Last nightsโ Sydney Derby was eerily close to being scratched as a result of COVID-induced anarchy.
Gerard Whateley broke the news inside half-an-hour of the game's commencement, that a plethora of Giants and Swans players and staff were unable to participate in the contest and instead were forced to self-isolate.
This was as a result of these individuals attending the Australia-France Rugby Test at AAMI Park, which had since been updated to a Tier 2 exposure site.
Correction: Nine Giants https://t.co/M7qzA5YqBO
— Gerard Whateley (@GerardWhateley) July 18, 2021
This debacle left the Giants without duo Toby Greene and Matt De Boer, whereas the Swans were without Callum Mills, Harry Cunningham and Colin OโRiordan.
Sydney were in such dire straights that they had to call upon the trio of James Rowbottom, Dylan Stephens and Ben Ronke who all participated in a scratch-match the day prior.ย
An undermanned and fatigue-impaired Swans outfit quickly found themselves outplayed in the first half, falling behind by as much as 35 points in the opening quarter before a late surge had them trailing by 16 heading into the major break.
From then on the Swans were able to change gears and piled on the goals as they outworked their cross-town rivals to emerge 26-point victors.ย
An emotional John Longmire addressed the media during his post-match presser and outlined the details of the chaotic situation.ย
โI quickly got on the phone and rang the players back at the hotel,โ Longmire commented.
โWe werenโt quite sure whether it was locked in or not. So once it was locked in, we just grabbed the players together and told them: โWeโve been away for a month, weโve lost staff, we donโt have one fitness guy and you lose three players before the game (and bring in three) that played yesterdayโ.
โTo say it was a good win would probably be an understatementโ, he concluded.ย
Further encapsulating the obscurity of the situation was Rowbottomโs account of how he became aware that he was selected to play amongst all the pre-match disarray, which he relayed when speaking on Swans TV.ย
โHe said, โwhat are you doing?โ and I said: โIโm just in the hotel chilling outโ. He said โgood, get your gear on, itโs been a sh*tshow down here, you might be playingโ,โ Rowbottom said.
Hear from James Rowbottom chat about his incredible pre-game story that saw him called upon to play just an hour before Sydney Derby XXI!#Bloods pic.twitter.com/cYvCgWhGKB
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) July 18, 2021
The inspirational win had a pair of former players in North Melbourne legend David King and St Kilda great Leigh Montagna excited about the young Swans future, especially as they build towards a strong finals campaign.ย
โI love seeing this. This is a family, this is a brotherhood, this is everyone in it together, everyone doing their partโ King emphasised when speaking on Fox Footyโs First Crack.
โThat can build, that can get rolling and all of a sudden you get the snowball effect and they could just snowball their way through September."
Montagna then chimed in with more praise, going as far as saying that Sydney was โnow officially the hottest team in the competition right nowโ.
โYouโve got to get going to win a premiership, youโve got to have that momentum โ and they are galvanised and they are all in it. You can see they are heavily invested in this season and itโs going to take them a long wayโ, Montagna added.
The Swans currently occupy sixth position on the ladder and are a chance to push for a top-four finish as they have a string of winnable games ahead. They have currently taken out top sides like Brisbane, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs, while they also bested reigning premiers Richmond and dismantled a West Coast outfit that sits behind them at seventh.ย
The Swans are clearly well positioned to make a big push towards the finals and are on track to occupy the danger team slot as they surge towards September.
