Swans ramp up the pressure to cut down Roosters

BALLARAT’S manic pressure and intensity proved too hot to handle for North Ballarat at Alfredton Recreation Reserve last Saturday.

The second-placed Swans, playing with plenty of belief and intent, took care of the Roosters for the second time this season with a 15.9 (99) to 6.4 (40) victory on their home deck.

While the margin was only 11 points at half-time, even rival coach Clinton Proctor was forced to admit the Swans had the game firmly on their terms.

What came next was an eight-goal-to-one third-quarter blitz that left little doubt who was the superior outfit.

It continued a trend of powerful second halves for the Swans, who came from 43 points down the previous week at half-time against Darley to almost pip the reigning premiers in a five-point loss, only their second defeat of the season.

Their ability to weather the storm early in games and finish powerfully should inevitably hold them in good stead under the pressure of finals.

Key forward Biggie Nyuon was again a factor with five goals, his influence growing as the game wore on.

But it was the hard work across four quarters of clear best on ground Thomas Simpson, Riley Constable in defence, ruckman Patrick Graham and Zac Rinaldi that laid the foundations for the win.

Ultra-pleased with his side’s pressure, Swans coach Ash Baker was thrilled to get away with another crucial four points.

 

“We were pretty happy with the way we started, but with the weight of numbers going inside 50, we found it a bit hard capitalising on our forward territory,” he said.

“But we certainly got going in the third quarter.

“Our second halves have been strong. We’d like to think that if we keep applying the pressure on our opponents and if we do that for long enough, at some point we will get a fair bit of scoreboard reward.

“We were pretty poor in the first 10 minutes last weekend against Darley; they kicked 5.1 to zero nine-and-a-half minutes in. We were just poor in the contest.

“It cost us ultimately.

“But there was an emphasis on making sure we at least matched, if not get our noses in front, in regard to contested possession and weight of ball forward (last Saturday).”

Giving full credit to the Swans, Roosters coach Proctor described their pressure as ‘off the charts’.

“Their clearance and handball game and ability to find a mark out of that was elite. Really difficult to manage,” he said.

 

“We had trouble all day at the stoppages. We tried a few things, but we need to really look at where it broke down, as they were just too good in there.”

Acknowledging the Roosters’ heavy injury toll, Baker was rapt to get a second win this season over a rival they may yet see again this year at finals time.

The performances of Alex Keath behind the ball and strong-leading and -marking forward Tyson Richard were further bright spots for the Swans, who sit a game and percentage behind top side Sebastopol, but one game clear of Darley and North Ballarat.

Ahead of a clash against Bacchus Marsh, which will be aiming to rebound from a loss to Melton, Baker continues to be happy with how their season is tracking.

“There are always a few areas of the game you can try to tidy up,” he said.

“I thought at one stage, getting our hands on possession at stoppage, we lost a bit of traction there.

“But we were able to rectify that and get it back our way.”

The only downside for the Swans was injuries to Wyatt Squires, who rolled his ankle early in the last quarter, and Bailey Fraser (knee soreness), with both to be assessed during the week.

The Swans defeated Bacchus Marsh as recently as a month ago, in round 7, by 55 points.

Darley holds strong; Burra survive tight one

Elsewhere last Saturday, three late goals to Darley broke a game-long arm-wrestle in an 18-point win to the Devils over Sunbury.

 

Brett Bewley, with three goals, Joel Cadman, Lachlan George, Nick Hind and Ethan Matthews all played prominent roles for the Devils, who trailed at the end of all three breaks, but by only one point at three-quarter-time.

Tyson Lever, Jake Sutton, Mitch McLean and Nathan Doyle (three goals) shone for the Lions.

East Point pushed Sebastopol to the brink in a 12-point defeat at Eastern Oval.

The Roos led at quarter-time (14 points) and half-time (one) and trailed by less than three goals going into the final term.

But big games by Luke Kiel, Jack Buckley, Cooper Littlehales, Jack Bambury and Bailey Medwell and three goals from Adam Forbes helped get the Burra across the line.

Joe Dodd, Deng Lual, Luca Geue, Joe Fraser, Lachlan Charleson and Jacob Brown (four goals) rated highest for the Roos, who will be a dangerous proposition for sides in the run home.

Burra playing coach Tony Lockyer was happy to emerge successful from a tight struggle.

“Tough slog of a day but very proud of the boys working through the challenges to get the result,” he said.

“East Point had us on the ropes with their contest work and superior method in the conditions. Full credit to Joe (coach Joe Carmody) and the team.

 

“Twenty-seven points down midway through the second was a concern but really pleased how we shifted momentum to get the margin back to one point at half-time.

“East are certainly going to cause some headaches in the second half of this year to the top sides.”

Melton put a bit of a dampener on Tyson Shea’s big day, with the Bacchus Marsh legend breaking the BFNL’s game record in a 38-point loss for the Cobras.

Harrison Hanley, Caleb Burquest, Joshua Stewart, Conrad Farrugia and Jordyn Cotter led the charge for the Bloods, who overtook Sunbury in sixth spot with their fourth win.

Adam Blain, Tarkyn Findlay, Cody Gates, Jack Parente, Zachary Dalli and Jack Kovacevic (four goals) battled hard for the Cobras.

Rory Gunsser led the way as Redan made it two straight wins for the first time this year with a 54-point win over Lake Wendouree.

Daniel Bond, Jordan Grant, Brody Pope and Jacob Werts were other major contributors, while Alfred Jarnestrom again won the nod as the Lakers’ best.