TWO rounds ago, Melbourne took on the reigning premiers of the past three seasons in wet conditions at the MCG.  

It pushed Hawthorn, before the brown and gold’s experience and knowhow got it home by 18 points.

On Sunday, Melbourne ventured to the SCG, where the weather had a major impact on the match. 

In slippery, sodden conditions, it was the hardened and mature Sydney side that ended up running away with a 55-point victory.

At three quarter-time, it was hard to see that happening, given goals were hard to come by and Melbourne was still within reach, trailing by 25 points.  

But the Swans’ experience came to the fore in the final term, as they slammed on six goals to one, winning by almost 10 goals.

Five goals in seven minutes early in the last quarter all but sealed the win.

It was a disappointing end to an otherwise reasonable performance by Melbourne, given it only lost the first quarter by 11 points, the second term by six points and the third quarter by eight points.

But as coach Paul Roos highlighted after the match, the Swans adapted to the conditions better and played the game right to the finish.

“The last quarter dropped away a lot. We played in these conditions a couple of weeks ago, but you’re never used to it when it rains as much as what it did,” he said.

“We talked a lot about it, but they (Sydney) handled it better against the Suns a couple of weeks ago, didn’t they, when it rained pretty heavily.

“Overall, in the first three [quarters], we thought we were competitive, but they looked better for the majority of the day and when we dropped off in the last quarter, they kept on playing as they normally do.”

So how would have Melbourne fared had the conditions been drier?

“It’s hard to tell,” Roos said.

“They (Sydney) were really clean in the wet. Their workrate was always going to be a concern, because they work really, really hard. Did it keep the game closer for three quarters? Maybe. It’s hard [to know]. Do you get more opportunity offensively when it’s dry? Potentially.

“We’ve been moving the ball really well, so it probably stifled our ability to move the ball around and make them work defensively. But it’s really hard to tell. They played well in the conditions and that’s all you can do, but they just outworked us for 120 minutes.

“I thought we worked hard for 90 of the 120 [minutes] and then you can see what happens when we drop off.”

For Jack Viney, who was one of Melbourne’s best with 26 disposals, the tough-nut said Sydney’s ability to utilise the conditions to its advantage was the reason for its victory.

“It was really sloppy and it was pretty wet the whole day,” he said.

“There was a lot of fumbling and bumbling and trying to get some territory on some kicks, but I probably felt that Sydney dealt with the conditions a little bit better – in terms of being able to shift the ball and still have a solid offense.

“When we got it, we kicked it forward and we didn’t have too much going on down there, so it was disappointing.”