On a weekend when premiership fancies Hawthorn and Geelong suffered upset losses, it seemed for a long while on Sunday like their nearest challenger, the Sydney Swans, might suffer the same fate. Deep in the third quarter, the Western Bulldogs had clawed their way within eight points of the defending premiers and seemed to have the momentum, having outscored the Swans four goals to two to that point of the term. But great teams are often able to find an extra gear when challenged and so it came as no real surprise when the Swans slipped into overdrive with three goals in the final four minutes to take a 26-point lead into the final break. Those goals – to Heath Grundy, Shane Mumford and Kurt Tippett – ultimately broke the Dogs' resistance.

 

Daniel Giansiracusa might have had to wait until midway through the third term to be substituted into the game but he didn't take long to give the crowd at Etihad Stadium something to cheer. It happened at the 25-minute mark of the third term, when veteran Dog Daniel Cross hacked a ball towards his team's goalsquare. As the ball bounced up, Bulldog tall Tom Campbell palmed it towards Giansiracusa, who at full tilt and with a Swan on his hammer, volleyed the ball with his left foot through the big sticks. It was a sweet strike Mark Bresciano would have been proud of.

 

The Swans entered Sunday's game as the top ranked tackling team in the competition, averaging more than 72 a game. But the Bulldogs have been no slouches in this area themselves this year (sixth in the AFL, 65 a game) and seemed hell bent on matching the Swans' defensive intensity. With the likes of Tom Liberatore, Mitch Wallis and Liam Picken leading the way, the Dogs out-tackled the Swans 95-77. The teams' combined total of 172 tackles was remarkable given the average per game this season before round 19 was 126.

 

Rhyce Shaw made his long awaited return on Sunday after being sidelined since round two by an abdominal injury that the Swans originally thought would only keep him out for two weeks. Prior to this season, Shaw had missed just two games since joining the Swans from Collingwood at the end of 2008. The 31-year-old was relatively quiet by his own dashing standards, finishing with 10 disposals by the time he was substituted out of the game at the 12-minute mark of the final term. But Shaw spent much of the day playing a defensive role on Dogs' half-back Robert Murphy and, with four rounds to go until the finals, has time to find his feet before September.

 

Since returning to the Bulldogs' senior team in round 14, Mitch Wallis has established himself as a close-checking run-with midfielder. Leading into Sunday's game, his recent opponents had included Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge and West Coast pair Chris Masten and Matt Priddis. Against the Swans, he was given the job on powerhouse on-baller Josh Kennedy. Wallis made his intentions clear from the opening bounce, standing alongside Kennedy's and barely allowing him any personal space for the rest of the match. By the end of the game, Wallis had kept Kennedy to 18 touches – just the second time the Swans has failed to have at least 20 touches since the start of 2012 – and racked 29 disposals of his own. A remarkable effort.