1. Heeney the Swans' Superman
With his team struggling to hold on after being down two men on the interchange bench for the final three quarters, Isaac Heeney stood up when Sydney needed him midway through the final quarter. As Cameron Pedersen launched another attack deep inside the Demons' forward 50, Heeney launched himself over Jesse Hogan, flying almost horizontally at the ball as if he were Superman. Somehow the young star hung on to the ball to complete a screamer that will give this year's Woolworths Mark of the Year award a serious nudge. Heeney's work was not done, however, as he continued to repel attack after Melbourne attack in the dying minutes, to play a heroic role in a heroic win.

2. Johnson fairytale dealt a blow
Alex Johnson's fairytale return to AFL football appears to have lasted just two games after he suffered a knee injury the Swans suspect will be diagnosed as another ruptured anterior cruciate ligament for the luckless defender. Johnson was injured late in the first term, when his right knee buckled as he went to change direction in pursuit of Demons spearhead Jesse Hogan. The 26-year-old was emotional on the interchange bench when he came from the ground, but put his team first when he limped out to the Swans' quarter-time huddle. Less than eight days earlier, Johnson had been one of 2018's feelgood stories when he returned to play his first game since the 2012 Grand Final, performing a solid defensive role in the Swans' thrilling two-point win over Collingwood. There was a sense of disbelief around the MCG when Johnson limped from the ground with the assistance of two trainers.

3. Melbourne stumbles
Melbourne had not beaten another team in the top nine (as at the end of round 20) this year before Sunday's game, having lost all six of its matches against its fellow finals contenders. The Demons' strong start to the game suggested they could put a stop to that dismal run, but when the Swans found their mojo early in the second term they lost control of the game and, more tellingly, their finals chances. Simon Goodwin's team appears to have the talent to have a genuine tilt at a premiership over the next few seasons, but until they can match the mental toughness of a battle-hardened outfit like the Swans they will continue to fall short against the competition's genuine contenders. With matches against West Coast (Optus Stadium) and Greater Western Sydney (MCG) to come, Melbourne's bid to make its first final series since 2006 now looks shaky.

4. Swans' second-quarter surge turns game on its head
The Swans trailed by 18 points when Demons spearhead Hogan kicked his team's third goal 90 seconds into the second term. Sydney had kicked just one goal to that stage and would have been further behind but for Melbourne's inaccurate 3.7 scoreline. With their season on the line, the Swans suddenly found a spark. From the six-minute mark of the term, they piled on 6.0, all of them via different goalkickers, none of them from talismanic forward Lance Franklin. The Demons had their chances during this stretch but butchered them all to go into half-time on 3.12 and 14 points down. The Swans made it seven unanswered goals when Franklin kicked his first major two minutes into the third term. It put them 21 points up and, despite being undermanned on the bench and a desperate late Melbourne surge, they were never headed again.

5. Hannebery makes his return
Dan Hannebery had endured a tough season before Sunday's game, averaging an uncharacteristically low 18.5 possessions over 11 matches following an injury-interrupted pre-season. But against the Demons he showed signs of his scintillating best. His best moment came midway through the second term when he goaled on the run from 50m. It was the Swans' fourth consecutive goal and put them six points up. The midfielder, however, had a couple of moments he would prefer to forget. Early in the third term he turned the ball over by hand in the middle of the ground, a mistake that led to Melbourne's first goal, via Aaron vandenBerg, in more than a quarter. Then late in the final term, with the Demons having just closed to within seven points, he gave away a free kick in the centre square after appearing to punch James Harmes in the chest. However, all in all, the Swans would have liked what they saw as Hannebery finished with a season-high 26 possessions, including nine in the frantic final term.