Sydney Swans beat Port Adelaide Power to reach AFL grand final – as it happened
That’s it from me, folks.The thunder has been shaken down from the sky and Sydney are through to their fifth grand final under John Longmire.Tune in tomorrow to see if it’s the Cats or the Lions they face off against at the MCG next Saturday.Thanks for your company tonight and stay tuned for Jonathan Horn’s glorious prose which is incoming!And then there were three 👀#AFLFinals | #AFLSwansPower pic.twitter.
com/MlHv8G70MIMilestone men 200-gamer Isaac Heeney and 250-gamer Dane Rampe – both proud NSW products – are being chaired off the ground by their teammates but it’s a blissfully slow march down the tunnel because all the players are savouring every last moment of this rapturous Sydney crowd who have attended the SCG in numbers like never before in 2024,Soak it in Sydney fans, you're into the last game of the season 🏆#AFLFinals | #AFLSwansPower pic,twitter,com/TNxco6qMLhGreat scenes at the SCG as Hunters & Collectors’ Holy Grail rings out as per tradition,The Swans completely dominated this contest as they have the 2024 season.
They used the ball far more potently than Port who coughed it up too often.Sydney won across the board tonight: marks (131-70), forward half marks (48-28) and kicking efficiency (74 per cent to 64 per cent).But the real difference was the 76-24 points they scored from Power turnovers.The Swans’ top-four ranked players on the ground tonight were their awesome foursome of Heeney, Blakey, Warner, Gulden – the club’s All-Australians in 2024.All notched 20+ disposals, Gulden leading the way with 27.
Who will they meet next Saturday? Geelong or Brisbane?SYDNEY WINS THROUGH TO GRAND FINAL! Port Adelaide 8.11.59 – Sydney 14.11.95Sydney run down the clock.
They’re not smiling in the coach’s box just yet but assistant coach Dean Cox can’t contain a smirk.‘Syd-ney, Syd-ney, Syd-ney’ reverberates around this old ground.There’s the siren.The Swans are heading to another grand final!Final quarter, 2 minutes to play: Port Adelaide 8.11.
59 – Sydney 14.11.95Port are trying to finish with a flourish but the Swans lead 219-166 in kicks tonight and the chant of ‘Syd-ney, Syd-ney’ is growing in volume.The Swans faithful know they’re home now.Can they goal again to hit three figures and ice their passage to the big dance next Saturday?Final quarter, 6 minutes to play: Port Adelaide 8.
11.59 – Sydney 14.11.95The Swans have out-marked Port decisively tonight.They lead intercept marks (17-12), marks on lead (15-4), contested marks (12-7), forward 50 marks (14-8) and uncontested marks (96-55).
Big gaps and they’ve spelled big trouble for the Power all night.Seconds ticking away now and Swan still six goals clear.Final quarter, 7 minutes to play: Port Adelaide 8.11.59 – Sydney 14.
10.94Sydney are pressing but Amartey’s shot on goal goes out on the full.Port quickly reef it upfield but it finds McCartin instead.Heeney’s lead lures two defenders out of position and gives Amartey a clear grab.But again he misses.
And so does Georgiades at the other end.That would’ve brought the margin inside the 20s.But it’s not to be.Final quarter, 10 minutes to play: Port Adelaide 8.11.
59 – Sydney 14.9.93Wow! Errol Gulden is ther man with the golden boot.That one went straight into Joel Amartey’s pocket.But again Sydney send it wide of the big sticks.
It scarcely matters when you’re 40 points clear but they’ve been wayward in this back half.And Rozee makes him pay, kicking back-to-back goals for the Port for the first time tonight.Final quarter, 12 minutes to play: Port Adelaide 7.11.53 – Sydney 14.
8,92The Sydney crowd is really up and about now,It’s a sea of red and white out there and with 12 minutes to play it looks like it’ll be flowing south to the MCG on Grand FInal day,Connor Rozee is desperately trying to inspire something here and he does, gunning a kick down the guts where Travis Boak marks and scores in game 371,3rd quarter, 15 minutes to play: Port Adelaide 6.
11.47 – Sydney 14.8.92Port are yet to kick consecutive goals tonight.They’ll need seven straight to win this prelim.
Sydney’s accuracy has deserted them in this second half but Port haven’t been able to punish them for it.And they’ve punished themselves again, elbowing Heeney out of the contest and setting him up for what could be the sealer 30m out.He nails it!3rd quarter, 17 minutes to play: Port Adelaide 6.11.47 – Sydney 13.
8.86Can the Power find something special? Or will the Swans close it out? Here we go.But from the ruck Grundy gets to Heeney and he’s lethal.He spits the pip to Logan McDonald who sets up.But it’s another miss for the Swans an another let off for Port.
Can they conjure a comeback from this run of misses by the home side? McDonald is off and there’s ice on that ankle.It’s 31-year-old veteran Robbie Fox running on.Now Aliir does well to keep it infield and he angles a nice kick to Burgoyne who’s within range.But the kick is a shocker – wide, short and woeful.They’ll get another chance from the spillage though.
Drew looks to be lining up but he sends it to Ollie Wines instead.A behind.Sydney by 40 with one quarter to play.The Bloods really brought down the hammer in that stanza with four powerful goals.It could’ve been much worse for Port Adelaide – the Swans’ radar deserted them for the first time in the game and after being 9.
1 at halftime they suddenly scored six behinds to be 13.7.The Power have been their own worst enemy tonight.Sydney’s four goals all came from turnovers and the Swans have now scored 62 points from intercepting Port Adelaide’s defensive half chains.They also won the clearances (10-5), contested possessions (36-26), inside 50 entries (18-9).
