Parker kicks five for winning Swans

Sydney midfielder Luke Parker has notched his first five-goal AFL haul in a 43 point home win over Geelong at ANZ Stadium.

The Swan's celebrate Luke Parker's goal

Sydney have produced a strong second half to score a 43-point AFL home win over Geelong. (AAP)

Luke Parker kicked a career-best five goals and Lance Franklin contributed four, as Sydney produced a second half surge to score a 43-point AFL win over Geelong on Saturday.

Trailing by nine at halftime, the Swans kicked 10.8 to 2.4 in the second half to set up a 18.12 (120) to 11.11 (77) victory at ANZ Stadium.

The Swans improved to 5-2 and Geelong dropped to 3-4.

The Cats enjoyed a 14-point advantage in the second quarter and looked full of run, but they fell away badly in the second half when Sydney upped the pressure.

Sydney kicked the first three goals of the second half to turn a nine-point deficit into a five-point lead at the final change.

It continued the Cats' third quarter woes, with them having lost six out of seven this season.

The pain intensified for the Cats in the final quarter, as Sydney slammed on seven goals to one.

Franklin kicked two in the last term and the game was iced by one apiece to milestone men Jarrad McVeigh and Gary Rohan in their 250th and 50th games respectively.

Midfield dynamo Parker, who also accumulated 31 disposals, had another kick touched on the line.

Tom Mitchell tallied 33 touches and three goals, Josh Kennedy also had 33 possessions and Dan Hannebery 35.

Matthew Stokes, in his first game back from an Achilles injury, had 27 touches for Geelong.

Cory Gregson, Steven Motlop and Steve Johnson all kicked two goals for the visitors.

The Cats suffered a blow in the third quarter when Mitch Duncan, their leading possession-getter in the first half with 18 touches, left the game with an injury.

Geelong also had a setback before the game, when forward Tom Hawkins pulled out.

A nip and tuck first quarter featuring four lead changes, finished with Geelong one point up.

Joel Selwood tallied just two touches in the opening term but kicked the opening goal of the second quarter.

Geelong capitalised on turnovers and free kicks in the second quarter, kicking five goals to four.

Two of their majors came from close range after Sydney's Ben McGlynn and Dane Rampe were each pinged 50 metres for going over the mark.

Geelong's pressure and superior efficiency meant they had double the inside 50 tally of Sydney in the second quarter despite having 34 fewer possessions.

In the third quarter, it was Sydney's turn to ramp up the pressure and force errors.

Sydney coach John Longmire said it was good the Swans were able to push through after their error-riddled first half.

"The players were able to show resilience to be able to get through that and just keep going and play some terrific football against a quality team," Longmire said.

"We knew if we were around the mark after then our second halves have been quite strong, so that was good to be able to finish the game off that way."

Geelong coach Chris Scott said it wasn't all gloom and doom despite some of his players running out of steam in the second half.

"We were trying to attack, trying to kick a few quick ones to put some pressure on them," Scott said.

"But I don't really want to dwell on the second half too much when there are some positives from the first half."

Scott said the Cats were hurt by the injuries to Hawkins and Duncan.

Hawkins suffered a glute injury and should be available next week, but Duncan could be out for a while with what could be a serious foot issue.

Both coaches praised Parker, who triggered the Swans' surge by kicking a goal inside the first 20 seconds of the second half.

"It was one of those real quality games of football I've seen from a young kid in our leadership group," Longmire said.

Asked about Parker, Scott said "He's a gun."


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Source: AAP


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