Swans see off Bombers challenge in wet and wild scrap

Isaac Heeney celebrates a goal during round 2, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

SYDNEY might have been hoping for a glimpse into a brighter future but will be as worried as relieved by what it has seen after surviving a scare from Essendon for a 14-point victory on a gloomy day at the SCG.

In wet and wild conditions, this had all the hallmarks of a clash between two sides already out of finals contention, as the Swans eased away then held off the brave Bombers for a 9.14 (68) to 7.12 (54) win on Saturday.

SWANS v BOMBERS Full match coverage and stats

The Swans still have the slightest mathematical chance of finishing in the top-eight but need so much to go their way, including rediscovering their best, that this was almost certainly the first dead rubber they have played in more than five years.

ALL THE HIGHLIGHTS Previous Next 09:19 'We do have to quite consciously work on the morale of our group': Scott Watch Essendon’s press conference after round 21’s match against Sydney

07:50 'I didn't find it tough to get motivated, it's probably a question you ask of the players': Cox Watch Sydney’s press conference after round 21’s match against Essendon

08:12 Highlights: Sydney v Essendon The Swans and Bombers clash in round 21 of the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season

00:28 Blakiston keeps cool to score maiden major Lachlan Blakiston kicks his first AFL goal at an important stage in the game to keep Essendon in the hunt

00:51 Kako bursts past to nail one on the run Isaac Kako runs into an open goal with his typical explosiveness and clean ground-ball work

00:24 'He actually misses it!': Swan's savage blunder in goal square Caiden Cleary squanders one of the easiest opportunities in front of goal by completely missing the footy with his boot

00:50 Paps all smiles after big bump Tom Papley nails home a long-range goal after receiving a free kick near the 50m arc

01:13 Play paused for groundsman to fix hole in unusual scenes An unexpected surface concern prompts a brief delay in play, with a groundsman stepping in to smooth things over

00:32 Gulden touch: Errol drives home gold in game 100 Errol Gulden is swarmed by teammates as he registers a fantastic major in his 100th game

Brodie Grundy was a shining light and could yet give the Swans reason to cheer as he continues to strengthen his claim for a third All-Australian blazer after overpowering the Bombers’ young ruck Lachlan Blakiston as well as veteran Todd Goldstein in a ruck masterclass.

Grundy finished with a career-high 39 disposals including 22 contested, to go with 13 clearances and 32 hitouts as the dominant big man in the game, though Blakiston was able to drift forward and boot a goal in the final term to give the Bombers a hint of hope before the Swans held them at arm’s length.

Errol Gulden celebrated his milestone match in style with the opening goal of the game and went on to finish 30 disposals as well as 575m gained, while Justin McInerney (27, two goals) and Isaac Heeney (28, one) were lively as the Swans pulled away.

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Swans dasher Nick Blakey added an early spark as he was allowed to roam free and gathered 18 disposals during a blistering first half before the Bombers finally clamped down to limit him to 28 touches for the game.

James Jordon was important as the Swans tagger lined up on Zach Merrett from the opening bounce and restricted the Bombers skipper to 19 disposals.

Essendon has now lost 11 of its past 12 matches at the SCG but can perhaps take just as much from the contest as the winners after its injury-ravaged and young side fought out the game.

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With Merrett having little influence on the game, Andrew McGrath stepped up to have more of an impact in the midfield and finished with 26 disposals and seven clearances, while Sam Durham (22, 5) battled hard.

The Bombers will be also buoyed by Jayden Nguyen’s debut as the 19-year-old defender went toe-to-toe with Tom Papley, while Archie May showed potential when shifted into defence.

But the Bombers were not quite able to take their opportunities late to overrun the Swans even while continuing to lay promising foundations for their own future.

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Sprinkling of magic sawdust saves SCG surface

The condition of the SCG playing surface has come under the spotlight this season and it was always likely to be tested again as a deluge of rain hit the Harbour City in the days before the Swans hosted the Bombers. As much as 115mm of rain fell around the venue in the 24 hours to 10am on Saturday, but after the super sopper usually seen during cricket season helped clear the field a much smaller but no less bizarre oversight caused a stoppage in play. A deep crevice was spotted in the turf just a few minutes into the opening term, as the call was made for sawdust to help fill the space where a sprinkler was usually meant to appear.

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Lizard on the loose in Sydney defence

Nick Blakey can hold his head high as a solid contributor even as Sydney has dropped from minor premiers last year to all but certainly missing the finals this season. But the dashing defender has rarely been able to hit the heights of his 2024 All-Australian campaign until being allowed to roam free on Saturday. With the Bombers severely undermanned and sending a forward further afield to clog up the midfield, Blakey often found space as the Swans’ loose player and used his laser-sharp left boot and blistering pace to launch attacks from defence. The son of a gun sent a warning shot with 12 disposals in the opening term on the way to finishing with 28 touches, seven score involvements and 678m gained under little pressure.

History-making Bomber handed baptism of fire

Essendon set an AFL-era record when unearthing a 14th debutant for the season at the same time as Jayden Nguyen etched his own name in history as the first player of Vietnamese descent. The 19-year-old was hardly eased into his debut as he went straight to Tom Papley from the opening bounce and was handed an early lesson when the Sydney firebrand out bodied Nguyen to win the ball on the 50m arc. But the 177cm defender did not take a backwards step and showed that he has the speed and thirst for a contest that could allow him to lock down on small forwards for years to come, while he helped limit Papley to one goal – coming after teammate Ben Hobbs gave away a cheap free kick – in an impressive debut.

SYDNEY 4.3 6.9 8.12 9.14 (68)

ESSENDON 2.4 2.6 4.10 7.12 (54)

GOALS

Sydney: McInerney 2, Campbell 2, Gulden, Rowbottom, Buller, Papley, Heeney

Essendon: Perkins, Guelfi, Clarke, May, Redman, Kako, Blakiston

BEST

Sydney: Grundy, Gulden, Blakey, McInerney, Rampe, Heeney, Jordon

Essendon: McGrath, Durham, Redman, Merrett, Prior

INJURIES

Sydney: Nil

Essendon: Nil

SUBSTITUTES

Sydney: Caiden Cleary (replaced Peter Ladhams at three quarter-time)

Essendon: Oskar Smartt (replaced Liam McMahon in the third quarter)

Crowd: 20,805 at the SCG

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