Slow-starting Suns slice up Swans for 5-1 season start
Bailey Humphrey had a day out as Gold Coast overcame a horror start to swallow up Sydney and extend their best start to an AFL season in a 38-point win.
The Suns' 17.15 (117) to 12.7 (79) win at Carrara on Sunday followed a shock loss to Richmond and improved them to a club-best 5-1 ahead of next week's QClash with defending champions Brisbane (6-1).
Two goals before halftime to Jed Walter started the rot, the Suns kicking 12 consecutive goals and the Swans (2-5) wilting as they managed just one behind between the midway points of the second and fourth quarters.
Ben King (five goals) regained top spot on the Coleman Medal leaderboard, Jarrod Witts led the way in the ruck, while Bailey Humphrey (18 disposals, four goals) stood tall on a rare quiet afternoon by Matt Rowell's standards as the Suns came from 29 points behind in the second quarter.
Well off the pace in a tardy opening term, the Suns lost the first eight centre clearances, fumbled and missed kicks to leave coach Damien Hardwick scratching his head.
Chad Warner (24 touches, two goals), fresh off a high-profile contract extension, was able to run into a vacant forward-50 and dribble through a goal after four free kicks in as many minutes led to three quickfire goals.
Gold Coast started hotter in the second term and looked to have turned the momentum with goals to Daniel Rioli and Humphrey.
But the Swans answered with a lift in pressure, Braeden Campbell book-ending Warner's brilliant second goal, a deft, curling left-foot effort, with two majors of his own.
James Jordan summed up their work rate with a ferocious chase-down of Rowell to win back possession that had the Swans humming.
But that disappeared until late in the final term, Witts leading Gold Coast's reply as the ruckman worked back to break Swans forays and distributed calmly in traffic.
Walter (three majors) profited with two goals from free kicks to keep the Suns within three majors at halftime, as the Swans' wheels fell off in front of 18,034 fans.
King and Walter got the Suns within a goal, before Rioli played on when everyone had stopped to give the Suns a lead.
That swelled to 10 points when the in-form Ben Long kicked the Suns' sixth straight goal.
Humphrey then monstered one from 55 metres, before King's third pushed him to the top of the Coleman Medal count.
Rowell, who had a combined single clearance with Noah Anderson at halftime, then killed the contest with a goal and assist to begin the fourth.
Suns halfback John Noble topped the disposal count with 30 touches as the Suns improved their poor record against last year's beaten grand finalists to 4-13.
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The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Cats back Stewart after bump sends Anderson to hospital
Geelong coach Chris Scott has launched an impassioned defence of Tom Stewart as the star utility faces AFL scrutiny over the bump that landed Gold Coast's Noah Anderson in hospital. Stewart crunched Anderson in a heavy collision during the fourth quarter of the Cats' dour 9.7 (61) to 5.7 (37) victory at a rain-soaked GMHBA Stadium on Saturday. Play was held up while Anderson was assessed by medical staff, before he jogged slowly off the ground. He was eventually taken to the Suns' change-room. The Gold Coast captain was cleared of concussion after his head hit the ground following the body contact from Stewart, but was later taken to hospital for scans on his chest region. Scott insisted Stewart showed the appropriate duty of care to Anderson and was adamant there would have to be a fundamental shift in rules for the five-time All-Australian to face sanction over the bump. "If it's a protective action where contact's unavoidable and you don't get them in the head, then you've done everything you can," Scott said after the match. "I sort of feel for Noah. Everyone loves him, he's a gun player and it was pretty heavy contact to the ribs, but it was to the body. "Stewy, I thought his duty of care to Noah was as good as it could have been, and he was good enough to hit him in the body." Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick didn't feel there was anything untoward in the bump from Stewart, who was given a four-match ban in 2022 for a nasty hit on Richmond's Dion Prestia. "The game's combative, accidents happen on the footy field. It's one of those things," Hardwick said of Saturday's incident. "We'd love Noah to keep playing (but it's) within the rules, still allowed to bump. "It was a reasonable hit, a solid hit. He's a big boy, Tom Stewart. "But once again, we'll make it very clear, it was chest. It wasn't head or anything like that - no concussion. "From our point of view he'll just go there (hospital) and see what that comes back at." Hardwick was more concerned with his team failing what he had termed a "litmus test" before the match, and ceding their top-four spot to Geelong in the process. The Cats never trailed and pulled clear after halftime to improve their record to 9-4 with a fourth straight win, while Gold Coast slipped to 8-4 with a second successive defeat. It was also the Suns' ninth loss in as many visits to Geelong's Kardinia Park base - eight of those against the Cats - since their AFL inception in 2011. Tyson Stengle (four goals) and Max Holmes (40 disposals, 10 clearances) starred for Geelong, while Tom Atkins (23, eight) and Mark O'Connor (21, seven) were also important. AFL great Gary Ablett Jr