Sydney star Tom Papley let his football do the talking after an explosive half-time interview lit the fuse for the Swans’ 30-point victory over Essendon.
In a hostile match that boiled over on numerous occasions, the Swans eventually overpowered the Bombers to remain undefeated after three games.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Tom Papley’s half-time interview.
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It all started in the opening minutes when Sydney defender Harry Cunningham was knocked out by an onrushing Peter Wright in an incident that is certain to land the tall Bomber in hot water with the match review officer.
A melee broke out seconds after the incident as Swans rushed in from all angles to remonstrate with Wright and other Bombers.
A late hit by Essendon ruckman Sam Draper on Jake Lloyd also angered Swans players and fans, while there were also a number of other big collisions during a fiery first half.
Draper’s ill-discipline triggered further spotfires, with Essendon runner Travis Cloke finding himself in the middle of one scuffle.
Speaking to Channel 7 at half-time, Papley accused Essendon players of targeting them off the ball.
“We fought our way back. They were pretty good early, their pressure is good. They’re getting after us a bit, but we’ll keep going hard at the ball,” he said.
“They’re trying to get after us, it’s all off the ball. We’re just worried about the ball, we’ll keep being hard in the contest and get the job done.”
It’s rare for a player to speak like that about the opposition, and the comment wasn’t lost on the Channel 7 commentary team.
“That’s an interesting comment, the physical nature of the game has been very striking, very old school at times. Tom suggesting that Essendon targeting them off the ball, while Sydney play the ball,” Alister Nicholson said.
Papley certainly backed up his words and helped his side “get the job done” with the match-sealing goal in the final quarter.
After the fast-finishing Bombers closed to with 11 points, the Swans kicked two goals — the second off the boot of Papley — to seal the victory before adding three more late in the game.
Papley finished with a game-high four goals to be one of the most influential players on the ground.
And after the match he doubled down.
“They really gave it to us, Essendon. (Coach) Brad Scott came out and said they wanted to have that Essendon edge … Obviously Peter Wright took it a bit too far but that is footy and you move on from it,” he said.
“They were still getting into us, getting into us … We knew we can play four-quarter footy. We came in at half-time and they were beating us in the contested ball. We know we are really good at scoring but we need to win that contested ball.
“We did that in the third quarter which allowed us to stop them from scoring and us scoring.”
When asked specifically about his half-time comments, Papley offered a wry smile and said: “In the heat of the moment … yeah I don’t know, we love footy being tough but you gotta do it four quarters.”
Isaac Heeney continued his strong form in the midfield, while Errol Gulden and Chad Warner were also prominent.
Will Hayward kicked three goals and twin towers Hayden McLean and Joel Amartey chimed in with two apiece.
After the match, Heeney was asked about the simmering tension following the Wright incident.
“You could see it early, absolutely … How long are they going to go for? That’s what we put up. They are physical and they had a crack and we obviously ran over the top of them. Not much love there,” he said.
Captain Zach Merrett (two goals, 32 disposals), Nic Martin (31 touches) and Will Setterfield (29) led the charge for valiant Essendon.
– With AAP