Swans pushed themselves to limit: Longmire

Sydney coach John Longmire knows his side made key errors in a frantic finish to Friday night’s AFL match at the SCG.

But Longmire was reluctant to criticise his players after a six-point loss to Hawthorn, given how taxing the contest was.

“You say it how it is,” a dejected Longmire said, when asked what his message to the team was.

“We probably didn’t play the sort of footy we wanted to in the first half but there were some huge efforts in the second half … unfortunately not enough to hold on.”

The hosts, coming off consecutive six-day breaks, were reduced to two fit men on the bench at halftime with Sam Reid and Jake Lloyd both ruled out because of concussion.

They somehow reeled in Hawthorn’s 21-point lead and hit the front early in the final term amid a run of five consecutive goals.

“Some blokes dug in and competed, they pushed themselves to their absolute limits,” Longmire said.

“There was some pretty courageous efforts by a lot of players.”

However, the Swans were both physically and mentally exhausted during the final five minutes of the game – and it showed.

They failed to man the mark correctly for Jarryd Roughead’s match-winner with a tick over a minute remaining. That chance had only come about because reigning Rising Star winner Callum Mills turned the ball over instead of having a shot to put the Swans in front.

“We did some things we’d probably do better if we had another opportunity to, in the last few minutes,” Longmire said.

“Whether they were fatigued and couldn’t think clearly, or couldn’t (physically) quite get the distance in the kick, it was probably a couple of those things together.”

The result snapped Sydney’s three-match winning streak.

The club now has the mid-season bye and, with a 3-7 record, a hell of a lot of work ahead if they’re to reach the finals.

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