Sydney Swans v Carlton, Opening Round 2026
2026 AFLOpening Round
| Club | QT | HT | 3QT | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SYD | 0.3 3 | 2.6 18 | 14.9 93 | 20.12 132 |
| CAR | 2.2 14 | 4.4 28 | 8.6 54 | 10.9 69 |
SCG, SydneyMostly sunny, 29°Lead changes 3
Recap
Sydney thrash Carlton by 63
Sydney 20.12 (132) beat Carlton 10.9 (69) at SCG in Opening Round, a 63-point win after trailing by 22.
Charlie Curnow kicked three goals for Sydney and Joel Amartey three; Marc Pittonet kicked three for Carlton.
Justin McInerney led the way with 32 disposals and three goals.
A run of six straight goals in the third quarter turned a 22-point deficit into a 13-point lead.
Sydney won the inside-50 count 67–50, and Carlton won the contested ball 151–134.
In context
- Milestones: Malcolm Rosas’s 50th game, Charlie Curnow’s 150th game.
- First game for Sydney: Jai Serong, Malcolm Rosas, Charlie Curnow.
- Milestone: Brodie Kemp’s 50th game.
- AFL debuts for Jagga Smith and Harry Dean.
- First game for Carlton: Oliver Florent, Campbell Chesser, Ben Ainsworth, Will Hayward, Liam Reidy.
- A career-high 11 tackles for Errol Gulden (previous best 9).
- A career-high 32 disposals for Justin McInerney (previous best 30).
Best on ground
Sydney · #27 · 88% game time
- 32
- D
- 3
- G
- 5
- M
- 3
- T
3 clearances · 6 inside 50s · AFL Fantasy 124
Brownlow votes2026 count
Score worm
Sydney aheadCarlton aheadGoalFour or more goals in a row
- Sydney down by 22Q3 3:17
- 4 goals in a row to CarltonQ2 22:25 – Q3 3:17
- 6 goals in a row to SydneyQ3 5:17 – 17:34
- 6 goals in a row to SydneyQ3 32:32 – Q4 5:54
- Sydney lead by 63Q4 20:43
SydneyGoals
- C. Curnow 3.2
- J. Amartey 3.1
- J. McInerney 3.1
- M. Roberts 2.1
- I. Heeney 2
- C. Warner 1.3
- T. Papley 1.1
- B. Grundy 1
- L. McDonald 1
- M. Rosas 1
- J. Rowbottom 1
- A. Sheldrick 1
CarltonGoals
- M. Pittonet 3
- B. Ainsworth 2
- W. Hayward 1.2
- B. Kemp 1.1
- E. Hollands 1
- H. McKay 1
- A. Moir 1
- Venue
- SCG, Sydney
- Field umpires
- Brendan Hosking, Jamie Broadbent, Simon Meredith, Martin Rodger
Sydney SwansFinal team
Interchange
EmergenciesC. Warner, P. Ladhams, H. McLean
Milestones
- Malcolm Rosas · 50th game
- Charlie Curnow · 150th game
First game for the club
- Jai Serong · Warragul (Vic)/Geelong Grammar (Vic)/Gippsland U18/Hawthorn
- Malcolm Rosas · NT Thunder, Darwin Buffaloes/SUNS Academy/Gold Coast
- Charlie Curnow · Torquay (Vic)/Geelong U18/Carlton
CarltonFinal team
Interchange
EmergenciesT. Byrne, H. O'Keeffe, J. Boyd
Milestones
- Jagga Smith · Debut game
- Brodie Kemp · 50th game
- Harry Dean · Debut game
First game for the club
- Oliver Florent · Beaumaris (Vic)/Mentone Grammar (Vic)/Sandringham U18/Sydney Swans
- Campbell Chesser · Lavington (NSW)/Melbourne Grammar (Vic)/Sandringham U18/West Coast
- Ben Ainsworth · Morwell (Vic)/Gippsland U18/Gold Coast
- Will Hayward · Walkerville (SA)/St Peter's College (SA)/North Adelaide (SANFL)/Sydney Swans
- Jagga Smith · Richmond JFC)/Oakleigh U18
- Harry Dean · Lavington JFC (NSW)/Murray U18
- Liam Reidy · Beaumaris (Vic)/East Brighton (Vic)/Brighton SC (Vic)/Frankston (VFL)/Fremantle
How the FanCrew rating works
FanCrew rating: Champion Data rating points and AFL Fantasy points together, on a 0–10 scale against every AFL game since 2001 (Fantasy points alone before 2012). 6.5 is a typical game, 8.5 and up a standout. Players need 15% game time to be rated.
