New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nIt follows a dominant win over reigning back-to-back premier Brisbane and a 128-point demolition of West Coast as the 4-1 Swans have well and truly consolidated themselves as a flag contender.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the 3-2 Suns dropped a second-straight game after last week\u2019s shock loss to Melbourne, but remain fourth on the ladder.<\/p>\n
The 3-2-1 (what we learned) via Jack Jovanovski …<\/p>\n
3. \u2018EXTREME\u2019: MOST OMINOUS PART OF SWANS DOMINATION<\/p>\n
The footy world had its doubts about the non-Errol Gulden version of the Swans, but the Bloods are looking almost as threatening as they did with him in the fold. <\/p>\n
Sydney built its early ascendancy at Norwood off the back of relentless and inescapable pressure. <\/p>\n
Despite leading the whole way through and having 58 more disposals, the Swans still had a staggering 44 more tackles than the Suns, winning the count 96-52. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the work rate. That\u2019s the intensity, the desperation that has set these two sides apart,\u201d AFL legend Jason Dunstall said late in the fourth quarter. <\/p>\n
Isaac Heeney would be walking away from the game thinking he\u2019d be stiff not to earn the three votes, finishing with 33 disposals, 12 score involvements, 10 clearances and two goals. <\/p>\n
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 10: Isaac Heeney of the Swans celebrates during the 2026 AFL Round 05 match between the Sydney Swans and the Gold Coast Suns at Norwood Oval on April 10, 2026 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
But it was a well-rounded performance from Sydney, which moved to 4-1 on the season and looks exponentially more comfortable playing Dean Cox\u2019s brand of footy. <\/p>\n
\u201cImpressive. Really impressive. You can see they\u2019re growing under Dean Cox,\u201d Dunstall said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey play a better brand of contested footy, and their work around the stoppages has been first rate. Obviously, they\u2019ve got some stars who make it a little bit easier, but I like the way they set up. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe know they\u2019ve always been good behind the footy, but they\u2019ve also, when they\u2019ve had opportunities to move the footy, they\u2019ve really punished the Suns going the other way in transition.\u201d<\/p>\n
The opening term well and truly belonged to the Swans, who looked irrepressible going forward and outpressured Gold Coast without the footy. <\/p>\n
Sydney generated 11 scores from its 19 first-quarter inside-50s and had eight more tackles than the Suns despite outpossessing Damien Hardwick\u2019s side. <\/p>\n
But it was the Swans\u2019 pressure game that startled the Suns coming out of the gates, paving the way to a handy main-break lead with the wind at their backs in the third term. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe pressure that they brought to this game was extreme,\u201d Jason Dunstall at half-time. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey had their stars Warner and Heeney have monster first terms which really set up the lead.\u201d<\/p>\n
2. \u2018DIFFERENT DYNAMIC\u2019: SUNS UNEARTH \u2018BIG WEAPON\u2019<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a very small sample, but the Suns might have found the best position for maligned big-money Suns tall Mac Andrew. <\/p>\n
It\u2019d be an understatement to suggest Andrew has had a great start to this year in defence, and he arguably hasn\u2019t lived up to the lucrative long-term deal he signed in 2024 that\u2019s thought to be worth $12-14 million. <\/p>\n
But his talents might just be best utilised in the middle of the ground, especially following the introduction of the new ruck rules. <\/p>\n
Andrew provided sparks at stages in the third and fourth quarters in particular, with veteran Jarrod Witts having been beaten by counterpart Brodie Grundy. <\/p>\n
The 22-year-old was able to get himself involved in the contest as a part-time tapster, with Dunstall saying it gave the Suns a \u201cdifferent dynamic\u201d and a \u201cweapon\u201d ruck alternative. <\/p>\n
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 11: Charlie Curnow of the Swans marks in front of Mac Andrew of the Suns during the round five AFL match between Sydney Swans and Gold Coast Suns at Norwood Oval, on April 11, 2026, in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake\/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
Brisbane premiership champion Alastair Lynch said the revamped ruck rules could be a conduit for Andrew to be a genuine option to help the Suns\u2019 struggling clearance game. <\/p>\n
