Sydney Swans

In what was a clear contender for match of the season thus far, Melbourne and Sydney threw everything at each other throughout a pulsating two hours of action - ...

Throughout a physical, smash and bash first half, the Melbourne key defender came off worse for wear on a couple of occasions with both his shin and shoulder requiring strapping after two separate incidents. Unfortunately for the veteran, his impact on the game was negligible. Despite forging a career as a more than capable forward option, Brown has struggled for the opportunities, playing his first game since round five last year. If there’s one thing to be sure, Harrison Petty is going to be very sore on Sunday morning. With the Swans down by as much as 26 points early in the second quarter, veteran forward Sam Reid and youngster Logan McDonald took over, forging a sensational one-two punch after quarter-time to will Sydney back into the game with a combined five first-half goals. However, it was ‘the replacements’ who not only filled the chasm but won the day against Melbourne’s Steven May-less defence.

The Lance Franklin-less Sydney Swans have inflicted a second straight AFL defeat on Melbourne after edging the reigning...

We've done it a few times this year." The Swans have the bye next week, while Melbourne have a nine-day break before facing Collingwood in the Queen's Birthday blockbuster. "The game swung on momentum a lot during the night, we had our momentum in the third quarter but we weren't able to maximise," Demons coach Simon Goodwin said. In better news for Melbourne, dashing defender Christian Salem made a successful return to the AFL in his first game since injuring his knee in round one. Young gun Errol Gulden slotted a clutch goal from the boundary to put the Swans in front with five minutes remaining. The Lance Franklin-less Sydney Swans have inflicted a second straight AFL defeat on Melbourne after edging the reigning premiers in a 12-point thriller at the MCG.

Sydney coach John Longmire hopes to regain key pair Tom Hickey and Harry Cunningham after next week's bye in a further boost to Saturday night's rousing ...

“They just keep going at it (when) things aren’t going their way ... I just admire the players’ ability to be able to back themselves in and keep going and keep persisting.” “But our players set themselves and were able to win against some of the best, in-form teams, which has been important. “Our blokes have been really good this year, as far as just keep going at it, keep going at the process and keep backing each other in – they’ve done it a number of times. Reversing the result in those matches would have left their win-loss ledger even and meant they had suffered defeats in three straight matches and five of their past six. “It was a beauty,” Longmire said of the triumph over the Demons. The Swans overcame a quarter-time deficit to win for the fifth time this season, kicking the final four goals to enter their mid-season break with an 8-4 record despite Longmire admitting they had “made some mistakes”.

Even without the suspended Lance Franklin, Sydney found an avenue to goal, as the likes of Sam Reid and Logan McDonald stamped their authority up forward ...

Only one goal was kicked between the two sides in the third quarter - to Melbourne - handing the home team a seven-point advantage at the final break, which Max Gawn extended to 13 within the first minute of play resuming. Sydney has handed Melbourne a second successive defeat on Saturday night, the visitors proving too strong in the 10.13 (73) to 9.7 (61) upset win at the MCG. Sydney wasn't to be denied though and five consecutive goals in the second term saw it take a two-point lead into half-time.