A sharpshooting Sydney outfit has survived a mini scare on Saturday afternoon, holding off a North Melbourne first-half surge to win by eight points.
The Swans had at one stage converted 15 of their first 18 shots on goal under the roof at Docklands, before eventually coming out winners, with their 16.9 (105) trumping the Kangaroos’ 14.13 (97).
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Alastair Clarkson’s side got within seven points at the halfway mark of the final quarter thanks to a Harry Sheezel snap, but the visitors held on as their key forwards delivered in the absence of superstar recruit Charlie Curnow.
The hosts at one stage led by 19 points just before quarter time, but two very quick late goals before the opening break kept Sydney in touch each time the Roos looked on top.
Alastair Clarkson’s side kicked six goals before quarter time for the second time this year, and recorded their best first-term score against the Swans since Round 6, 2007.
“They couldn’t be happier with the way they’ve started here!” three-time premiership player Cameron Mooney said of North Melbourne before quarter time.
Inside bull Luke Davies-Uniacke led the early charge for the Kangaroos, with 17 disposals at 82.4 per cent efficiency just three minutes into the second stanza, to go alongside his two goal assists.
Playing his first senior match in 2026, Hayden McLean was one of three Swans to kick a trio of goals, alongside Isaac Heeney and Logan McDonald.
“It was bloody tough, North are in some great form. We probably weren’t at our best, but their pressure was unreal,” Sydney star Nick Blakey told Fox Footy after the final siren.
North Melbourne goalkickers: Darling, Duursma, O’Sullivan 2, Zurhaar, Xerri, Spargo, Simpkin, Curtis, Blamires, Konstanty, Sheezel
Sydney goalkickers: McDonald, Heeney, McLean 3, Papley 2, Amartey, Ch.Warner, Cootee, Lloyd, Sheldrick
THE 3-2-1… (with Jack Jovanovski at Marvel Stadium)
3. ‘SO DAMAGING’: SUPER SWANS FLEX FOOTY’S SCARIEST WEAPON DESPITE STAR VOID
It might be overboard to call watching Sydney’s transition ball movement one of life’s great joys.
But when given the opportunity to watch it in full flight, there aren’t too many more satisfying modern-day footy experiences.
No team handballs more, nor gains more metres per handball, than Sydney does, and that theme was on show at Docklands on Saturday.
The Swans initiated their scintillating forward handball game from the outset, moving together in waves through the corridor to create quality scoring opportunities.
Against a top-tier contest team in North Melbourne, Sydney relied on its ability to outnumber at the contest, even if it lost the initial centre clearance.
Dean Cox’s side wasn’t given the chance to access the middle of the ground quite as much as in past weeks – as teams implement preventative measures – but the Swans’ sixth goal of the game came after the visitors forced their way through the corridor to set up a deep-forward set shot.
“This is that middle part of the ground, again, that they’ve been able to access. They haven’t been able to access it as much as they have at the start of this season, but that is so damaging (when they do),” Riewoldt said.
Sydney finished well below its season average for inside-50s in a game where its opposition was able to force repeat entries. Instead, it was in transition and off turnover where the visitors did their best work.
Up forward, in the absence of Charlie Curnow due to an adductor issue, Logan McDonald and Hayden McLean both stepped up to fill the void in what was an incredible Sydney display of accuracy in front of goals.
The pair combined for five goals in the first half, while Isaac Heeney typically chipped in when he drifted into attack, as the Swans finished the day 16.9 and nigh-on perfect from set shots.
Meantime in the midfield, after starting him on Harry Sheezel, Sydney moved run-with specialist James Jordon onto Luke Davies-Uniacke in the second quarter.
‘LDU’ exerted his influence on the game in the first term, totalling 13 disposals, with the Swans quick to jump on that after the first change.
In a momentary injury worry, Nick Blakey appeared to hurt his shoulder in a Paul Curtis tackle, with the blistering left-footer needing to go down to the rooms halfway through the second term for further assessment.
Twenty minutes into the period, Blakey returned to the boundary ready to go back on without strapping on his shoulder.
