Sydney has survived an almighty four-quarter threat to their top-two hopes on Saturday afternoon, pipping St Kilda at the post to win by 19 points.
The visitors trailed for the vast majority of the contest at Marvel Stadium, before coming home ferociously with a seven-goal final term to win 16.11 (107) over the Saints’ 13.10 (88).
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It means Dean Cox’s side hold on to their top-two spot in dramatic fashion for another week, with the likes of Hawthorn and Brisbane hunting their home qualifying final rights hard.
For the eighth time this year, Chad Warner registered two goals and 20 or more disposals in a fixture to play a major hand in the victory, while Isaac Heeney had 22 dispsoals and two majors of his own.
“That was a fourth quarter masterclass by their stars,” 287-game Saint Leigh Montagna said on Fox Footy at the final siren.
It was unfortunately injury chaos for both sides, with the most horrific of the lot coming for Will Edwards in the final quarter. The 23-year-old handed gruesomely on his left ankle, which saw his lower leg majorly displaced and a stretcher aid him off the ground.
Teammate James Rowbottom was ruled out before quarter time with a suspected broken hand, while St Kilda’s Jack Silvagni came from the field in the final quarter with a shoulder injury that saw him sport a sling in the changerooms before full time.
St Kilda goalkickers: Wanganeen-Milera, Hall 3, Lake, Higgins 2, Ryan, Garcia, Caminiti
Sydney goalkickers: McDonald 4, Curnow 3, Heeney, Cootee, Ch.Warner 2, Serong, Gulden, Papley
THE 3-2-1… (with Jack Jovanovski from Marvel Stadium)
3. SAINTS’ MAJOR FINAL BOOST THEY HAD… UNTIL THEY DIDN’T
It was all set up to be a character-building St Kilda win to significantly bolster its finals candidacy.
Instead, it was a 10th loss from 10 clashes with top-10 opposition for Ross Lyon’s side, in devastating fashion.
A scintillating Sydney piled on seven last-quarter goals to two to claim a win that looked like St Kilda’s for a vast portion of the day.
And it’ll hurt that much more for the Saints after they had Sydney on the ropes at times in the first and second halves, leading by as many as 24 points late in the third term.
The Saints dominated the early territory battle, winning clearance and spreading dangerously from it.
“They’re getting the game they want at the moment,” former Carlton coach Michael Voss said on Fox Footy in the first quarter.
“They’re winning the important clearance battle – certainly the centre square bounce first and foremost, but then their ball movement forward of centre is also becoming a factor.”
Voss added later: “I love what they’re doing.”
Dunstall chimed in: “The forward-half pressure the Saints are putting on to create those turnovers – they’re what coaches love more than anything.”
St Kilda’s forward-half pressure had the Swans hearing footsteps in their backline, getting out to as much as a 20-point lead in the second period.
“If you’re Ross right now, you’re really happy as a coach with how the game is being set up at the moment. They’re definitely playing the style of football they want,” Voss said.
“They’ve got good balance between using their hands and using the ball by foot, getting territory, attacking the deep, and then setting up the game in their half to be able to give themselves opportunities.”
At half-time, the Saints had 54 more disposals than the Swans, 51 more uncontested possessions, three more clearances and seven more contested possessions.
As for superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera — who Voss said was “inside the matrix” after he kicked his second goal — six of his 14 first-half disposals were score involvements, along with his two majors.
“He spots up players beautifully … he makes the most of his possessions, and he’s been one of the best players on the ground,” Dunstall said at half-time.
“And when he’s playing well, St Kilda is playing well.”
‘Nas’ was draped all day by Sydney tagger James Jordon, but he was damaging particularly when he went forward.
And early in the third quarter, Wanganeen-Milera had his third goal of the day after capitalising with zero margin for error in terms of congestion at the contest.
Sydney kicked the first goal of the second half, but St Kilda immediately got the game back on its terms, locking the ball back in its forward half and suffocating the Swans with their front-half pressure.
Anthony Caminiti’s goal at the 13-minute mark made it a game-high 23-point margin.
“They are under siege, the Swans,” Montagna said.
Voss added: “The game feels like it deserves this margin … St Kilda has been super efficient inside 50.”
Ten of the Saints’ 11 goals to that point in the third term had been from turnover.
2. ‘THAT IS NASTY’: HUGE SWANS DOUBLE BLOW AS SAINTS DEALT SCARES OF THEIR OWN
In a devastating scene, emerging Sydney defender Will Edwards suffered a nasty ankle injury in the fourth quarter.
Rising high in a marking contest, Edwards didn’t just cop a knock to the head, but also landed extremely awkwardly on his left foot.
In gruesome vision, Edwards’ left ankle appeared to snap on contact, with the 23-year-old in immediate agony.
“Oh, that’s gone sideways. That’s broken. We won’t show that again,” Dunstall said as replays of the incident were shown on the broadcast.
“And to top it all off, you get your head split open as well. That is a nasty one.”
