Amartey party-pooper: Why Longmire denied Swans star shot at a rare milestone

1 week ago 7

By Justin Chadwick

June 16, 2024 — 11.23am

Sydney manager John Longmire says helium was protecting Joel Amartey from imaginable wounded erstwhile helium benched the cardinal guardant successful the dying minutes of Saturday night’s 42-point win implicit Adelaide.

Amartey had 9 goals to his sanction and was connected the hunt for a tenth erstwhile helium was amazingly taken disconnected the crushed with conscionable nether 2 minutes remaining successful the match.

It marked the 2nd clip successful the 4th Amartey had been taken off. The emerging guardant kicked 4 goals successful the 2nd 4th and different 4 goals successful the 3rd to crook the lucifer connected its head, and helium nailed extremity no.9 midway done the past term.

Amartey doubly came adjacent to taking a people wrong 50m aft that - including 1 effort erstwhile helium astir collided with a teammate who was coming the different way. But with the crippled already wrapped up, Longmire decided to support his prima spearhead from immoderate carnage.

The 24-year-old laughed incredulously erstwhile helium was taken off, with adjacent his different teammates connected the seat amazed to spot him there.

“He mightiness person looked up (at the coaches box),” Longmire joked.

Joel Amartey of the Swans celebrates a goal.

“But he’s important and we privation him available, erstwhile we had the crippled won it was important for the squad that we looked aft him and we got him into adjacent week.”

The past Swans subordinate to footwear 10 goals successful a crippled was Lance Frankin successful 2017.

Calling the crippled connected Channel Seven, Alister Nicholson said: “This conscionable isn’t on. You got to telephone that out. Joel Amartey connected the seat with 2 minutes to spell and helium has kicked nine.”

“It’s an amusement merchandise partly, isn’t it. I cognize teams privation to win, but this effect is good and genuinely determined. Leave him retired determination and let’s person immoderate precocious theatre.”

Amartey’s erstwhile champion goalkicking haul was 4 goals, but helium blew that to bits with his match-winning show against Adelaide.

Sydney trailed by 23 points precocious successful the 2nd 4th and 16 points precocious successful the third, but Amartey sparked a 10-goal tally from the Swans to assistance the ladder leaders unafraid the 16.13 (109) to 10.7 (67) win.

John Longmire was aiming to support Amartey from injury.

It marked Sydney’s ninth triumph connected the trot, and lifted them 3 games wide connected apical of the ladder.

Amartey was snared with prime No.28 successful the 2018 rookie draft, and he’s locked successful astatine Sydney until the extremity of 2026.

Longmire heaped praise connected the 41-gamer. “He tin motorboat astatine the ball, helium tin beryllium clean, he’s bully astatine the ground,” helium said.

“He’s a bully athlete. He’s added that constituent this year, he’s been capable to play retired afloat games and person a existent impact.

“He’s got a large balance. He knows erstwhile to person amusive and person a laughter and lighten things up. He’s truly bully astatine that.

“And past erstwhile it comes to the infinitesimal to compete, he’s been capable to transverse the enactment and get into the competitory mode truly good and person a large beingness successful our beforehand half.”

Longmire was besides glowing successful his praise of star ruck enlistee Brodie Grundy, who racked up 31 disposals, 9 clearances and 49 hitouts successful his champion show since joining Sydney astatine the extremity of past year.

“He was significant. His contested enactment successful the past mates of weeks person been enormous,” Longmire said.

“The longer the games person gone the amended he’s gone with that. He had a existent beingness astir the footy. His interaction astir the shot was big.“

AAP