It’s a strange old game, is footy. Just when you think you’re all set and the game is well within your keeping, the opposition storms back and threatens to undo all the good work you’ve done for three and a bit quarters.
The Sydney Swans must have been feeling relatively safe ten minutes into the last quarter. It remained an arm wrestle, yes, but no goals had been scored and the Swans held roughly a four-goal lead. With time slowly trickling away, the Essendon threat seemed to diminish more and more.
And then, it happened.
The sense of urgency that had been missing in some aspects of the Bombers’ game kicked in and with goals to Kyle Langford, Peter Wright (x2), and Sam Durham, suddenly there was a kick in it, and the time for coasting was done. It was time to stop attempting to save the game and start trying to win it!
It took a booming goal from Tom Papley, as he summed up the situation and let fly from close to sixty metres out, the ball bouncing over the goal line to give the Swans an eight-point lead, to finally give Sydney the breathing room they needed. Even then, a late goal from Jye Menzie gave Essendon the slightest of hopes.
At the siren, however, it was the Swans picking up a huge road win and keeping their 2023 finals hopes alive. With the other results from the Saturday fixture creating havoc for potential finals berths, the Swans find themselves half a game out of the top eight with a monster Sydney Derby upcoming.
Let’s jump into The Mongrel’s Talking Points from this one.
Oh, what the hell? A Mongrel paywall? Yep, I believe my work is worth twenty cents per day. If you don’t, that’s fine. Don’t complain, though. Sometimes, I open these reviews up after 24 hours or so. Sometimes, I don’t. There is no favouritism… I just don’t. Want to join us and access the members’ game reviews, as well as columns like the Wingman of the Year, Recruit of the Year, and other nonsensical stuff HB comes up with each week?
