SYDNEY has continued its customary late charge towards September, grinding out a tough 17-point victory over St Kilda last night.
In a dour struggle before 63,369 fans at Telstra Stadium, Jarrad McVeigh emerged as an unlikely goalscorer, kicking a career-best three majors, with Sydney sneaking away from what had been a match-long arm wrestle to win 12.10 (82) to 9.11 (65).
After another slow start to the season, the Swans had won four of their past six games, but the victories were against Melbourne, Richmond, Carlton and Fremantle — all sitting outside the eight.
It was far from pretty last night but the Swans couldn't care less, having accounted for a team in the finals mix and now find themselves fifth on the ladder, just one win outside the top four heading into next week's trip to Brisbane.
Barry Hall had a dog of a day, blanketed by St Kilda defender Max Hudghton, but McVeigh picked up the slack for the home side.
With the game in the balance midway through the final term, McVeigh juggled a mark and kicked truly to give the Swans an 11-point buffer, their biggest of the night in what had been a very tight contest.
Sydney's veteran heads then ensured the home side grabbed the four points.
Lewis Roberts-Thomson (buttock) was a late withdrawal after picking up a strain in training, denying him his first appearance of the season.
Coupled with Leo Barry's failure to recover from a hamstring problem, the Swans were severely hampered in their hopes of quelling St Kilda spearheads Nick Riewoldt and Fraser Gehrig.
The latter wasted little time getting involved, kicking the game's first goal on the run after just 26 seconds and adding a second midway through the opening term. Riewoldt also started in lively fashion, working tirelessly all over the ground and kicking truly for St Kilda's third after a strong pack mark in the goal square.
Sydney took more time getting into gear, with McVeigh kicking their opening two goals as the visitors took an eight-point lead into the first break.
The teams swapped goals early in the second term — one to Stephen Milne and one to Adam Schneider. Hall missed a 45-metre set shot, but Nic Fosdike's successful snap got them within a point, before St Kilda's Jayden Attard scored a goal on the run.
It was that sort of game, tit for tat all over the ground, and fittingly, the two teams went into half-time locked at 5.5 (35) apiece.
Nick Dal Santo got the scoring underway in the second half, with a superb set shot from right on the 50-metre arc as St Kilda tried to grab the momentum.
It was the Swans who began to run harder, however, with Luke Ablett and Michael O'Loughlin kicking back-to-back goals as the lead continued to change hands.
The teams traded goals again before Nick Davis marked right on the three-quarter-time siren, kicking the goal to give Sydney a four-point lead heading into the last break.
SYDNEY 2.2 5.5 9.7 12.10 (82)
ST KILDA 3.4 5.5 8.9 9.11 (65)
GOALS — Sydney: McVeigh 3, Schneider,
Fosdike, Everitt, Ablett, O'Loughlin, Mathews, Davis, Schmidt,
Malceski.St Kilda: Gehrig 2, Milne 2, Riewoldt, Attard, Dal
Santo, X Clarke, Hayes.
BEST — Sydney: C Bolton, Goodes, McVeigh, Buchanan,
Mathews, Kennelly. St Kilda: Montagna, Hayes, Hudghton,
Harvey, Riewoldt, X Clarke.
INJURIES — Sydney: Roberts-Thomson (buttock), Barry
(hamstring) replaced in selected side by Schmidt, Brennan.
UMPIRES: Donlon, McLaren, McInerney
CROWD: 63,369 at Telstra Stadium
AAP
