Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans are an Australian Football League (AFL) club based in Sydney. They play most home games at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with 'blockbuster' games played at Telstra Stadium (the former Olympic Stadium at Homebush).
The inauguration date of the club is officially June 19, 1874, but it only adopted the title South Melbourne Football Club four weeks later, on July 15. Nicknamed "The Bloods," it played in the Victorian Football Association until 1896 when it joined the Victorian Football League. The club was based at Lake Oval and won its three VFL premierships in 1909, 1918 and 1933, and always struggled for money, players and fans until it reached the point in the early 1980s where it was set to disappear.
The Swans moved to Sydney in 1981 as part of the VFL's attempts to broaden its appeal which culminated in the national competition of the AFL. In 1985 the VFL created one of the messiest deals ever associated with football and almost brought an end to the Sydney Swans.
On 31 July 1985, for what was thought to be $6.3 million, Dr Geoffrey Edelsten "bought" the Swans. In reality it was $2.9 million in cash with funding and other payments spread over five years. Edelsten resigned as chairman in less than twelve months. By 1988 the licence was sold back to the VFL for ten million dollars. Losses were in the millions. A group of financial backers including Mike Willessee, Basil Sellers, Peter Weinert and Craig Kimberley purchased the licence and bankrolled the club until 1993, when the AFL stepped in.
With substantial monetary and management support from the AFL, the club survived, and with player draft concessions in the early 1990s, has fielded a competitive team throughout the past decade and has attracted reasonable crowds. Sydney Swans home crowds tend to be larger on average than for Sydney's native sporting code, Rugby League.
They lost the 1996 grand final to North Melbourne, their first appearance in a grand final since 1945.
Rivalry-wise, the Swans share a long and storied rivalry with St Kilda that dates back to the days when South Melbourne played at Lake Oval on the other side of Melbourne's Albert Park, not far from St Kilda's old home ground. To this day the Swans and the Saints plays for the Lake Trophy every year.
The Swans also share a bitter rivalry with the Brisbane Lions, a rivalry that is only a part of the ongoing rivalry between the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland.
Honor Roll
| Season | Posn | Coach | Captain | Best & Fairest | Leading goalkicker (goals) |
| 1949 | 10 | Jack Hale | Bert Lucas | Ron Clegg | Ray Jones (27) |
| 1950 | 11 | Gordon Lane | Gordon Lane | Billy Williams | Gordon Lane (47) |
| 1951 | 8 | Gordon Lane | Gordon Lane | Ron Clegg | Billy Williams (41) |
| 1952 | 5 | Gordon Lane | Gordon Lane | Keith Schaefer | Gordon Lane (33) |
| 1953 | 8 | Laurie Nash | Ron Clegg | Jim Taylor | Ian Gillett (34) |
| 1954 | 10 | Herbie Matthews | Ron Clegg | Eddie Lane | Eddie Lane (28) |
| 1955 | 10 | Herbie Matthews | Bill Gunn | Ian Gillett | Eddie Lane (36) |
| 1956 | 9 | Herbie Matthews | Ian Gillett | Jim Dorgan | Bill Gunn (28) |
| 1957 | 10 | Herbie Matthews | Ron Clegg | Jim Taylor | Fred Goldsmith (43) |
| 1958 | 9 | Ron Clegg | Ron Clegg | Bob Skilton | Max Oaten (34) |
| 1959 | 9 | Ron Clegg | Ron Clegg | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton (60) |
| 1960 | 8 | Bill Faul | Ron Clegg | Frank Johnson | Max Oaten (39) |
| 1961 | 11 | Bill Faul | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton | Brian Mcgowan (38) |
| 1962 | 12 | Noel Mcmahen | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton (36) |
| 1963 | 11 | Noel Mcmahen | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton (36) |
| 1964 | 11 | Noel Mcmahen | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton | Max Papley (25) |
| 1965 | 8 | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton | Ron Kingston (48) |
| 1966 | 8 | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton | Max Papley | Austin Robertson (60) |
