Wayward Swans continue winning ways
AFL North Coast leading goalkicker Andrew Baker flies high for the Lismore Swans in the Round 2 win over Port Macquarie. Photo: Adrian Etherson Photography
The Lismore Swans maintained their position at the top of the AFL North Coast ladder after an emphatic 85-point win over Port Macquarie.
Goals – Swans: A.Baker 5, S.Smith 3, M.Schafer 3, T.Mowbray 2, J.Nicholls 2, J.Ashby, H.Ashby, E.McNutt. Port: J.Embling 2, R.Close, A.Byrne, J.Mawson Gulliford, T.Kelly, S.Soper, K.Taylor.
Best – Swans: J.Nicholls, J.McKenzie-Edwards, R.Richardson, A.Baker, H.Ashby, J.Ashby. Port: B. Saggers, R. Sonogan, T. Kelly.
“It was a hard fought battle at the start and they (Northern Beaches) put a lot of pressure on us and it stifled us a little bit but as the game went on I think the boys got better and got used to each other and started to move the ball,” Wilson said.
“Again I think our fitness came out and shone.”
Yellow cards proved costly for the Blues as the Breakers moved further ahead while holding the numerical advantage. Northern Beaches coach Rory Evans lamented the costly errors of judgement but said it also spoke just as much about the Breakers as it did his own team.
“They (Coffs Breakers) played well. They played better than us and that frustrated us to the point where we became undisciplined,” he said.
“That’s probably the ultimate compliment to them that they did. They played well enough to frustrate us into doing what we don’t want to do.”
Evans was full of praise for the opposition but saw silver linings in the defeat.
“The perspective is, and I know this is a bit of a cliché, but we’d rather do this in round two,” Evans said.
“A lot of positives and the negatives probably speak for themselves but there’s still a lot of positives. We won the second quarter and when we did the things that we wanted to do, it worked pretty well.
“That said, they (Coffs Breakers) played really well. They spread really well, they got out of the contest really well and that hurt us. Likewise we didn’t do that and because we didn’t, our ball movement was a bit slow and we didn’t give our forwards much of an option when it did go down there.”
Nambucca Valley couldn’t escape the clutches of Sawtell/Toormina on Saturday. Photo: Green Shoots Marketing
“We’re always positive, that’s what our club culture is all about,” Stuart said.
“We never drop our heads no matter what the score is. I think we stopped looking at the scoreboard at half time.
“No matter what stage of the game, no matter how many players we’ve got, we always give 100 per cent.”
“We just wanted to make a proper game out of it so we ended up helping Nambucca out and lending them a couple of players,” Lee said.
“The last thing you want to do is ask the boys to come down here and play 18-on-14 and flog a team. You don’t get anything out of it doing that.”
With the numbers evened up and some extra space on the ground now that it was 16-a-side, Lee was happier with his team’s second half performance.
“At half time I was pretty disappointed. Yes we were up by a fair bit but we weren’t playing our best footy. I said to the boys we’ve got into those habits and going through the motions so let’s gets something out of this game, kick into gear and start playing our brand of football,”
“We definitely did that in the second half. The system that we had going in the second half definitely is something that we’re going to put in to place for the weeks to come.”
Sawtell/Toormina’s Luke Neal gets a kick away against Nambucca Valley. Photo: Green Shoots Marketing
GRAFTON vs LISMORE SWANS at Ellem Oval, Grafton
(Under-17s – 10am (Graf vs Breakers); Women – 1.20pm; Seniors – 2.50pm)
NORTHERN BEACHES vs SAWTELL/TOORMINA at Centennial Oval, Woolgoolga
(Women – 11.50am; Reserves – 1.20pm; Seniors – 2.50pm)
CASINO LIONS vs PORT MACQUARIE at Queen Elizabeth Park, Casino
(Seniors – 2.50pm)
COFFS BREAKERS vs NAMBUCCA VALLEY at Fitzroy Oval, Coffs Harbour
(Seniors – 2.50pm)
