Swans breeze past Dees at soggy SCG

The Swans have breezed past the Demons with a 55-point triumph in wet conditions at the SCG on Sunday.

Lance Franklin (centre) of the Swans

The Swans have breezed past the Demons with a 55-point triumph in wet conditions at the SCG. (AAP)

He admits the soggy conditions suited them but Sydney coach John Longmire has applauded his AFL team for again proving their wet-weather credentials against Melbourne on Sunday.

Lance Franklin booted four goals in torrential rain at the SCG to steer the Swans to a 55-point win and crucially lift them to second spot in a logjammed top four.

The home side laid on the pressure to restrict their visitors to just one goal per quarter, booting two majors to every one of the Demons' for the first three terms before seizing momentum with six goals in the fourth to breeze to a 12.14 (86) to 4.7 (31) victory in front of 19,086 spectators.

But it was less a contest of flair than a battle of execution, evidenced by the Swans' record-breaking 155 tackles that smashed the previous high of 142 set by Richmond against Port Adelaide in 2010.

"Those conditions helped contribute to the numbers - it wasn't part of our pre-match planning," Longmire said.

"But what we did want to do is play hard-pressure football, and in those kinds of conditions it certainly helped to be able to put enormous pressure on the opposition.

"We've played four games in the wet this year and we've been able to win them all.

"The rain has followed us a little bit for whatever reason, but we've handled the conditions pretty well."

It was only a fortnight ago that the Swans nearly broke the tackle record, racking up 135 to beat Gold Coast in even wetter conditions.

Here co-captain Jarrad McVeigh shone with a disposal efficiency of 84 per cent, while recalled forward Dean Towers was a standout with two majors and 27 possessions and Kieren Jack contributed a game-high three goal assists along with three behinds.

Franklin also hit new heights as the 13th player in VFL/AFL history to kick 750 goals, taking his tally to 753 majors from 234 career games.

The effort moved the 29-year-old to the top of the Coleman Medal standings with 47 this season - one ahead of West Coast's Josh Kennedy.

It's the 10th win from 13 matches for John Longmire's side and draws a line under last weekend's heavy loss to Greater Western Sydney.

The ninth-placed Demons, meanwhile, had little answer despite Christian Petracca's two majors, the ragged running of Bernie Vince and Nathan Jones and Max Gawn's game-high 58 hitouts - likely due to the absence of injured Kurt Tippett.

It leaves Paul Roos still searching for his first win against the club he coached for nine years and led to the 2005 premiership.

"They handled the conditions better," Roos said.

"I think they had a game against the Suns a couple of weeks ago when it was raining pretty heavily.

"In the first three (quarters) we thought we were competitive but they looked better for the majority of the day.

"When we dropped in the last quarter they kept on playing as they normally do and the result blew out."


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Source: AAP


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