Sydney won the inside-50 count 67–50, and Carlton won the contested ball 151–134.
SYDAttackCAR
- Inside 50s 50
- Scoring shots 10.919
- Accuracy 53%
67
3220.12
63%
The ball
- Disposals 382
- Contested possessions 151
- Clearances 39
- Marks 69
- Tackles 38
- Free kicks 23
- Biggest lead 22
384
134
40
64
67
19
63
Disposals
Goals
Marks
Tackles
Sydney Swans20.12132
| Player | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27J. McInerney | 32 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 124 | 16 | 16 | 6 | 0 | |
| 4B. Grundy | 16 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 106 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 46 | |
| 21E. Gulden | 27 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 126 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 0 | |
| 5I. Heeney | 20 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 98 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 0 | |
| 8J. Rowbottom | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 92 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 0 | |
| 34M. Roberts | 18 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 80 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1C. Warner | 20 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 76 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 0 | |
| 35C. Curnow | 10 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 66 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 12A. SheldrickInt | 23 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 70 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 0 | |
| 22N. Blakey | 21 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 61 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 0 | |
| 26R. Bice | 16 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 65 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
| 13J. Serong | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 72 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 0 | |
| 44J. Lloyd | 18 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 0 | |
| 24D. Rampe | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 44 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| 14C. Mills | 25 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 0 | |
| 17J. JordonInt | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 56 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 | |
| 30T. McCartin | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 47 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10M. Rosas | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
| 36J. Amartey | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 11T. PapleyInt | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
| 6L. McDonaldInt | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 45 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |
| 15S. WicksInt | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| 43L. Melican | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| Team | 384 | 20 | 12 | 64 | 67 | 40 | 1561 | 203 | 181 | 67 | 48 |
Carlton10.969
| Player | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27M. Pittonet | 18 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 92 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 17 | |
| 18S. Walsh | 32 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 99 | 16 | 16 | 9 | 0 | |
| 14O. Florent | 22 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 85 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |
| 36C. LordInt | 26 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 76 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 0 | |
| 12B. Ainsworth | 14 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 60 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | |
| 7J. Smith | 27 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 82 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 0 | |
| 6Z. Williams | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 50 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | |
| 4O. Hollands | 18 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 69 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 0 | |
| 11M. McGovern | 16 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| 9P. Cripps | 19 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 57 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 0 | |
| 29G. HewettInt | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 75 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 0 | |
| 20E. Hollands | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 63 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 0 | |
| 35H. DeanInt | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |
| 43A. Moir | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 59 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 23J. Weitering | 15 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| 19W. Hayward | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 58 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| 17B. Kemp | 15 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 0 | |
| 31C. Chesser | 17 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 60 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| 42A. Saad | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10H. McKay | 13 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| 8L. FogartyInt | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| 33L. Young | 11 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| 25L. ReidyInt | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 40 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 17 | |
| Team | 382 | 10 | 7 | 69 | 38 | 39 | 1402 | 212 | 170 | 50 | 34 |
Bold marks each side's best in a column; tap a heading to sort. RTG is the FanCrew rating, AF is AFL Fantasy points.