It came as, also in the second quarter, Brodie Grundy copped incidental knee-on-knee contact from Cam Zurhaar.
Grundy made his way to the bench and tested his right knee before going back on the ground.
2. GALLANT ROOS ‘TAKE FIGHT’ TO AFL’S ELITE … BUT FAMILIAR ISSUE REARS HEAD
On a day the club celebrated its 1996 premiership team’s 30-year reunion, the Kangaroos came out like a side hungry for a massive scalp, consistently putting heat on the Swans.
Alastair Clarkson’s side won early at contest and clearance, and on the defensive side, applied that pressure to keep the Swans from linking by hands in the corridor.
“This is a great start – it’s obviously a big occasion,” Jack Riewoldt said on Fox Footy as Jack Darling kicked the Roos’ fourth first-quarter goal. “At the moment, the pressure is high.”
Cameron Mooney added: “They couldn’t be happier with the way they’ve started, here.”
But two costly late Swans goals meant the Roos’ ascendancy in play didn’t reflect on the scoreboard, which isn’t unfamiliar for Clarkson’s men.
“Unfortunately, this is what we saw from North last week – they played so well against Geelong for nearly three quarters, and then all of a sudden, it just blew out to 40 points just like that.
“They just give up quick goals too easily.”
But the Roos matched the Swans and got back in front in the second quarter, able to force repeat inside-50s and play a forward-half game.
By half-time, they were +12 in the territory battle. But they led by just one point at the main change, ruing missed opportunities in front of goal and inconsistent results with their final kick inside 50.
“They have taken the fight to Sydney,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy at half-time.
“Other than being beaten through the middle part of the ground, they have had multiple chances at scoring, their forward-half turnover game is going well.
“They’re forcing the Swans to bomb the ball … but at the moment, they just can’t make the most of those opportunities … they just need to tidy up that last 10 per cent of taking the ball inside 50.”
Sydney never stopped trying to use the middle of the ground as its canvas to move the ball, but the Roos’ ball pressure all throughout the afternoon meant it wasn’t always easy.
The hosts also looked to play an outside game – winning the uncontested ball battle – in order to keep play out of chaos, where the Swans thrive.
But for the ninth time in 10 games this year, the Swans’ brand proved superior.
In the end, it wasn’t a fadeout by any means, but Sydney had enough patches of ascendancy to ensure they were never truly in doubt.
1. STAR TEACHES YOUNGSTER VALUABLE LESSON IN ‘PSEUDO APPRENTICESHIP’
Finn O’Sullivan, in what’s been dubbed a “pseudo apprenticeship”, was assigned his most daunting task yet by Alastair Clarkson – the Isaac Heeney matchup.
The 2024 top-three pick has taken big strides in his second season while playing more at the centre bounce, and he’ll come away from his duel with the triple All-Australian with valuable learnings.
O’Sullivan was able to match it with Heeney more than once on Saturday afternoon, but the Swans’ superstar hit the scoreboard with two goals and 16 disposals in the first half.
“Early on, Heeney kicked that lovely goal, and you thought ‘oh, this is going to be a real challenge’. But he (O’Sullivan) rises to the challenge,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy.
“He’s played against the superstars this year. I love that Alastair Clarkson has done a pseudo apprenticeship and said: ‘Well, you’re a good player, go and play on the stars, and learn how to be a star in this competition’.
“I reckon Heeney’s just getting on top – maybe he starts to challenge him and get forward and take him deep, to see if O’Sullivan can handle the kitchen deep inside 50.”
O’Sullivan also hit the scoreboard and involved himself in several of the Roos’ scoring chains, exhibiting clear signs of development from his first season.
But this battle was won by Heeney, whose sheer will at the contest, and then ability to go forward and damage, proved overpowering.
The dynamic Swan finished with 24 disposals – 15 contested – three goals, seven clearances and eight score involvements.
The rising O’Sullivan, meanwhile, ended with 20 disposals, two goals, eight score involvements and a high fly late in the game.
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