Grand Final tribute: Five of the most memorable Sydney Swans moments
AS Sydney waits for the Swans’ third grand final win in less than a decade we look back at five of the club’s most memorable moments.
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IN a 2012 grand final rematch the Sydney Swans will look to get it done against Hawthorn in what is quickly becoming one of the AFL’s biggest rivalries.
Between the 2012 Swans win, and the poaching of Lance Franklin this year, the Swans have had reason to crow over their foes from the south.
But as Sydney anxiously anticipates to see if the Swans can add another notch to their belts with their fourth grand final appearance in less than a decade we have listed five of the most memorable Swans moments.
It was a big moment for the club when they nabbed St Kilda’s Tony ‘Plugger’ Lockett in 1995. But the biggest Swans moment involving Plugger came on June 6, 1999. Lockett kicked his 1300th career goal against Collingwood in round 10 of the 1999 season. Fans swarmed the SCG field in celebration.
The record was previously held by Collingwood player Gordon Coventry since 1937.
Plugger nailed the kick just after the final siren sounded, setting up the euphoric scenes below.
After a record-breaking 72 years without winning a coveted AFL Premiership the Sydney Swans won in 2005.
Not only did they break the drought but it was their first cup since moving from South Melbourne in 1981.
The Swans beat West Coast Eagles 58-54. They lost to the same side by a point the next year.
Some late Leo Barry heroics sealed the deal when he took the monster mark below.
The Swans scraped out a grinding win against Hawthorn in 2012. They went in underdogs and in a see sawing match they managed to steal victory with a snap goal from Nick Maleceski with 34 seconds to go.
They won 91-81, which was the highest grand final score by the Swans.
Barry Hall earned himself a reputation as one of the most feared players on the park. Hall helped the Swans to their 2005 premiership under a cloud of controversy after successfully arguing his stomach punch on St Kilda’s Matt Maguire in a 2005 preliminary final match, was “in play” despite him being nowhere near the ball. He went on to have several more controversial punching incidents and eventually his relationship with the Swans soured to the point he was traded to the Bulldogs for a draft pick on October 6, 2009.
Sydney’s $10 million man. Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin skipped from his premiership winning side Hawthorn Hawks to sign a lucrative 10 year deal that would see him pocket a cool million annually.
He had a slow start to the year, but has been on fire of late and has arguably been the best player in the game, coming in second in the Brownlow Medal tally on Monday.
His partnership with forward Kurt Tippett has proved a potent goal scoring mix.
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