Sydney 20.12 (132) d Carlton 10.9 (69)
If the opening round was designed by the AFL to attract new audiences in NSW, Sydney’s 63-point demolition of Carlton at the SCG provided the perfect advert.
In the first half, the Swans were beaten in the contest and on the scoreboard in an ill-tempered game. But a new-look Sydney side emerged in the third quarter, adding an incredible 75 points to put the game to bed. Former Carlton favourite Charlie Curnow added two goals in that period, while Justin McInerney booted three.
Curnow’s profile demanded centre stage, and he ended the game with three majors, but he was helped by an outstanding supporting cast, including Joel Amartey (three) and Matt Roberts (two).
So much focus had been Curnow ahead of the game, with coach Dean Cox admitting the superstar forward had experienced some nerves. On the field, Curnow’s teammates showed some early jitters of their own, unable to cleanly handpass or find targets by foot. A strong SCG crowd arrived looking forward to seeing a Swans team capable of challenging for a premiership. They got a feast of fumbles.
Speaking after the clash, Cox said his side hadn’t put on a “great show” in the first half.
“We understood the responsibility from the opportunity that the AFL gave us to put on a show and the first half wasn’t a great show, but when we played the way we wanted to in that third quarter, the crowd of 40,000 – they were as loud as I’ve heard in a long time.”
Sydney finished the half 10 points down but were lucky it wasn’t worse. The Blues had been smarter and had dominated the midfield. Nobody typified the Swans travails more than Isaac Heeney, restricted to three disposals and also taking a nasty knee to the head from former teammate Ollie Florent, sending him to the changing room to be reviewed by the doctors for a head injury assessment. Match review officer Michael Christian will surely review the incident in the aftermath, too.
Heeney later played down the incident with his business partner and former teammate.
“We nickname each other ‘Brickheads’,” Heeney explained to this masthead.
“We just go at each other like a couple of idiots. No, I love him.
“We had a chat after it... it was all fun and games. Obviously we got on top, so that was nice.
“He got the best of me, actually, when he threw me to the ground, but no, it was good.”
Heeney was the last man out to start the second half, and it looked like the Swans were facing more of the same, with Carlton’s Ashton Moir kicking a major and Marc Pittonet getting his second goal of the game to stretch out to their biggest lead of the game of 22 points.
The spotlight was beaming on Curnow throughout the game, with flashpoints frequently bubbling up between both teams. It was the lesser-heralded McInerney who provided the kindling to spark a stunning Swans comeback with two quick-fire goals in three minutes.
It had taken a full half of football, but finally the Swans had woken from their slumber, with Logan McDonald getting his first goal of the season after missing all of last year through injury.
Heeney then gave the Swans a one-point lead with his first goal and epitomised the changed team that was finally finding the football and using it intelligently. Heeney was finally finding the Sherrin, with 13 touches for the quarter. His superstar midfield partner Errol Gulden was also finding the football to devastating effect after a particularly slow start.
Curnow had been held quiet, frustrated by Jacob Weitering, but his first goal brought the biggest cheer of the night from the SCG and sparked a shoving contest between both teams. Amartey’s second goal, from 55 metres out, was the Swans’ sixth goal in a row and again Carlton charged in to remonstrate, to little avail.
A major to Carlton’s Elijah Hollands (who’d only clinched his list spot in recent weeks) and Pittonet’s second were cancelled out by Roberts booting just the fifth goal of his whole career and McInerney getting his third of the night.
After Pittonet got his third, Roberts slotted his second and Heeney joined him with a double. For the third time, Carlton charged in recklessly as the celebrations started, leading to a needless free kick. The frustration was apparent for the Blues as they seemed powerless to stop the game being completely flipped on its head in the third term.
A Tom Papley major and Curnow’s second made it 12 in the third quarter for the Swans and put the game beyond reach for Carlton.
In the final term the Swans extended their lead through goals from Brodie Grundy, Chad Warner, Amartey, Angus Sheldrick, James Rowbottom, and Curnow getting his third goal of the night.
Cox spoke about the occasion of Curnow coming up against the side he played 149 games with – his milestone coming in his first game in Sydney colours.
“I think everyone understands the narrative behind it and the expectation when you get a great player like Charlie to your football club,” Cox said of the blockbuster off-season move to land the star forward.
“We’ve had some unbelievable key forwards and I suppose the hype that does surround that... I was more worried about if he missed [his first shot on goal], all the boys are waiting to give him a high-five and say congratulations rather than trying to set up and win the ball back if was a kick-in... but the most important part was, I thought he competed well all night.”
By night’s end, Curnow couldn’t stop smiling; he had not only survived an awkward and tough reunion with friends and former long-time teammates at Carlton, he had also thrived. Whether he remains the missing piece of the puzzle for the Swans in their quest for a first premiership since 2012 remains to be seen, but he has evidently made himself at home in Sydney.