SYDNEY has unleashed a relentless goal frenzy to blow Port Adelaide away in a 97-point demolition at the SCG on Saturday.

Driven to lock in second spot and secure a home qualifying final, the Swans delivered a resounding statement performance.

SWANS v POWER Full match coverage and stats

The 26.11 (167) to 10.10 (70) loss was further soured for the Power after Jason Horne-Francis failed to finish his 100th game. In the fourth quarter, he changed direction before immediately grabbing at his leg and hobbling off the field with trainers with a suspected hyperextension of the knee.

The Swans blew the game open with an explosive second quarter, scoring nine straight goals – including 5.2 to 0.0 off a 7-3 dominance in centre clearances – to establish a 50-point lead.

Sydney only narrowly led the inside-50 count (63-50) and clearances (41-38), but the Swans were ruthlessly clinical in front of goal – converting 41 per cent of their entries compared to the Power's meagre 20 per cent.

With both teams facing significant team changes, Dean Cox made five forced and tactical swaps. The Swans were without star Brodie Grundy following the birth of his first child, paving the way for young ruck William Green to make his AFL debut.

Green registered 20 hitouts, 11 disposals, and a nervous behind. He was joined in the side by returning veteran defenders Lewis Melican and Joel Hamling, alongside Sam Wicks returning from a hamstring injury, and small forward Jesse Dattoli, who made his first senior appearance since round 23, 2025 and booted his first two AFL goals.

Green's debut coincided with Port's own debutant ruckman, Alex van Wyk (23 hitouts, eight disposals, three clearances), creating an intriguing young battle whenever Port's main option, Jordon Sweet (24 hitouts), rotated off.

Up forward, Charlie Curnow extended his lead in the Coleman Medal race by slotting five goals to push his season tally past 60 – potentially securing the honour with games against Essendon and North Melbourne still to come.

For Port Adelaide, Jase Burgoyne led the way with 34 disposals and seven clearances, while Jack Whitlock finished with 3.1.

For the Swans, Errol Gulden was outstanding with 39 disposals and five clearances, acting as the primary playmaker and orchestrating ball movement on the tight SCG deck.

Meanwhile, after tagging Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera last weekend, Jai Serong shadowed Horne-Francis closely, successfully keeping the Power star quiet after the first term. Despite dealing with the heavy tag, Horne-Francis still pushed forward to finish with two goals, 18 disposals, and six clearances before his day ended early.

After a scrappy start in which Port Adelaide peppered the goals, Green picked out Jake Lloyd inside the forward 50 for the opening goal of the game.

The Power soon responded through Tom Anastasopoulos, who kicked his first AFL goal in his return to the senior side, before Horne-Francis opened his account in his milestone match.

With the Swans struggling to gain traction and operating at just 38.5 per cent efficiency inside 50, the Power carried a narrow two-point lead into the first break.

Mitch Zadow converted a set shot after drawing a free kick for a high hit to open the second term, only for Port to stagnate. The Swans then rallied with nine unanswered goals as the hosts took complete control through centre clearances.

During that explosive second quarter, Logan McDonald snagged his second and Curnow slotted two goals in three minutes, capping off the Swans' highest-scoring quarter in club history against the Power.

In a complete flip of the script, Port's territory, uncontested possessions, and disposal efficiency all collapsed, allowing the Swans to carry a commanding 42-point lead into half-time.

Curnow added his third to kick-start the third quarter, proving too strong one-on-one against Aliir Aliir, before Tom Papley chipped in with two of his own for the term as the Swans extended their lead to 59 points.

Gulden was kept on the bench at the start of the fourth quarter after taking a heavy hit from Darcy Byrne-Jones late in the third. However, after passing his head injury assessment, he returned to the field to play out the match as the goals continued to rain down, with Sydney now holding three of the four highest scores of the season.

Swans blow Port away with record-breaking second term
Sydney blew the game open in the second quarter, demolishing Port Adelaide at centre ball-ups and punishing it in transition with a nine-goal-to-two blitz. Sydney's 5.2 (32) from centre clearances in the second term marked its highest-scoring quarter from that source in club history. Its overall midfield dominance was absolute, converting 25 of 31 midfield chains in the first half into inside 50s while stacking on four unanswered goals off turnovers to showcase its signature transition play.

More to come

SYDNEY                     3.2    12.6    16.7    26.11 (167)
PORT ADELAIDE        3.4     5.6      6.8     10.10 (70)

GOALS
Sydney: Curnow 5, Warner 3, Papley 3, McDonald 3, Lloyd 3, Dattoli 2, Cootee 2, Serong, Roberts, Heeney, Gulden, Bice
Port Adelaide: Whitlock 3, Horne-Francis 2, Durdin 2, Zadow, Marshall, Anastasopoulos

BEST
Sydney: Gulden, Curnow, Serong, Warner, Papley, Mills
Port Adelaide: Burgoyne, Drew, Horne-Francis, Bergman, Berry, Wines

INJURIES
Sydney: Nil
Port Adelaide: Horne-Francis (knee)

LATE CHANGES
Sydney: Nil
Port Adelaide: Bamert (illness) replaced in selected side by Mead

Crowd: 40,014 at the SCG