Taupau was pinged for an off-the-ball tackle on Bevan French, allowin

Sydney are into their third AFL grand final in five years after ambushing Geelong early on Friday night at the MCG and winning by 37 points.The 2012 premiers jumped Geelong with the first eight goals of their preliminary final on the way to a convincing win, 15.7 (97) to 8.12 (60).The Swans will play the winner of Saturdays preliminary final between the Giants and the Western Bulldogs at Spotless Stadium.Geelong fought back hard in the third term to create some interest in the contest, but they were coming from too far back after trailing by 55 points.Sydneys early domination will reignite debate about the fairness of the round-23 bye.After Geelong beat Hawthorn in their qualifying final, it meant the Cats had played only once in 26 days before Friday night.By contrast, the Swans lost their qualifying final and had to come through last weeks semis.This had been widely tipped to be a tight battle, with little appearing to separate two of the leagues toughest teams.But the Swans pressure initially was manic and they put Geelong out of the contest early.It was reminiscent of the mugging Hawthorn inflicted on the Swans in the opening quarter of the 2014 grand final.Sydney kicked 7.2 to five behinds in the first quarter and the Cats did not score their first goal until four minutes into the second term.Isaac Heeney, Lance Franklin, Ben McGlynn, Luke Parker with two goals in as many minutes, and Dane Rampe set Sydney alight in the first quarter.The domination continued in the second term, with Sydney kicking four goals to two.Cats defender Harry Taylor went forward in the third term and kicked two goals as Geelong worked their way back into the match.When they kicked the first goal of the last term, they only trailed by five goals.But Cats veteran Corey Enright mucked up a kickout and Gary Rohan pounced at five minutes to kick the steadying goal that killed off Geelongs belated challenge.Geelong remarkably won the inside-50 count by a whopping 72 to 40, but they butchered too many chances in front of goal and the Swans defence, led by All Australian Dane Rampe, was outstanding.Swans defender Aliir Aliir hurt his knee late in the first term and he will be their injury story of grand final week.But he was running along the boundary nearing halftime and might have been put on ice.Teammates Gary Rohan and Kurt Tippett, who were injured earlier in the finals series, had solid games on Friday night.Swans co-captain Jarrad McVeigh missed the match with a calf injury and said pre-game he was close to being available.Brownlow Medal favourite Patrick Dangerfield was best for the Cats.Geelong veteran Jimmy Bartel, who kicked a great goal in the second term, faces an uncertain AFL future.While he is likely to stay at Geelong, there is speculation about how much time he will spend next year in the VFL.Swans coach John Longmire praised his sides early ferocity.It was enormous, our pressure at the ball, the man with the ball, he said.He admitted to concern when Geelong pressed in the second half, but again was pleased that his team withstood the pressure.This is finals footy - youre not going to have it all your own way, he said.They certainly had a lot of inside 50s, but I thought our boys really stood up.We were one down (with Aliir injured) and kept going at it.Longmire said Aliir was a bit sore and added it was unclear whether he would be fit for the grand final.It was pointed out to Longmire that whoever Sydney play in the grand final is chasing history.So are we, was Longmires response.The Swans have regenerated their team superbly in the last two years, but Longmire said they still had to complete their hard work.Were thrilled to get an opportunity, but now we have to go out and execute - the job is ahead of us, he said.Cats coach Chris Scott said their opinion on the finals bye was unchanged - that they would rather have had it.We clearly need to analyse how we approached it, he said.We were confident going in ... we thought we gave ourselves every chance.It was completely in our control and we just didnt deliver. 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Cheap Miami Marlins Jerseys . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. Manly coach Trent Barrett has lashed out at a call made by an NRL touch judge that resulted in Parramatta nailing a 78th minute penalty to steal a 10-9 win on Friday night.Down 9-8 late in the match, the Eels turned the ball over as they searched for a game-winner but were given a late reprieve when Martin Taupau was penalised for an off-the-ball tackle.Michael Gordon coolly slotted the penalty to give his side a rugged 10-9 win and drive a potentially fatal dagger in Manlys final aspirations.Referee Matt Cecchin had initially ruled a knock-on against the Eels however overturned his decision on the advice of his sideline official.The touchie said late contact or shoulder charge, one of them. It was pretty disappointing for the call to get overturned and cost us the game, Trbojevic said after the match.Barrett, whose side spurned an opportunity to draw level with the 8th-placed Warriors on 22 points to now remain in 11th, was particularly irate after the match.You see a thousand of them every week. It wasnt high, it wasnt a shoulder charge, he said.The two referees saw it okay. To get a call from a touch judge thatll decide a game and possibly our hopes of making the semis, is hard to take.Youd hate to see a grand final decided like that.Daly Cherry-Evans field goal on the halftime buzzer appeared to be the difference when Taupau was pinged for an off-the-ball tackle on Bevan French, allowing Gordon to ice a win.On the same day coach Brad Arthur was handed a contract extension until the end of 2019, the Eels clawed their way to their 11th win of the season and avoided a three-game losing run.Manly led 7-6 at the break however there were no tries scored in the second half, with Gordon and Dylan Walker both trading penalty goals before Gordons match-winner close to fulltime..dddddddddddd.The win, played in front of just 8143 fans at Pirtek Stadium, was soured by an ankle injury to stand-in captain Beau Scott in the second half.The crowd was the lowest at Parramatta in over six years.Sparks between the long time rivals flew from kickoff, when 100-game celebrant Brad Takairangi forced a turnover on the first play with a jolting shot on Taupau.Scott and Darcy Lussick also exchanged off-the-ball pleasantries that resulted in an early scuffle, drawing the ire of the referees.But while the big men dominated the early proceedings, it was the smallest player on the field in rookie French that broke the game open with an individual effort in the 6th minute.Taking a Takairangi offload flat-footed, French showed off his blistering speed by grubbering ahead for himself around Cherry-Evans, before taking a crucial intercept minutes later.He also came close to pinching a second try in the 21st minute.Despite the Eels dominance, Sea Eagles rake Api Koroisau levelled scores when he burrowed over in the 37th minute, before Cherry-Evans nailed a one-pointer on the halftime siren.A proud Arthur praised his men for turning in yet another gritty performance.All our wins have been very gutsy. We havent played outstanding football but its been built off plenty of resilience and a good mindset with the defence and being aggressive, he said.We talked tonight about just trying to find a way to win. Doesnt matter how you win, we said we can come in after 80 minutes one point in front and thats how it worked out for us.Sea Eagles forward Josh Starling was put on report in the second half for a high shot on Tepai Moeroa that ended his night. ' ' '