The Sydney Swans overcame a Carlton fightback and an SCG soaking to beat the Blues by 22 points on Friday night.
Sydney remains in fifth place on the AFL ladder after a gritty 8.17 (65) to 5.13 (43) slog in heavy rain which sees underachieving Carlton miss the chance to edge into the top eight.
The Swans looked to blank the Blues in the first half, kicking four goals in the first quarter and another in the second as Carlton was kept at bay.
Kurt Tippett was dominating in the wet with a powerful showing up front, marking with authority and distributing well while kicking two goals in the first half.
The Blues managed to avoid a goal-less two quarters with a fortunate six-pointer after Nick Malceski stepped over the goal-line while being fenced in by Josh Bootsma, who proceeded to boot home the points from the free-kick.
Despite a 28-point lead in trying conditions, Carlton refused to buckle in the third quarter and, were it not for some wastefulness in front of goal, could have edged ahead of the Swans.
The Blues still claimed three majors and five behinds in a frantic third period, and came out firing in the final stanza when Zach Tuohy belted a screamer from distance to narrow the gap to just seven points.
But after a string of behinds, the Swans finally put the game to bed when Ben McGlynn and Tom Mitchell scored within three minutes of each other to secure a dogged win for the defending premiers.
McGlynn and Tippett led the scoring charts with two goals in a low-scoring affair, while Craig Bird dished out 33 disposals for the Swans.
Bryce Gibbs had 24 touches for the Blues, while Chris Judd chalked up 22 disposals.
Sydney Swans: 8.17 (65) - B McGlynn 2, K Tippett 2, L Parker, T Mitchell, M Pyke, J Bolton
Carlton: 5.13 (43) - Z Tuohy, D Armfield, K Lucas, J Bootsma, B Gibbs
No comments:
Post a Comment