was among the 29,502 fans on hand to watch his two former clubs do battle, and witnessed a scrappy, stoppage-heavy encounter in wet conditions. Hardwick felt Geelong were better around the contest, conceding they were "too good, too clean and too strong" for the Suns. "We've got some work to do and I was really pissed off, to be perfectly honest," he said. "We knew the game that we needed to have, and we unfortunately failed the test." Geelong lost Shannon Neale to an ankle injury before halftime, and Gold Coast's Jed Walter could face scrutiny for late and high contact on O'Connor with a swinging arm. Geelong coach Chris Scott has launched an impassioned defence of Tom Stewart as the star utility faces AFL scrutiny over the bump that landed Gold Coast's Noah Anderson in hospital. Stewart crunched Anderson in a heavy collision during the fourth quarter of the Cats' dour 9.7 (61) to 5.7 (37) victory at a rain-soaked GMHBA Stadium on Saturday. Play was held up while Anderson was assessed by medical staff, before he jogged slowly off the ground. He was eventually taken to the Suns' change-room. The Gold Coast captain was cleared of concussion after his head hit the ground following the body contact from Stewart, but was later taken to hospital for scans on his chest region. Scott insisted Stewart showed the appropriate duty of care to Anderson and was adamant there would have to be a fundamental shift in rules for the five-time All-Australian to face sanction over the bump. "If it's a protective action where contact's unavoidable and you don't get them in the head, then you've done everything you can," Scott said after the match. "I sort of feel for Noah. Everyone loves him, he's a gun player and it was pretty heavy contact to the ribs, but it was to the body. "Stewy, I thought his duty of care to Noah was as good as it could have been, and he was good enough to hit him in the body." Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick didn't feel there was anything untoward in the bump from Stewart, who was given a four-match ban in 2022 for a nasty hit on Richmond's Dion Prestia. "The game's combative, accidents happen on the footy field. It's one of those things," Hardwick said of Saturday's incident. "We'd love Noah to keep playing (but it's) within the rules, still allowed to bump. "It was a reasonable hit, a solid hit. He's a big boy, Tom Stewart. "But once again, we'll make it very clear, it was chest. It wasn't head or anything like that - no concussion. "From our point of view he'll just go there (hospital) and see what that comes back at." Hardwick was more concerned with his team failing what he had termed a "litmus test" before the match, and ceding their top-four spot to Geelong in the process. The Cats never trailed and pulled clear after halftime to improve their record to 9-4 with a fourth straight win, while Gold Coast slipped to 8-4 with a second successive defeat. It was also the Suns' ninth loss in as many visits to Geelong's Kardinia Park base - eight of those against the Cats - since their AFL inception in 2011. Tyson Stengle (four goals) and Max Holmes (40 disposals, 10 clearances) starred for Geelong, while Tom Atkins (23, eight) and Mark O'Connor (21, seven) were also important. AFL great Gary Ablett Jr was among the 29,502 fans on hand to watch his two former clubs do battle, and witnessed a scrappy, stoppage-heavy encounter in wet conditions. Hardwick felt Geelong were better around the contest, conceding they were "too good, too clean and too strong" for the Suns. "We've got some work to do and I was really pissed off, to be perfectly honest," he said. "We knew the game that we needed to have, and we unfortunately failed the test." Geelong lost Shannon Neale to an ankle injury before halftime, and Gold Coast's Jed Walter could face scrutiny for late and high contact on O'Connor with a swinging arm. Geelong coach Chris Scott has launched an impassioned defence of Tom Stewart as the star utility faces AFL scrutiny over the bump that landed Gold Coast's Noah Anderson in hospital. Stewart crunched Anderson in a heavy collision during the fourth quarter of the Cats' dour 9.7 (61) to 5.7 (37) victory at a rain-soaked GMHBA Stadium on Saturday. Play was held up while Anderson was assessed by medical staff, before he jogged slowly off the ground. He was eventually taken to the Suns' change-room. The Gold Coast captain was cleared of concussion after his head hit the ground following the body contact from Stewart, but was later taken to hospital for scans on his chest region. Scott insisted Stewart showed the appropriate duty of care to Anderson and was adamant there would have to be a fundamental shift in rules for the five-time All-Australian to face sanction over the bump. "If it's a protective action where contact's unavoidable and you don't get them in the head, then you've done everything you can," Scott said after the match. "I sort of feel for Noah. Everyone loves him, he's a gun player and it was pretty heavy contact to the ribs, but it was to the body. "Stewy, I thought his duty of care to Noah was as good as it could have been, and he was good enough to hit him in the body." Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick didn't feel there was anything untoward in the bump from Stewart, who was given a four-match ban in 2022 for a nasty hit on Richmond's Dion Prestia. "The game's combative, accidents happen on the footy field. It's one of those things," Hardwick said of Saturday's incident. "We'd love Noah to keep playing (but it's) within the rules, still allowed to bump. "It was a reasonable hit, a solid hit. He's a big boy, Tom Stewart. "But once again, we'll make it very clear, it was chest. It wasn't head or anything like that - no concussion. "From our point of view he'll just go there (hospital) and see what that comes back at." Hardwick was more concerned with his team failing what he had termed a "litmus test" before the match, and ceding their top-four spot to Geelong in the process. The Cats never trailed and pulled clear after halftime to improve their record to 9-4 with a fourth straight win, while Gold Coast slipped to 8-4 with a second successive defeat. It was also the Suns' ninth loss in as many visits to Geelong's Kardinia Park base - eight of those against the Cats - since their AFL inception in 2011. Tyson Stengle (four goals) and Max Holmes (40 disposals, 10 clearances) starred for Geelong, while Tom Atkins (23, eight) and Mark O'Connor (21, seven) were also important. AFL great Gary Ablett Jr was among the 29,502 fans on hand to watch his two former clubs do battle, and witnessed a scrappy, stoppage-heavy encounter in wet conditions. Hardwick felt Geelong were better around the contest, conceding they were "too good, too clean and too strong" for the Suns. "We've got some work to do and I was really pissed off, to be perfectly honest," he said. "We knew the game that we needed to have, and we unfortunately failed the test." Geelong lost Shannon Neale to an ankle injury before halftime, and Gold Coast's Jed Walter could face scrutiny for late and high contact on O'Connor with a swinging arm.
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Swans warned of hard slog ahead in bid to save season
Coach Dean Cox has warned the slog has only started for Sydney as they try to put their AFL season back on track. After bad losses to Melbourne and Adelaide, then a below-par opening quarter on Saturday, the Swans clamped Richmond and mauled them by 44 points at the MCG, winning 11.14 (80) to 4.12 (36). The Tigers did not kick a goal from 19 minutes in the first term until 22 minutes into the last - understood to be a club record. Sydney go into the bye with a 5-8 record and will have key players such as Errol Gulden and Tom Papley closing on returns from injury. But Cox has warned last year's grand finalists have a long road ahead of them if they are to turn this season around. "We're not in a position to go and forecast what's going to happen later on in the year. We have a lot of work to do," Cox said. "I said to the players (post-game), 'it doesn't turn dramatically overnight, you have to work your way through this'. "To their credit they did that this week. They have to do it through their bye, when we get back next weekend, through the week leading into Port Adelaide. "You can't just rely on 'we've won one, take a breath, here we go', and also we get some people back maybe after the bye." Sydney were called a rabble after the Adelaide thrashing, and they had a 6am beach session the following morning. While Saturday was a grinding slog in cold conditions, Sydney showed signs of life. It was only their third win in 11 MCG games - including the two heavy grand final losses over the past three years. "They won in a way they might not have been pretty, but one we needed," Cox said. With father John watching, Sydney's All-Australian defender Nick Blakey was best afield as he played their combined 500th AFL game. This week, one media pundit had called the younger Blakey one of this season's biggest disappointments. "He played more of an all-round game, which is what we're after ... he was really good," Cox said. The Swans coach said assistant Amon Buchanan deserved credit for suggesting the inspired move of James Jordon to in-form Richmond defender Nick Vlastuin. Not only did Jordon shut down Vlastuin, he also kicked three goals. Another crucial move was sending James Rowbottom to Dion Prestia at quarer-time. Prestia had racked up 13 disposals in the first term and kicked a goal. He only managed eight more possessions for the game. Cox said Rowbottom was determined to "tackle anyone who came in his way", and the Swans onballer racked up an astonishing 14 for the match. Midfielder Isaac Heeney showcased his class, and ruckman Brodie Grundy also shone, with 51 hit-outs - crucially restricting the influence of Richmond captain Toby Nankervis. Tigers coach Adem Yze said he did not see the disaster coming and noted they started brightly. "The things we tried just kind of didn't work. It just wasn't up to AFL standard," he said. "We hope it's not inevitable, but we know there might be some pain along the way. "The second quarter, I don't think we've played any worse for the year." Coach Dean Cox has warned the slog has only started for Sydney as they try to put their AFL season back on track. After bad losses to Melbourne and Adelaide, then a below-par opening quarter on Saturday, the Swans clamped Richmond and mauled them by 44 points at the MCG, winning 11.14 (80) to 4.12 (36). The Tigers did not kick a goal from 19 minutes in the first term until 22 minutes into the last - understood to be a club record. Sydney go into the bye with a 5-8 record and will have key players such as Errol Gulden and Tom Papley closing on returns from injury. But Cox has warned last year's grand finalists have a long road ahead of them if they are to turn this season around. "We're not in a position to go and forecast what's