| 1967 | 9 | Allan Miller | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton | John Sudholz (35) |
| 1968 | 9 | Allan Miller | Bob Skilton | Bob Skilton | John Sudholz (36) |
| 1969 | 9 | Norm Smith | Bob Skilton | Peter Bedford | John Sudholz (35) |
| 1970 | 4 | Norm Smith | Bob Skilton | Peter Bedford | John Sudholz (62) |
| 1971 | 12 | Norm Smith | Bob Skilton | Peter Bedford | Peter Bedford (44) |
| 1972 | 11 | Norm Smith | John Rantall | Russell Cook | Peter Bedford (28) |
| 1973 | 12 | Graeme John | Peter Bedford | Peter Bedford | Peter Bedford (52) |
| 1974 | 9 | Graeme John | Peter Bedford | Norm Goss | Norm Goss (37) |
| 1975 | 12 | Graeme John | Peter Bedford | Peter Bedford | Graham Teasdale (38) |
| 1976 | 8 | Ian Stewart | Peter Bedford | Rick Quade | Robert Dean (37) |
| 1977 | 5 | Ian Stewart | Rick Quade | Graham Teasdale | Graham Teasdale (38) |
| 1978 | 8 | Des Tuddenham | Rick Quade | John Murphy | John Murphy (31) |
| 1979 | 10 | Ian Stewart | Rick Quade | Barry Round | Tony Morwood (56) |
| 1980 | 6 | Ian Stewart | Barry Round | David Ackerley | John Roberts (67) |
| 1981 | 9 | Ian Stewart | Barry Round | Barry Round | John Roberts (51) |
| 1982 | 7 | Rick Quade | Barry Round | David Ackerley | Tony Morwood (45) |
| 1983 | 11 | Rick Quade | Barry Round | Mark Browning | Craig Braddy (48) |
| 1984 | 10 | Rick Quade,
Bob Hammond |
Barry Round,
Mark Browning |
Bernie Evans | Warwick Capper (39) |
| 1985 | 10 | John Norey | Mark Browning | Stephen Wright | Warwick Capper (45) |
| 1986 | 4 | Tom Hafey | Dennis Carroll | Gerard Healy | Warwick Capper (92) |
| 1987 | 4 | Tom Hafey | Dennis Carroll | Gerard Healy | Warwick Capper (103) |
| 1988 | 7 | Tom Hafey | Dennis Carroll | Gerard Healy | Barry Mitchell (35) |
| 1989 | 7 | Col Kinnear | Dennis Carrol | Mark Bayes | Bernard Toohey (27) |
| 1990 | 13 | Col Kinnear | Dennis Carroll | Stephen Wright | Jim West (34) |
| 1991 | 12 | Col Kinnear | Dennis Carroll | Barry Mitchell | Jason Love (52) |
| 1992 | 15 | Gary Buckenara | Dennis Carroll | Paul Kelly | Simon Minton-Connell (60) |
| 1993 | 15 | Gary Buckenara, | Paul Kelly | Paul Kelly | Simon Minton-Connell (41) |
| 1994 | 15 | Ron Barassi | Paul Kelly | Daryn Creswell | Simon Minton-Connell (68) |
| 1995 | 12 | Ron Barassi | Paul Kelly | Paul Kelly | Tony Lockett (110) |
| 1996 | 1 | Rodney Eade | Paul Kelly | Paul Kelly | Tony Lockett (121) |
| 1997 | 7 | Rodney Eade | Paul Kelly | Paul Kelly | Tony Lockett (37) |
| 1998 | 5 | Rodney Eade | Paul Kelly | Michael O'Loughlin | Tony Lockett (109) |
| 1999 | 8 | Rodney Eade | Paul Kelly | Wayne Schwass | Tony Lockett (82) |
| 2000 | 10 | Rodney Eade | Paul Kelly | Andrew Schauble | Michael O'Loughlin (53) |
| 2001 | 7 | Rodney Eade | Paul Kelly | Paul Williams | Michael O'Loughlin (35) |
| 2002 | 11 | Rodney Eade, | Paul Kelly | Paul Williams | Barry Hall (55) |
| 2003 | 4 | Paul Roos | Stuart Maxfield | Adam Goodes | Barry Hall (64) |
| 2004 | 6 | Paul Roos | Stuart Maxfield | Barry Hall | Barry Hall (74) |
| 2005 | 3/4 | Paul Roos | Stuart Maxfield¹ | unknown | Barry Hall (?) |
Brownlow Medal winners:
- Herbie Matthews (1940)
- Ron Clegg (1949)
- Fred Goldsmith (1955)
- Bob Skilton (1959, 1963 & 1968)
- Peter Bedford (1970)
- Graham Teasdale (1977)
- Barry Round (1981) (co-winner)
- Greg Williams (1986) (co-winner)
- Gerard Healy (1988)
- Paul Kelly (1995)
- Adam Goodes (2003) (co-winner)
Team of the Century
Sydney announced its team of the century on August 8, 2003:
| Backs: | John Rantall | John Heriot | Vic Belcher |
| Half Backs: | Bill Faul | Ron Clegg | Dennis Carroll |
| Centres: | David Murphy | Greg Williams | Herb Matthews |
| Half Forwards: | Tony Morwood | Laurie Nash | Gerard Healy |
| Forwards: | Bob Pratt | Tony Lockett | Paul Kelly (Vice-Captain) |
| Followers: | Barry Round | Peter Bedford | Bob Skilton (Captain) |
| Interchange: | Bill Williams | Stevie Wright | Daryn Cresswell |
| Fred Goldsmith | Mark Bayes | Harry Clarke | |
| Mark Tandy | |||
| Coach: | Jack Bissett |