Swans’ grand final wounds reopened in opening round defeat to Hawthorn
The Swans badly missed their midfield star Errol Gulden, with Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney forced to carry much of the load themselves. Warner particularly had glimpses of brilliance in his darting runs with the ball and two majors.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon struggled without George Harrison when he left the Beatles for five days in 1969; Heeney and Warner have to deal without Gulden’s creative brilliance potentially for three months.
Another maestro needed to step up for the Swans badly and there was a strong response in the third quarter.
If the grand final provides the main painful memory from last year, the Swans could also remember their ability to chase down opponents from difficult positions throughout the regular season.
James Jordon stepped up to clamp down on Day and negated his influence, and Joel Amartey scored his third goal of the evening to set up a furious Sydney comeback with majors from Warner, Tom McCartin, Will Hayward and a low-range effort from Nick Blakey.
Rain started to fall heavily by the final quarter and the free-flowing football from both sides was replaced by long-range speculative efforts. Ultimately, this suited the visitors perfectly. They were able to slow the Swans down and successfully killed the comeback.
Hawthorn’s Finn Maginness got his side’s first major with chances diminishing for both sides struggling to juggle a slippery football.
Nick Blakey celebrates a goal for the Swans.Credit: Getty Images
Connor MacDonald jumped on an opportunity to score his side’s second goal of the quarter to stretch out the lead to 13 points.
James Sicily showed his ability at both ends of the field with a goal that closed out the game for his side.
The best thing about sport is regardless of the disappointment, there’s always next season – or in the Swans’ case next Saturday, when they take on their grand final opponent from last year Brisbane at the SCG.
Against Hawthorn, 40,310 fans arrived at the SCG to show that they were ready to move on from last year’s grand final at the MCG. The question remains, can the Swans?
