Sydney has brushed off any concerns about a late-season slump with an emphatic 79-point victory over North Melbourne as a pair of Swans veterans made rousing returns at the SCG on Saturday.
Skipper Callum Mills and three-time club champion Luke Parker each played their first match of the season but it was young guns Chad Warner and Errol Gulden that powered the Swans to a 20.18 (138) to 9.5 (59) win over the Kangaroos.
Warner first took the reins in the Swans’ star-studded midfield missing the suspended Isaac Heeney, breaking the game open early on the way to gathering 31 disposals.
The 23-year-old had 12 touches in a blistering second term, with eight of those score involvements while booting two goals of his own, as the Swans piled on 7.5 to take a seven-goal lead into the main break.
Mills lined up on a wing and finished with 12 disposals and a late goal in his first match since injuring a shoulder in a Mad Monday mishap last year, while Parker was a late inclusion after serving a six-week ban for a high bump in the VFL.
Parker started as the substitute before joining the action in the third term when Justin McInerney sustained a knee injury, the Swans’ midfielder heading straight to the centre bounce.
The 31-year-old finished with 13 disposals and two goals from 47 minutes of play, and was swamped by teammates after hitting the scoreboard just moments after coming on.
Logan McDonald put a nightmare fortnight that included a pair of costly late misses behind him with a dominant display in the Swans' forward half, booting four goals as Tom Papley finished with the same.
Gulden (41 disposals) was important as the game opened up after the main break, while James Rowbottom (22, five clearances) helped ensure the Swans midfield took away the Roos' strength at the stoppages.
SWANS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats
The Kangaroos had shown promising signs with a pair of victories and three narrow defeats in recent weeks but had few answers as the Swans got on top in the middle of the park.
Co-captain Jy Simpkin battled hard with 26 disposals and a goal, while Harry Sheezel (29) and Luke Davies-Uniacke (24) added polish in a midfield that was outworked as much as outclassed.
Colby McKercher (25) added dash out of defence but the Roos found it hard to find a way out of their back half as they lost the inside 50s by 64-39.
While the Roos struggled to move the ball forward after a cautious opening term, Nick Larkey played a lone hand in the forward line and finished with three goals that might have been much more but for some gettable misses.
Former Swan Toby Pink (two goals) added an aerial presence early and Cam Zurhaar (two goals) hit the scoreboard late, but this was a firm reminder of how far away the Roos sit from the benchmark.
Larkey plays a lone hand up forward
The Kangaroos have unashamedly focused on rebuilding through the midfield as they look to leap off the bottom rungs of the ladder but were again exposed for a lack of high-end tall talent in the forward half. While the Roos had trouble firstly moving the ball inside the forward 50, Nick Larkey was too often the predictable target although the spearhead did finish with three goals. Toby Pink showed promising signs against his former side with two goals in the opening term, but the Roos need more aerial support for Larkey especially as their midfield continues to evolve.
SYDNEY 3.4 10.10 16.14 20.18 (138)
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.2 4.4 7.5 9.5 (59)
GOALS
Sydney: McDonald 4, Papley 4, Warner 2, McLean 2, Amartey 2, Parker 2, Jordon, Grundy, Adams, Mills
North Melbourne: Larkey 3, Pink 2, Zurhaar 2, Simpkin, Ford
BEST
Sydney: Warner, Gulden, McDonald, Papley, Rowbottom, Grundy, Roberts
North Melbourne: Simpkin, Davies-Uniacke, Sheezel, Larkey, McKercher
INJURIES
Sydney: McInerney (knee)
North Melbourne: Nil
LATE CHANGES
Sydney: Wicks replaced in selected side by Parker
North Melbourne: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Sydney: Parker (replaced McInerney in the third quarter)
North Melbourne: Taylor (replaced Shiels in the third quarter)
Crowd: 34,663 at the SCG
