The crowd are up for it at the SCG tonight. It’s not just a cold wind greeting The Enemy as they take to the field. Barry Hall, in his first appearance at his old stomping ground since defecting, is a clear target for our displeasure as he lopes around like a freakish white werewolf. Meanwhile our hopes are with Brett Kirk and Paul Roos. Can the boys pull off a fairytale ending for their final home game? This could be either a long drawn out grind or a genuine blockbuster.
From the first bounce it’s clearly looking like the latter. Finding space The Enemy gets the first goal. Shaw responds with a great mark and a short kick to White who scores. The Enemy go in again. TDL, rapidly becoming one of our key players this year, evens it up. Applied pressure results in another Enemy goal, then a behind. A great passage of play as Richards keeps its alive on the boundary, to Shaw to Bevan who pokes it forward for a point. Kennelly saves one our end then McVeigh scores. The Enemy extend their lead. We’re all booing as they line up for goal again minutes later and cheering as they miss. Pyke skews his shot off to one side. Richards superbly floats to White who punches it back into play for TDL to scoop and score. The Swans start plugging the gaps, muting The Enemy’s run. At the first siren it’s close, 31-28.
In the second The Enemy flails around attempting to shrug off the red and white octopus. It’s not working, Sydney refusing to give them any possession. Bolton gets a goal. There’s a lucky escape our end and then quick ball movement from Jetta to Goodes to White gets us going. Unfortunately he misses but we’re sensing the momentum’s swung our way. Kirk, uncharacteristically up front, gets a free and a goal. A concerted attack now, crowd chanting and clapping in unison. Jetta gets the ball and we’re screaming for him to run in. Jack gets a couple. The Swans showing tremendous support work backing each other up of Enemy tackles. We’re roaring as Kirk marks off a long kick from TDL. Then we’re off our chairs as Jetta slots it home apparently trying to get the ball into the car park. Can any of us keep this intensity up? Clearly not as Hall easily marks but maybe we’re putting him off as he only manages a behind. We then get caught off guard and The Enemy fumbles one though. It takes two of them to do it though and if that’s the best they’ve got they may as well go home now. Going into the break the score is 66-39 in our favour.
Even the idiots behind us with their moronic unintelligible droning aren’t affecting the rhythm of the stand in the third. The Enemy come out firing with three unanswered goals which shuts us up momentarily. Then the most freakish bounce of all time sets us off again. Jude Bolton’s snap looks to be going nowhere but suddenly jerks sharply left and in for a GOAL. We’re into it as McVeigh takes a one handed mark and scores. Much booing as Hall somehow ends up with a free kick out in front for an off play infringement at the top of the goal square. The ref’s parentage and kick back fees are questioned. The Enemy find spare men but we’re not going down and at the final break they’ve not made much of a dent in the lead.
As the Swans push forward in the forth we’re really into the chanting now. It’s the most coherent effort round the ground I’ve ever heard. Bevan gets one. TDL get his forth. Another eruption as Jetta is there to collect The Enemy’s atrocious kick out and a standing ovation as he slots it home. I take it all back he can kick them from a set shot. The Enemy presses but they’ve no luck tonight as Hall slips over missing the mark. Then somehow Kirk has the ball again in the forward fifty. The crowd are going nuts before he’s even taken the shot. It’s off the Richter scale as he absolutely nails it. More play but the scoring isn’t coming as thick and fast as it was. Goodes seems to waste a couple of opportunities but it’s all academic now. The Enemy are gone.
As we start into the club song the eight year old boy in front sums it up the best. Dancing around on his seat, inflatable red and white finger jabbing the air, he proudly announces.
“Barry Hall is crying to his mum.”
You bet mate and even I doubt she’s got any answers to counter the support we’ve got going here.
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