going to happen later on in the year. We have a lot of work to do," Cox said. "I said to the players (post-game), 'it doesn't turn dramatically overnight, you have to work your way through this'. "To their credit they did that this week. They have to do it through their bye, when we get back next weekend, through the week leading into Port Adelaide. "You can't just rely on 'we've won one, take a breath, here we go', and also we get some people back maybe after the bye." Sydney were called a rabble after the Adelaide thrashing, and they had a 6am beach session the following morning. While Saturday was a grinding slog in cold conditions, Sydney showed signs of life. It was only their third win in 11 MCG games - including the two heavy grand final losses over the past three years. "They won in a way they might not have been pretty, but one we needed," Cox said. With father John watching, Sydney's All-Australian defender Nick Blakey was best afield as he played their combined 500th AFL game. This week, one media pundit had called the younger Blakey one of this season's biggest disappointments. "He played more of an all-round game, which is what we're after ... he was really good," Cox said. The Swans coach said assistant Amon Buchanan deserved credit for suggesting the inspired move of James Jordon to in-form Richmond defender Nick Vlastuin. Not only did Jordon shut down Vlastuin, he also kicked three goals. Another crucial move was sending James Rowbottom to Dion Prestia at quarer-time. Prestia had racked up 13 disposals in the first term and kicked a goal. He only managed eight more possessions for the game. Cox said Rowbottom was determined to "tackle anyone who came in his way", and the Swans onballer racked up an astonishing 14 for the match. Midfielder Isaac Heeney showcased his class, and ruckman Brodie Grundy also shone, with 51 hit-outs - crucially restricting the influence of Richmond captain Toby Nankervis. Tigers coach Adem Yze said he did not see the disaster coming and noted they started brightly. "The things we tried just kind of didn't work. It just wasn't up to AFL standard," he said. "We hope it's not inevitable, but we know there might be some pain along the way. "The second quarter, I don't think we've played any worse for the year." Coach Dean Cox has warned the slog has only started for Sydney as they try to put their AFL season back on track. After bad losses to Melbourne and Adelaide, then a below-par opening quarter on Saturday, the Swans clamped Richmond and mauled them by 44 points at the MCG, winning 11.14 (80) to 4.12 (36). The Tigers did not kick a goal from 19 minutes in the first term until 22 minutes into the last - understood to be a club record. Sydney go into the bye with a 5-8 record and will have key players such as Errol Gulden and Tom Papley closing on returns from injury. But Cox has warned last year's grand finalists have a long road ahead of them if they are to turn this season around. "We're not in a position to go and forecast what's going to happen later on in the year. We have a lot of work to do," Cox said. "I said to the players (post-game), 'it doesn't turn dramatically overnight, you have to work your way through this'. "To their credit they did that this week. They have to do it through their bye, when we get back next weekend, through the week leading into Port Adelaide. "You can't just rely on 'we've won one, take a breath, here we go', and also we get some people back maybe after the bye." Sydney were called a rabble after the Adelaide thrashing, and they had a 6am beach session the following morning. While Saturday was a grinding slog in cold conditions, Sydney showed signs of life. It was only their third win in 11 MCG games - including the two heavy grand final losses over the past three years. "They won in a way they might not have been pretty, but one we needed," Cox said. With father John watching, Sydney's All-Australian defender Nick Blakey was best afield as he played their combined 500th AFL game. This week, one media pundit had called the younger Blakey one of this season's biggest disappointments. "He played more of an all-round game, which is what we're after ... he was really good," Cox said. The Swans coach said assistant Amon Buchanan deserved credit for suggesting the inspired move of James Jordon to in-form Richmond defender Nick Vlastuin. Not only did Jordon shut down Vlastuin, he also kicked three goals. Another crucial move was sending James Rowbottom to Dion Prestia at quarer-time. Prestia had racked up 13 disposals in the first term and kicked a goal. He only managed eight more possessions for the game. Cox said Rowbottom was determined to "tackle anyone who came in his way", and the Swans onballer racked up an astonishing 14 for the match. Midfielder Isaac Heeney showcased his class, and ruckman Brodie Grundy also shone, with 51 hit-outs - crucially restricting the influence of Richmond captain Toby Nankervis. Tigers coach Adem Yze said he did not see the disaster coming and noted they started brightly. "The things we tried just kind of didn't work. It just wasn't up to AFL standard," he said. "We hope it's not inevitable, but we know there might be some pain along the way. "The second quarter, I don't think we've played any worse for the year."
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Is Stewart in trouble for BRUTAL bump?
AFL: Cats star Tom Stewart could be in hot water for a textbook but brutal bump on Suns midfielder Noah Anderson.
