By Nick Creely
Casey-South Melbourne was dismantled at Mervyn Hughes Oval on Saturday, with the Swans thumped to the tune of 10 wickets by a fired-up Footscray.
The bitterly disappointing Swans would want to quickly erase this one from their memory in the tough outing in the West.
Batting first, Michael Wallace’s group struggled from the outset, losing three early wickets before desperately scrambling to salvage something of the innings in the wake of some unbelievably disciplined bowling by the well-drilled Doggies.
One bright spark was talented teenager Harrish Kannan, who scored 59 from 89 balls to help the Swans to 193 from 49.3 overs, with Chris Bendek (27) and Luke Shelton (31) also contributing strongly late to at least give the bowlers something to work with.
Kannan – who scored 77 in the opening round – has been a revelation through the middle order for the Swans so far this season, and one to keep an eye on.
But there was very little to smile about from there on in with Doggies openers Dylan Brasher and Daniel Sartori absolutely putting the Swans to the sword.
In 37 overs of dominant white-ball batting, the duo raced down the total without the loss of wicket, with Brasher crunching 101 not out and Sartori 88 not out, with the left-handed Brasher playing some outrageous shots off the quicks.
The talented youngster was particularly brutal off some short bowling, with a flick shot off quickie Nathan Lambden for six needed to be seen to be believed.
The Dogs made it a perfect weekend against the Swans, winning comfortably in the seconds, thirds and fourths.
Will Carr’s side will need to bounce back quickly when they travel to Shepley Oval on Saturday to face their great rivals, Dandenong, in a blockbuster clash for the sides who both boast 1-2 records.
In the pre-season, the Swans managed to defeat the Panthers in a practice match so will be confident of a swift bounce back.
