“It’s a hard enough game as it is, and over a 23 week season, to finish where we are, it’s a great effort from a lot of people. It’s a terrific effort from our playing group right across the board, our staff and the footy club in general, our supporters. So it’s important just to take a moment tonight just to reflect on that before we start looking forward.”
The supporters have certainly played their part. The 36,491 fans who turned up to cheer home the red and white created a new record for a Swans home season, with 420,226 attending their 11 home games at the SCG.
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A rampant Errol Gulden set the match up with a bullocking Chat Warner returning after calf soreness, while defender Nick Blakey had a big night charging out of the backline in a free-running match which saw him kick two goals. Such was the freedom given to players that fellow defenders Dane Rampe and Lewis Melican were also able to drift down and kick goals.
Luke Parker has ably stepped in as Sydney’s dangerous small forward covering for Papley, who has been out since round 19. To that stage Papley had been one of the Swans’ leading goalkickers with 30.
Parker was missing until round 18 because of a broken arm in the preseason and then a six-game suspension in the VFL. A snap at the seven-minute mark of the second quarter by Parker gave him three goal for the match and made it four times in his seven games back that he had kicked two goals or more, including three in the previous game against Essendon.
Adelaide began their last game of the season as if it was, one too many. The Swans have been notoriously slow starters this season despite cementing top place on the ladder, but by 18 minutes into the first quarter they had kicked six goals to one.