![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/8a92e85b45a90780f82a70f6bc716cdfce4ba7c1.png\")
Save<\/p>\nSave<\/p>\n
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n
Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n If the Swans are to win their first premiership since 2012, they know they have to learn to win ugly. Friday night\u2019s six-point victory over Collingwood at the SCG was the perfect place to start.<\/p>\n The Swans were forced to chase down a 33-point second-quarter deficit, before Collingwood ruckman Oscar Steene injured his left knee and was unable to play on. It changed everything.<\/p>\n Swans star Brodie Grundy, who played 177 games with Collingwood and was twice a best-and-fairest winner and All-Australian in the black and white, finished with 34 disposals, 46 hitouts, 12 clearances and six score involvements against the inexperienced Magpie rucks, winning the Goodes-O\u2019Loughlin Medal in the process.<\/p>\n Collingwood coach Craig McRae admitted in his post-match press conference that they suspected Steene, 22, would need a knee reconstruction (though they\u2019ll get scans to confirm it).<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not looking good, unfortunately,\u201d McRae said.<\/p>\n \u201cTo see what he was capable of against Brodie [Grundy], who clearly is one of the better ruckmen in the competition, he was really holding his own, and we had a lot of ascendancy from that. I think we might have been 16 points up, or close to it, around that time and then, the game changes.\u201d<\/p>\n Grundy then feasted on the likes of makeshift rucks Jack Buller (a former Swan) and Ned Long, and acknowledged what a game-changing moment the Steene injury was, not just for his own game, but for his side\u2019s fortunes on the night.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, tonight I was rucking against some of Collingwood\u2019s midfield players, so you\u2019ve got to acknowledge that,\u201d Grundy said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was disappointing for them, I hope Oscar\u2019s OK. He looked quite bad, so best wishes to him, he\u2019s a great young talent, and I\u2019ve been watching him all year.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s given me a few headaches there in the centre … he can jump through the roof, I just hope he\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n Collingwood had arrived in Sydney undermanned and unfancied. Clearly the Magpies weren\u2019t buying into it.<\/p>\n Their first quarter was particularly impressive, shutting down the Swans\u2019 corridor game with relentless pressure acts and hoovering up telling disposals through Jordan De Goey. Nick Daicos was predictably tagged by James Jordon but still finished the quarter with two goals.<\/p>\n In the second term, the Magpies could manage just 1.7 to the Swans\u2019 2.2 and McRae was left disappointed by what could have been for his team.<\/p>\n \u201cYou lose by a goal, [and] it\u2019s all those moments, isn\u2019t it?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone had a set shot, someone could have stabbed a goal \u2013 both teams kicked 15 behinds [for the game]. It was tricky conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cWith that energy and effort that we had tonight, plus [the way we are] defending the ground, we\u2019re going to be in a lot of games.\u201d<\/p>\n Swans defender Nick Blakey finished with 39 disposals and 10 marks, and was outstanding in a team that often struggled to handle the football cleanly in the wet conditions.<\/p>\n But the man affectionately known as \u201cthe Lizard\u201d much preferred to pay tribute to his teammate, and housemate, James Rowbottom post-match.<\/p>\n It was Rowbottom who came up with a telling late tackle on the dangerous Dan Houston, causing a holding-the-ball decision as the Pies looked for one last forward foray.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were up against it and could have easily folded over and said it was too hard. But we never say die,\u201d Blakey told Kayo Sports.<\/p>\n \u201c[It was] Rowy\u2019s 150th, and it was fitting that the toughest man on the ground lays that last tackle [on Dan Houston].<\/p>\n \u201cThey were off [looking to pump the ball forward], and they are so good at playing those moments and they are never out of it.<\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t get a lot of recognition. He\u2019s my best mate, and we live together and are thick as thieves, and he\u2019s very underrated.\u201d<\/p>\n Swans Coach Dean Cox said it was Blakey who typified their side\u2019s ability to adapt under pressure and find another way to win when the corridor was almost completely closed off.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019m really excited about is how mature [we are]. We can become a team that, if something\u2019s thrown at us, we can adapt and move and do it a different way,\u201d Cox said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether that\u2019s around the contest, stoppage, defensively or offensively. I think Nick\u2019s in that space at the moment \u2013 he\u2019s a mature player, he\u2019s played a lot of footy. He understands his role, but he doesn\u2019t push it too far, which has been really good, and that\u2019s been part of his development.\u201d<\/p>\n Swans forwards Tom Papley and Logan McDonald finished with two crucial goals apiece, while Joel Amartey and Charlie Curnow were held to just one goal between them.<\/p>\n Cox spoke of the difficulty he faced when omitting forward Hayden McLean after his three-goal performance against North Melbourne.<\/p>\n \u201cI think as a coach they\u2019re the hardest decisions to make, but they\u2019re ones that you have to make, and they\u2019re ones that you\u2019re hopefully in a position to make,\u201d Cox said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means everyone plays their role, to bring Charlie [Curnow] back in was important, but Hayden [McLean] and Logan [McDonald] and Joel [Amartey] had been playing their roles, and did last week against North.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just unfortunate we weren\u2019t going to go with four talls. The set-up we\u2019d been using with Logan had been working, so that\u2019s what probably held him in favour.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Brodie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/696f168819e782f3b7ab013fb57632c74b4b798a.jpeg\")
Brodie Grundy poses with Swans great Michael O\u2019Loughlin after winning the player of the match award, the Goodes-O\u2019Loughlin Medal.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Grundy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8ebe77cd0f6e1c4b12f9bec0a4e4f5aae15940f1.jpeg\")
Grundy and Oscar Steene compete in the ruck.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5b30bbf4ade13ca54e1badbf02938606982f3337.jpeg\")
Sam Wicks puts some close attention into Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Magpies](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/66a20793a62cec93e749313876736c82246c1b1e.jpeg\")
Magpies coach Craig McRae has plenty to think about after losing yet another key player to injury.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Nick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/203ccecc4d8bb1e0666d0fedfb9f8cef61639419.jpeg\")
Nick Blakey was outstanding for the Swans against Collingwood.Getty Images<\/p>\n