3rd quarter, 1 minutes remaining: Port Adelaide 6.9.45 – Sydney 13.7.85Dixon gets a shot on goal from the far right but wafts it left and Sydney clear through Grundy.
Cunningham dinks it to Heeney and he puts a high ball to Roberts.A low ball looks for Papley but he stumbles and Port scramble a counterattack.But there’s the siren.Sydney are 40-points clear and Swans fans are looking into flights to Melbourne.3rd quarter, 2 minutes remaining: Port Adelaide 6.
9.45 – Sydney 13.7.85Oh no! Boak has put another bung clearance right into the hands of Chad Warner and he rushes past one, dodges another and puts it home off the right foot.Great goal!3rd quarter, 3 minutes remaining: Port Adelaide 6.
9.45 – Sydney 12.6.79Charlie Dixon hits back for the Power to bring the margin back inside six goals.Still a long way to go but they’re still alive inside this final half hour of play.
Sydney fumble it out of further trouble but Port know it’s now or never,They need another goal at least before the break,Grundy tackled Horne-Francis and it’s another turnover by Port but again Sydney miss their shot,Will the Swans come to rue this inaccuracy or have they done enough? They are 3,5 this quarter after being 9
Domestic abuse specialists to be embedded in 999 control rooms
Domestic abuse specialists will be embedded in 999 control rooms from early next year in the first step towards the government’s goal of halving violence against women and girls in a decade, the home secretary has said.The advisers will make risk assessments on cases involving rape, domestic and sexual abuse claims to ensure that victims are referred to support services as quickly as possible, as part of an initiative to be announced by Yvette Cooper on Friday.The move, which will begin as an initiative in targeted police forces, is meant to form part of “Raneem’s law”, in memory of Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem, who were murdered by Raneem’s ex-husband in 2018.There were 13 reports made to the police about concerns for Raneem’s safety, with no arrests made. On the night she was killed, she had rung 999 four times
‘Hundreds’ of prisoners freed early in England and Wales not fitted with tags
Prisoners freed early to ease overcrowding in jails have not been fitted with electronic tags despite it being a condition of their release, prompting criticism from a parliamentary watchdog.Officials have declined to say how many of the 1,700 prisoners in England and Wales who were allowed out after serving 40% of their sentences last week were not given tracking devices. It is understood to be “hundreds” rather than “dozens”, a source said.Whitehall insiders have blamed the security contractor Serco – which was given the contract in October 2023 – for the delays. Serco said it was working to reduce the numbers waiting for tags
Trans people in England missing out on vital cancer screening, experts warn
Thousands of transgender patients in England are missing out on vital cancer screening because of the way their GP records are drawn up, experts have warned.Everyone registered as female with their GP is automatically invited to breast screening from the age of 50 to 70, and to regular cervical screenings from 25 to 64.But warnings from experts at the World Cancer Congress in Geneva this week, underscored by official NHS guidance, show that many trans patients are not invited to undergo the tests.In England, trans men who were registered female at birth and have changed the gender on their patient record to male are not offered breast or cervical screening, regardless of whether they have had chest reconstruction or a hysterectomy.Trans women who are still registered male with their GP are also not offered routine breast screening, even if they have been on longterm hormone therapy, which puts them at added risk of breast cancer
‘All sorts happens here’: the battle to save a beloved Manchester social club
In a sprawling white building in the south Manchester suburb of Whalley Range, dozens of people – some barely out of their teens, others well into retirement – are gathered around tables, heads together, scribbling answers on to quiz sheets.In another room, an art class is under way, while elsewhere in the building, which stands on a residential street, a group are slouched across battered leather sofas, watching Manchester City take on Inter Milan in the Champions League.This is the Carlton Club, a community space that has existed in this spot for more than a century – first as a private members’ club, but now operated as a community interest company (CIC).“Before I came here, I knew about six neighbours by name,” Joy Wales, 70, said. “I now know 250
Call for greater protection for girls as FGM cases rise by 15% in England
Hospital and GP attendances about female genital mutilation in England have risen by 15%, according to NHS figures, prompting a call for greater protection for girls.There were 14,355 attendances about FGM in the 2023-24 financial year, according to NHS Digital statistics, compared with 12,475 the previous year.There was also a rise in the number of individual women and girls who visited NHS services in regards to FGM, from 5,870 in 2022-23 to 6,655 in 2023-24. Attendances are a different measurement as an individual can have several attendances in a year.The head of Barnardo’s National FGM Centre said FGM was a form of child abuse
Gambling study says £2.7bn bet annually on hidden-market websites
Gamblers in Great Britain are betting £2.7bn a year through hidden-market websites, according to a lobby group that claims stricter regulation of the licensed sector would further fuel illegal gambling.The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) published a study estimating that 1.5 million British people placed bets with an illicit industry that was easy to find and already commonly used.The estimate, from a report commissioned by the BGC and written by Frontier Economics, represents about 2% of the £128bn wagered last year with licensed online gambling firms
Keir Starmer and top Labour colleagues to stop taking clothes gifts from donors
Lords appointments must be transparent | Letter
Focus on NHS and cost of living or lose former Tory voters, Labour told
‘He could be here more’: Clacton split over Nigel Farage’s first months as MP
Reform can learn from Lib Dems on ground campaigning, says Richard Tice
Ministers and union leaders to hold crunch talks over workers’ rights plans