By Jonathan Drennan
Sydney Swans forward Logan McDonald will have woken up on Monday morning with a sore body and a sense of deja vu. In two consecutive games against Fremantle and St Kilda, he had marked the ball at the death with the opportunity to win games the Swans had done their best to lose. The responsibility fell on McDonald to deliver with the decisive kick and he missed both times.
Against Fremantle, McDonald had engaged in a lengthy conversation with the umpire about his line and was noticeably unsettled from his routine. He completely missed the target.
On Sunday in Marvel Stadium, the job was far simpler, the kick was also just outside the 50-metre range, but it was straight in front. McDonald could have kicked to a teammate, but he wanted to take responsibility himself as a forward. This time the kick was on target, but it fell to the left for a behind.
If McDonald makes the kick, he completes his redemption arc in just two weeks. It is part of the injustice and thrill of sport. Basketball great Michael Jordan understood singular responsibility better than most in team sport in the dying seconds of a game. “Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed, I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed,” Jordan said.
McDonald is into his fourth season at the Swans and has never felt such scrutiny. For the previous three seasons he was able to slip into the vast shadow of Lance Franklin and quietly serve his apprenticeship under the champion. This season, there is no Franklin and there are far higher expectations on the 22-year-old who has signed a long-term contract that will keep him in Sydney until 2028.
Coach John Longmire refused to blame his young forward after the loss against St Kilda in Melbourne.“You can’t say much, those things happen in footy, that’s part of growing up,” Longmire said. “Part of experience is dealing with those situations and working through them.”
The previous week’s 98-99 defeat against Fremantle was difficult to stomach for the Swans, but they were facing a team that will almost certainly join them for finals in September.
The Swans arrived in Melbourne to face St Kilda with every reason to be confident and banish a minor blip from the previous week. St Kilda were lodged in the bottom half of the table after losing to Port Adelaide and Brisbane Lions in consecutive games. St Kilda had also lost their key forward Max King to injury, losing their major source of goals. Although McDonald’s second major miss grabbed the headlines, there are far more troubling subplots for the Swans at Marvel Stadium that need to be addressed if they are to return to their previous electric form.
Lack of goal kicking accuracy
Although McDonald missed when it mattered, he was also joined by his teammates who kicked 16 behinds in a game that they should have won. Throughout the season, the Swans have benefited from a spread of goalkickers that come from all over the field. Against St Kilda, the Swans collectively were unable to hit the target and didn’t score a single major in the final quarter. The return of experienced leaders such as forward Luke Parker and captain Callum Mills cannot come soon enough to help the team reset when they face adversity.
Double trouble: Josh Battle consoles Sydney’s Logan McDonald after St Kilda’s upset win.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Overreliance on Grundy
Without Brodie Grundy’s dominance at the ruck, the Swans’ vaunted midfield are suddenly shackled and stunted. Grundy has performed brilliantly since he arrived at the Swans from Melbourne, but with no adequate replacement behind him, he suddenly looks tired from shouldering so much responsibility. St Kilda’s Rowan Marshall provided a tough opponent and Grundy wasn’t able to find a rhythm for his midfield. Teams are realising that if you stop and unsettle Grundy, you are part of the way to stopping the Swans.
Inability to play four quarters
The Swans are still at the top of the AFL ladder after an outstanding season overall, but teams have also had longer to study their patterns and players. The element of surprise has gone. The midfield brilliance of Errol Gulden, Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner was balanced by the team’s notorious slow starts. Against St Kilda, it was the end of the game that cost them, coughing up a 30-point buffer. When things go wrong for Sydney in a game, there is normally a catalyst to revive the team. Against St Kilda it nearly came again. McDonald missed again when it mattered, but the Swans should never have put him in the same position.
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