\u201cWell, (since) they\u2019ve been struggling for their clearances, it might be a way to get him into the game,\u201d Lynch said on Fox Footy at half-time. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that he\u2019s been across half back, hasn\u2019t been his best season so far, it\u2019d be great to see him with a bit of freedom to jump. <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause with the new ruck rule, he\u2019s not going to get monstered by the big body \u2014 he\u2019s got an opportunity to jump over the top; he\u2019s got beautiful hands. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe should see more of this in the second half, and then they can start to generate their clearance game, which we\u2019ve seen dessert them so far this season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew drew more praise in the third quarter after having more impact in the middle of the ground. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s looked so good \u2026 he just looks a different player,\u201d Ben Dixon said from ground level. <\/p>\n
Dunstall added: \u201cI\u2019d rather him in the ruck \u2014 I\u2019d just ruck him as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
And in a sign of his influence, Hardwick started Andrew at the first centre ball-up of the final quarter against Brodie Grundy. <\/p>\n
Hall of Fame Legend Dunstall even said in the final term that Andrew \u201cneeds to take every single ball-up\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think so (in response to \u2018will we see him more in the ruck?\u2019). He\u2019s too big a weapon not to,\u201d Dunstall said. <\/p>\n
Otherwise, after their \u201ckick in the nuts\u201d against Melbourne last Sunday, Damien Hardwick wouldn\u2019t have been much happier with his side\u2019s start to proceedings on Saturday. <\/p>\n
Gold Coast conceded five of the game\u2019s first seven goals and looked vulnerable when the Swans went forward. <\/p>\n
At quarter-time, Touk Miller conceded: \u201cWe just didn\u2019t absorb their pressure; their pressure was really high. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the wind\u2019s playing a bit of a factor, so the contest is where it\u2019s at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jed Walter looked like the Suns\u2019 most likely target up forward, kicking two first-half goals from a bevy of opportunities. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s looked fit and strong,\u201d Mark Howard said in commentary.<\/p>\n
1. \u2018STRUGGLED TO GET MOVING\u2019: SWAN, SUN IN THE WARS<\/p>\n
There were early injury clouds over Sydney captain Callum Mills and Suns rebounder Daniel Rioli at Norwood. <\/p>\n
In the first quarter, Ben King clattered into the back of Mills, who later required treatment on what appeared to be his lower back\/hip area. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe struggled to really get moving through that first quarter. Finished the quarter on the ground, which was good,\u201d Lynch said at quarter-time. <\/p>\n
Mills continued, though, and while he certainly looked proppy at stages, he got through the match. <\/p>\n
Cox provided an update on Fox Footy at the main change: \u201cAt the moment, he\u2019s OK. We\u2019ll monitor him now at half-time, he\u2019s tough; he wants to do whatever he can for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rioli, meanwhile, dealt with a rolled ankle but stayed out there.<\/p>\n
Re-live Hawthorn vs Sydney in our live blog below! If you can\u2019t see the blog, tap here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Isaac Heeney put on a show and Sydney enhanced its flag credentials with a convincing 33-point win over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":599827,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,292460,64,63,689,55,639,684,69831,2105,2485,9130,3487,3231,6462,647,677,701,6282,85,7200,292459,660,7067],"class_list":{"0":"post-599826","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-all-time-losing","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","13":"tag-australian-football-league","14":"tag-australianfootballleague","15":"tag-ben-cotton","16":"tag-flag-contenders","17":"tag-getty-images-inc","18":"tag-gold-coast","19":"tag-gold-coast-suns","20":"tag-isaac-heeney","21":"tag-jack-jovanovski","22":"tag-live-updates","23":"tag-melbourne","24":"tag-oceania","25":"tag-queensland","26":"tag-russell-freeman","27":"tag-sports","28":"tag-sydney-swans","29":"tag-top-two-spot","30":"tag-victoria","31":"tag-west-coast-eagles"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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