Sydney Swans beat Brisbane Lions but sweat on Gulden shoulder injury
“His [Amartey’s] “We got credited in the offseason, there were some changes in our program that we wanted to adjust to get him in the right spot, so he dove into that all the way through the offseason,” Cox said.
“You talk about the program he needs to maintain, not only while he’s at the football club to be able to do that, but also in his spare time and make sure he’s able to prepare as well as possible because he’s so strong, he needs to be able to do that. He’s done that so far and we’ll make sure he continues.”
Twenty years ago, the phrase “tiki taka” was coined to celebrate FC Barcelona’s irrepressible and fast ball movement centered on Lionel Messi. At the SCG the Swans’ Riley Bice performed his own unique tribute in the AFL in the first half.
The Swans scored ten goals in the first half, with Bice involved in six of them. The defender finished the game with 27 disposals, adding another chapter to a remarkable story given that he was working on a construction site in Albury just two years ago.
Brisbane arrived in Sydney with 17 players suspended and unavailable through injury; these included three of last year’s All-Australian selections, Harris Andrews, Hugh McCluggage and Zac Bailey.
Lions’ James Tunstill is tackled by Swans’ Errol Gulden.Credit: Getty Images
Andrews’ absence was perhaps most felt as Brisbane were undersized, understaffed and inexperienced defensively. Senior Ryan Lester took on Swans star forward Charlie Curnow and held him scoreless, but Heeney and Logan McDonald each finished in two majors, leaving more room for the others.
In their opening round win against Carlton last Thursday, the Swans were sloppy defensively and struggled in midfield in the first half, before taking control of the game with a remarkable 12-goal third quarter.
This week, the Swans started fast and reached a 40-point lead with seven goals scored in the first quarter, with Nick Blakey (1), Malcolm Rosas (1), Isaac Heeney (1), Errol Gulden (1), Logan McDonald (1) and Joel Amartey.
In the AFL the SCG is traditionally considered a smaller oval, but against Brisbane the Swans could not believe the space they were afforded in midfield with Gulden taking charge of the lane.
Justin McInerney celebrates scoring a goal.Credit: Getty Images
Amartey’s second goal left him completely alone in the goal area and after receiving the ball from Warner the striker looked almost stunned at how easily it happened.
At the start of the second quarter, Brisbane managed to slightly pull the handbrake on the Swans’ fast ball movement, with Heeney and Gulden connecting successfully at the start.
While Brisbane were able to successfully isolate one player, they opened up space for others to succeed, with Justin McInerney scoring his first major and Amartey scoring his third goal of the night. Heeney was limited to four disposals in the quarter, but still managed to score his second goal.
Errol Gulden in action against Brisbane.Credit: Getty Images
Ten minutes into the third quarter McDonald struck his second major of the night following Heeney’s unselfish strike. Brisbane started playing their best football of the night, dominating the stoppages and staging a comeback of sorts.
The Lions were severely weakened but retained the class in their midfield with Josh Dunkley and Lachie Neale finally starting to win the football regularly.
Work from the Brisbane midfield allowed striker Charlie Cameron to score his second great strike of the night and former West Coast captain Oscar Allen was rewarded with his first goal to cut the lead to 41 points.
In the final quarter, Brisbane continued their late push with goals from Kai Lohmann and Cam Rayner, but three goals from Swans Brodie Grundy, Justin McInerney and Amartey ultimately destroyed any latent hopes.
The truth was that the match was already over and the sight of Errol Gulden sitting on the bench in his sweatshirt and nursing his shoulder had added to the irritation of what was supposed to be a night of great celebration.