First quarterSYD 0.3 (3) · CAR 2.2 (14)
- 0:54BehindB. KempCAR0.0 (0) – 0.1 (1)
- 5:35BehindC. CurnowSYDLevel0.1 (1) – 0.1 (1)
- 6:08GoalB. KempCAR0.1 (1) – 1.1 (7)
- 7:28BehindC. CurnowSYD0.2 (2) – 1.1 (7)
- 8:07GoalW. HaywardCAR0.2 (2) – 2.1 (13)
- 9:30BehindZ. WilliamsCAR0.2 (2) – 2.2 (14)
- 26:28BehindJ. AmarteySYD0.3 (3) – 2.2 (14)
Second quarterSYD 2.3 (15) · CAR 2.2 (14)
- 1:52BehindC. WarnerSYD0.4 (4) – 2.2 (14)
- 6:44BehindW. HaywardCAR0.4 (4) – 2.3 (15)
- 8:57GoalJ. AmarteySYD1.4 (10) – 2.3 (15)
- 12:16BehindC. MillsSYD1.5 (11) – 2.3 (15)
- 14:13BehindT. PapleySYD1.6 (12) – 2.3 (15)
- 17:30GoalM. RosasSYDLead change2.6 (18) – 2.3 (15)
- 22:25GoalB. AinsworthCARLead change2.6 (18) – 3.3 (21)
- 26:52GoalM. PittonetCAR2.6 (18) – 4.3 (27)
- 29:10BehindW. HaywardCAR2.6 (18) – 4.4 (28)
Third quarterSYD 12.3 (75) · CAR 4.2 (26)
- 1:28GoalA. MoirCAR2.6 (18) – 5.4 (34)
- 3:17GoalM. PittonetCAR2.6 (18) – 6.4 (40)
- 5:17GoalJ. McInerneySYD3.6 (24) – 6.4 (40)
- 7:21GoalJ. McInerneySYD4.6 (30) – 6.4 (40)
- 9:26GoalL. McDonaldSYD5.6 (36) – 6.4 (40)
- 11:28BehindP. CrippsCAR5.6 (36) – 6.5 (41)
- 12:38GoalI. HeeneySYDLead change6.6 (42) – 6.5 (41)
- 15:32GoalC. CurnowSYD7.6 (48) – 6.5 (41)
- 17:34GoalJ. AmarteySYD8.6 (54) – 6.5 (41)
- 22:26GoalE. HollandsCAR8.6 (54) – 7.5 (47)
- 25:21GoalM. RobertsSYD9.6 (60) – 7.5 (47)
- 28:25GoalJ. McInerneySYD10.6 (66) – 7.5 (47)
- 30:20GoalM. PittonetCAR10.6 (66) – 8.5 (53)
- 31:34BehindE. GuldenSYD10.7 (67) – 8.5 (53)
- 32:32GoalM. RobertsSYD11.7 (73) – 8.5 (53)
- 33:39GoalI. HeeneySYD12.7 (79) – 8.5 (53)
- 35:05BehindJ. McInerneySYD12.8 (80) – 8.5 (53)
- 36:43GoalT. PapleySYD13.8 (86) – 8.5 (53)
- 38:31GoalC. CurnowSYD14.8 (92) – 8.5 (53)
- 39:49BehindC. WarnerSYD14.9 (93) – 8.5 (53)
- 40:56BehindC. LordCAR14.9 (93) – 8.6 (54)
Last quarterSYD 6.3 (39) · CAR 2.3 (15)
- 1:27GoalB. GrundySYD15.9 (99) – 8.6 (54)
- 5:54GoalC. WarnerSYD16.9 (105) – 8.6 (54)
- 7:46GoalH. McKayCAR16.9 (105) – 9.6 (60)
- 11:09GoalJ. AmarteySYD17.9 (111) – 9.6 (60)
- 13:00RushedCarltonCAR17.9 (111) – 9.7 (61)
- 15:34BehindE. GuldenSYD17.10 (112) – 9.7 (61)
- 17:46GoalA. SheldrickSYD18.10 (118) – 9.7 (61)
- 20:43GoalC. CurnowSYD19.10 (124) – 9.7 (61)
- 21:53GoalB. AinsworthCAR19.10 (124) – 10.7 (67)
- 24:07BehindL. ReidyCAR19.10 (124) – 10.8 (68)
- 25:32GoalJ. RowbottomSYD20.10 (130) – 10.8 (68)
- 26:38BehindC. WarnerSYD20.11 (131) – 10.8 (68)
- 30:44RushedCarltonCAR20.11 (131) – 10.9 (69)
- 31:26BehindM. RobertsSYD20.12 (132) – 10.9 (69)