Sydney Swans forward Logan McDonald will have woken up on Monday morning with a sore body and a sense of deja vu. In two consecutive games against Fremantle and St Kilda, he had marked the ball at the death with the opportunity to win games the Swans had done their best to lose. The responsibility fell on McDonald to deliver with the decisive kick and he missed both times.
Against Fremantle, McDonald had engaged in a lengthy conversation with the umpire about his line and was noticeably unsettled from his routine. He completely missed the target.
On Sunday in Marvel Stadium, the job was far simpler, the kick was also just outside the 50-metre range, but it was straight in front. McDonald could have kicked to a teammate, but he wanted to take responsibility himself as a forward. This time the kick was on target, but it fell to the left for a behind.
If McDonald makes the kick, he completes his redemption arc in just two weeks. It is part of the injustice and thrill of sport. Basketball great Michael Jordan understood singular responsibility better than most in team sport in the dying seconds of a game. “Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed, I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed,” Jordan said.
McDonald is into his fourth season at the Swans and has never felt such scrutiny. For the previous three seasons he was able to slip into the vast shadow of Lance Franklin and quietly serve his apprenticeship under the champion. This season, there is no Franklin and there are far higher expectations on the 22-year-old who has signed a long-term contract that will keep him in Sydney until 2028.
Coach John Longmire refused to blame his young forward after the loss against St Kilda in Melbourne.“You can’t say much, those things happen in footy, that’s part of growing up,” Longmire said. “Part of experience is dealing with those situations and working through them.”
The previous week’s 98-99 defeat against Fremantle was difficult to stomach for the Swans, but they were facing a team that will almost certainly join them for finals in September.
The Swans arrived in Melbourne to face St Kilda with every reason to be confident and banish a minor blip from the previous week. St Kilda were lodged in the bottom half of the table after losing to Port Adelaide and Brisbane Lions in consecutive games. St Kilda had also lost their key forward Max King to injury, losing their major source of goals. Although McDonald’s second major miss grabbed the headlines, there are far more troubling subplots for the Swans at Marvel Stadium that need to be addressed if they are to return to their previous electric form.