Swans exposed at Gabba as Brisbane declare intent

As far as reality checks go, the Sydney Swans walked into a vicious one on Thursday night at the Gabba. While all the immediate talk about Brisbane’s 43-point win has really focused on the back-to-back premiers making a large statement, the loss has also shoved a burning spotlight on the Swans’ premiership credentials. It may only be Sydney’s third loss for the season, but those losses are telling. Hawthorn, Geelong, and now Brisbane have all beaten the Swans, and they are yet to play ladder-leader

Fremantle and last year’s minor premiers Adelaide. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow So as it stand right now, the three losses have been to teams in the top six, and they are staring at games against the two other top-six teams (Dockers and Crows) in the coming weeks. Scratch a little further, and Sydney’s form line has been somewhat alarming over the past month or so. They were lucky to hang on against the 15-placed Port Adelaide (before last week’s

bye), lucky to hang on against 12th-placed St Kilda (at the SCG), had a 27-point loss to Geelong, and were lucky to beat an injury-ravaged Collingwood (who are also in a dogfight to make the top 10) in another thriller at the SCG. So while they’ve been winning, red flags have been popping off everywhere, and last night at the Gabba, Sydney was completely exposed. Despite a brilliant performance from gun midfielder Chad Warner and the return of superstar Errol Gulden, the Lions made a

mockery of Sydney’s second-place standing on the AFL ladder. Sydney’s forward line was also made to look second rate (outside of star recruit Charlie Curnow). Key forward Joel Amartey had three touches (from 68 per cent time on ground) before he was taken off with an Achilles injury. Small forward Malcolm Rosas had seven touches for no goals, Caiden Cleary (another fringe small forward) had seven touches for no goals, and Logan McDonald also had seven touches (and just one mark) for one goal. Ruckman

Peter Ladhams was also brought into the side for the game . it’s impossible to imagine he will be there next week. After the brutal humbling, Sydney coach Dean Cox warned his side that they can’t be one-trick ponies and must find another gear. But the coach may also need to find another trick with Brisbane able to nullify, quite easily, the Swans’ handball game that had been so impactful earlier in the year. “It didn’t help (that they shit down the handball game), but

Brisbane were cleaner, tougher, hungrier — plain and simple,” Cox said of his side’s sloppy ball movement. “You can’t just rely on one phase of your game to get going. “We gave up eight shots from our kick-ins . 20 shots from turnover, too many.” He was also critical of his side’s workrate, with Warner a lone soldier at times as he racked up four goals, 28 disposals and eight clearances. “Some of the stuff he did around clearance . he’d been a little inconsistent

earlier in the year around centre bounce,” Cox said. “So to take the game forward . he worked extremely hard.” Cox also praised Curnow (three goals, 13 disposals) as he urged for a response ahead of next week’s clash with the Western Bulldogs. “He competed . we didn’t have enough of them that wanted to go to the line for long enough,” the coach said. “(But) the next one’s important; that’s all I can get to, straight to the Bulldogs.” While the Swans defeated the

Bulldogs earlier this season, it’s another win that comes with a question mark. In that game at Marvel Stadium the Bulldogs were without key ruck Tim English, they had already lost superstar Sam Darcy for the season, veteran midfielder Tom Liberatore was also missing, defenders Rory Lobb and James O’Donnell were also out, and Aaron Naughton was stretchered off with a neck injury. “Our sole intention is to get back to playing the footy we need to as quickly as we possibly can,” Cox said.

But that might be more easily said than done in the next few weeks. Make no mistake, the Swans will play finals this year but, unless things change, it’s hard to seem taking home silverware. Cox said Gulden (18 touches, six tackles) would benefit from about 100 minutes of action in his return from shoulder surgery. There was also relief for Tom McCartin, who has a long history of concussions, after he was cleared after leaving the field in the second half.

Sydney Swans, Brisbane Lions, Gabba, Dean Cox, Errol Gulden, Chad Warner, Charlie Curnow, Joel Amartey, Achilles injury, Western Bulldogs, AFL ladder