football.
This effort from Jarrod Harbrow had the Suns trailing by 39 points and gave them a glimmer of hope heading into the final stanza.
Again, the start of the term was lacklustre as the Suns continued to negate their attack-minded counterparts.
Franklin booted the first major of the quarter with this wonderful goal tight on the boundary.
Harry Cunningham slotted this fine set shot to put the icing on the cake and consign the Suns to another miserable afternoon.
And just to rub some salt into Suns’ wounds Sam Reid kicked his only goal of the game after the siren to push the margin over the 50-point mark.
High-flying Sydney Swans travel to face North Melbourne Kangaroos on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium, while it doesn’t get any easier for the Gold Coast Suns, who host top of the table Fremantle Dockers on Saturday afternoon.
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