The Sydney Swans have won 11 straight matches, sit a game clear on top of the AFL ladder and still have three stars to return, but coach John Longmire isn’t getting ahead of himself following Sunday’s 28-point win against West Coast in Perth.
Kurt Tippett was a late withdrawal, Zak Jones was out in the opening minutes while Rhyce Shaw and Dan Hannebery were still missing, but Sydney were too good for West Coast on a very wet Perth day, winning 10.19 (79) to 7.9 (51) at Patersons Stadium.
Lance Franklin was kept to just one goal by West Coast’s Eric Mackenzie but the Swans had far too much potency, with Adam Goodes kicking three goals on the day he set the games record for an Indigenous player in the VFL/AFL by playing his 341st match.
Luke Parker was outstanding with 33 possessions and two goals and Ben McGlynn had 27 touches and also kicked two goals.
Sydney got it done at the other end too, with Ted Richards limiting West Coast forward Josh Kennedy to two goals, with the Eagles star likely to be suspended for his high bump on Jones early.
A host of other Sydney players stepped up in the difficult conditions with the Swans moving clear at the top of the ladder, a game ahead of Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, Fremantle and Geelong.
Longmire isn’t getting carried away with the form though.
“We don’t spend much time looking at it or any time looking at it to be honest,” Longmire said.
“We concentrate on our preparation and our performance every week but it was a fantastic effort to come over here and play that way in those tough conditions.
“We can’t control what happens in the other games or what other teams do but what we can do is make sure that we prepare and play with real competitive spirit every week and to do that to the best of our ability every week and that’s what we will continue to do.”
West Coast were again competitive against a premiership contender, but lacked the quality to finish the job despite closing to within six points late in the third quarter.
The Eagles lost Matt Rosa to a torn pectoral muscle late in the third quarter only shortly after subbing out Jeremy McGovern for Sam Butler, and while Simpson was disappointed to lose Rosa, he’s not suggesting that was a definitive factor in the final result.
“It didn’t help but it felt like the game was telling us we needed to get our sub on a bit earlier,” Simpson said.
“Butler came on and had nine possessions and had an impact. Gov had two touches so we thought we made that call. It didn’t help that Rosa hurt himself just before three quarter time.
“He is in a bit of strife. We think he has hurt his pectoral muscle. So it will be multiple weeks.”
