The Swans led at the last change but couldn’t hold off a faster finishing Hawks at Muldoon Oval in the final home and away fixture last Saturday.
The Swans went into the match with a host of players missing and with two reserve grade players backing up on the bench.
Despite this the Swans banged on 5 goals to 2 in the opening stanza and led at every change throughout the hotly contested match.
The Swans led at the final break by a slender 5 points and the game was up for grabs.
The Hawks quickly bagged the first goal of the final term to take the lead by the barest of margins and throw the challenge back at the Swans.
The Swans answered at the other end soon after to regain the lead and give themselves a chance.
But it was the Hawks fresher legs at the end of the clash that made the difference.
Despite many attempts at penetrating the Hawks defence in the final 10 minutes the Swans couldn’t break through and did not have the fuel left in the tank to chase the Hawks who piled on four unanswered goals in the final 10 min to run out 20 point winners.
Dylan Bycroft, Ben Keep, Kai Garner and Brent Doyle were the Swans best in a gallant team display.
Swans coach Peter Pyle was left fuming after the loss with a few players who hadn’t bothered to show up on the day.
Some players are committed and unfortunately some are not.
To win a flag you need all players in the squad committed to the cause and to each other.
Pyle was proud of the effort of his troops and praised the efforts of those who backed up.
But he couldn’t help but wonder what might have been had hr had 22 fresh players at his disposal.
One thing is for sure Pyle has a long memory and certain players will not make his 22 should the Swans go deep into the finals.
Last Modified on 21/08/2009 10:42