Edwards, since making his debut in Round 7, has fit in seamlessly in Dean Cox’s backline, playing his 14th consecutive AFL game on Saturday.
Heartbreak for Swans’ Will Edwards | 00:31
“He’s slotted in seamlessly, playing in key defensive posts; he’s been a good intercept marker, he certainly doesn’t want for anything in terms of having a contest. He will attack it,” Dunstall said.
“And we saw the one that he got injured in; there were bodies everywhere, and he was right in the middle of it, going hammer and tong for the footy.
“He’s been impressive since coming in. And whilst this looks to be pretty serious, we hope for the best possible outcome for the young man.”
It comes as Sydney hard nut James Rowbottom is also set for a stint on the sidelines after suffering a suspected broken hand earlier on Saturday.
Rowbottom, who’s played in every game for the Swans this season, came from the field midway through the first quarter under duress after an innocuous incident in the middle of the ground.
The midfielder-turned-pressure forward required lengthy treatment from Sydney’s medical staff, with his body language indicating his ailment was serious.
“James Rowbottom is clearly not happy with a hand injury down on the boundary. He spent a lot of time talking to the doctors and trainers,” Fox Footy’s Sarah Jones shared.
She added a short time later: “James Rowbottom is so dejected down here.
“He’s had a cuddle from Errol Gulden; he’s really struggling. He looks quite upset. Clearly in a lot of discomfort, and pretty frustrated.”
It was a matter of time before Rowbottom was officially ruled out of the game and made his way down to the rooms, sporting a makeshift cast.
“We know how integral he is to their system,” dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna said on the broadcast.
“It’s a big blow. They’re going to have to rely on a few of these others to step up.”
Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall added: “Let’s hope he’s back quickly, because he’s such an important player for the Swans.”
Since moving forward, Rowbottom has kicked an equal career-high nine goals this season while still averaging 16.2 disposals per game.
The severity is yet to be determined, with subsequent scans to confirm, but the club, at the time of writing, suspects a break.
In a brutal blow for the Saints too, star recruit Jack Silvagni came from the ground in serious pain with what appeared to be a shoulder concern.
The 28-year-old was seen sporting a sling in the changerooms minutes before the final siren, speaking with family.
Earlier, St Kilda was dealt a Tom De Koning scare after an apparent hamstring concern in the third quarter.
At a ruck contest, De Koning awkwardly went to ground after tussling with Hayden McLean, before immediately grabbing at his left hamstring.
He walked from the far side of the ground towards the bench, before slowly jogging off with a physio by his side.
The big left-footer went straight down to the rooms for further assessment, with Rowan Marshall, freshly back into Ross Lyon’s side, temporarily assuming number-one rucking duties.
Promisingly, a short time later, De Koning reemerged and did some groundball work before riding the stationary bike until three-quarter-time.
And fortunately for the Saints, the prized recruit rucked the first ball-up of the final term.
1. ‘SMALL WINDOWS’: SPIRITED SWANS LIFT LATE IN GUTSY GRIND
These are the kinds of games the best teams manage to win, even in mightily difficult circumstances.
And down two important players at either end of the ground — James Rowbottom and Will Edwards — the Swans found a way to overrun the spirited Saints, despite looking like the lesser team for a large portion of the day.
It means their momentarily unstable top-two positioning remains intact.
Sydney showed scattered glimpses of its scintillating best in the first half, but couldn’t piece together sustained momentum as the Saints pounced.
Finding themselves down as many as 20 points in the second quarter, it was clear the Swans were on the back foot and not able to stem the hosts.
“They’re only doing it through moments right now; it’s not through style, it’s not through great play,” Voss said on Fox Footy.
“They’re just getting their small windows to be able to score, not quite finishing their work.
“What would be concerning is that St Kilda definitely has its game in order at the moment; they’ve got a great balance with what they’re doing between contest and how they’re using the ball. It’s putting (Sydney) under a lot of pressure.”
The Swans needed more out of Isaac Heeney after the superstar managed a goal from just eight possessions in the first half, with young Saint Hugh Boxshall shadowing him at every opportunity.
And he started the second half with a goal after drawing a 50-metre penalty on Boxshall, in what Montagna labelled an “ominous warning sign”.
“There is a definite intention from Heeney to push forward post-stoppage,” Voss noted in the third quarter.
Still, as soon as it seemed like the Swans had momentum in the game, the Saints hit back and rejuvenated their forward-half pressure game — leading by four goals late in the third.
But the Sydney charge came again — after the minutes-long break in play that saw Edwards leave on a stretcher, no less — as Cox’s men dug deep.
The Swans’ end-to-end transition that was stifled for more than half the game suddenly came to life, and it overwhelmed the hosts in the end.
“When Gulden, Heeney and Warner are involved in a chain, it generally ends the way it did,” Montagna said after Chad’s second goal to make it a 20-point lead in the last.
And it wound up being a last-quarter avalanche, with Sydney piling on seven goals to two in the stanza — after trailing by 12 points at the final change — to devastate the Saints for the second time this season.
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