More than 107 years after their first visit to Carlton’s Princes Park in 1897 the Swans bid it farewell in Round 14, 2004. And they did it in sensational fashion.
Down by 18 points to the Blues early in the final quarter after leading at every change, they kicked the last five goals of the game – three to Barry Hall from contested marks – to post one of the great wins.
So good was the 15.5 (95) to 12.12 (84) win that it headlines this week’s flashback series on the Swans’ 40-year history in Sydney … “Remember When – Round 14”.
The Swans, then South Melbourne, had won their first game at Princes Park in Round 9, 1897. It was the third VFL game played at the ground, and they won 11.8 (74) to 4.4 (28). But it had been a tough time between then and their last visit, which was the fifth-last AFL game at Princes Park.
The Swans finished with a 37-2-98 record at Princes Park, where they have played more often than all grounds except Lake Oval (697 games), SCG (414 games) and the MCG (233 games).
In their third season under Paul Roos, the Swans had started poorly. They were 2-6 and 10th on the 16-team ladder at Round 8 but had crept into the eight with a last-gasp six-point win over Collingwood at Stadium Australia in Round 13, when Tadhg Kennelly and Michael O’Loughlin kicked the last two goals.
The Round 14 clash with 10th-placed Carlton on a Saturday afternoon at Princes Park was a danger game, and had disaster written all over it when the home side kicked six goals in a row either side of three-quarter time to turn a 21-point deficit into an 18-point lead.
O’Loughlin got them started before Hall kicked his fourth. And his fifth. They were a point down with still 13 minutes to play. Paul Bevan, in his 14th game, kicked just his fourth career goal to put them in front, and after a six-minute arm wrestle Hall kicked his sixth and the winner.
While Carlton’s Scott Camporeale was judged best afield Brett Kirk (23 possessions, one goal) picked up two Brownlow Medal votes and Hall, who pulled in 11 marks for his 11 kicks and his haul of 6-1, earned one vote.
The Swans would go on to win eight of their last 10 and play in the finals, and although they would fall in week two of September, Roos had built a platform for the premiership success that would follow in 2005.
During the Swans 40-year history in Sydney they have gone 15-22 in Round 14 games, and only after winning six of their last seven. Brett Kirk, Ryan O’Keefe and Jarrad McVeigh each had 37-possession games in Round 14 to head the single-game possession list, while four players have each kicked six goals in Round 14 games: Tony Lockett, Warwick Capper, O’Loughlin and Hall.
Other Round 14 highlights include:
1986 – A Special Win
Dennis Carroll was something of a Round 14 specialist in the mid-1980s. He picked up two Brownlow votes in 1985 and played his 100th game in 1986, but it is Round 14 1987 that he’ll remember extra fondly – a special Swans win in a Friday night blockbuster against Collingwood at the SCG.
Sitting third on the 14-team ladder, Sydney trailed the 11th-placed Magpies at every change and by 10 points at three-quarter time. But they almost doubled their score in the final term, piling on 7.4 to 1.3 to win 14.17 (101) to 10.14 (74).
Merv Neagle kicked a career-best five goals for two Brownlow votes and Paul Hawke had 26 possessions, but Carroll, in his 120th game, was best afield and picked up three votes to continue his special Round 14 run.
2001 – A Debut to Remember
Nuala Kennelly admitted she never wanted son Tadhg Kennelly to move halfway around the world from Ireland to Australia to play football. “It was so far away … and he was only 17,” she said.
But on July 8, 2001, a crunch Round 14 moment of a fluctuating season for the Swans, Nuala was delighted to make the same journey herself to see Tadhg make his AFL debut a week after his 20th birthday.
After a 3-0 start the Swans had lost seven of their next 10 and were a game outside the eight as they prepared to host second-placed Carlton at the SCG on a Sunday afternoon. It was do or die.
Happily, after the home side found two unlikely goal-kicking heroes in the final term, she headed home with a smile on her face after the Swans posted a hard-fought win closed out by a 48m goal from Greg Stafford.
Stafford had had a bad run. He started on the bench as coach Rodney Eade preferred Jason Ball in the ruck and was used sparingly. But he will forever tell the story of the day he kicked a goal after the siren.
The Swans had found two unlikely goal-kicking heroes to mark Kennelly’s debut with a win.
There was Stafford, who kicked 58 goals in 130 games for the Swans and had got himself on the scoresheet only 35 times in his first 122 games. And Jared Crouch, who in 223 games was a multiple goal-kicker just four times.
The Swans trailed by 24 points shortly before halftime and were heading for a predictable loss until Ben Mathews and Michael O’Loughlin pegged back two majors just before the long break. It was 6.5 to 8.3. A slog.
Leo Barry and Adam Goodes cut the deficit to two points before O’Loughlin put them in front at three-quarter time. And then Crouch struck twice in seven minutes.
First he accepted a pass from Stuart Maxfield and goaled on the run from 35m in the pocket, and then he took an unlikely overhead mark on the edge of the goalsquare for a second. They were eight points up.
But when Adrian Hickmott goaled for Carlton it was game on. The Swans had a string of chances but failed to capitalise, prompting Jason Dunstall to say “the Swans are doing everything to lose this” in commentary.
As much as it might spoil the Stafford story, it wasn’t really his goal that won the game – the siren had already gone. But his soaring overmark 25sec from time and his smart use of the time clock certainly did.
The Swans won by 10 points – literally. It was 12.19 (91) to 12.9 (81). Crouch’s 15 possessions and two goals earned him three Brownlow Medal votes, while Jason Saddington and Matthew Nicks took the minor votes despite Wayne Schwass’ game-high 32 possessions and O’Loughlin’s three goals.
It was the first of five wins on the trot that saw the Swans play finals, but they were eliminated in week one of September by Hawthorn.
2012 – Biggest win at Stadium Australia
Stadium Australia, home of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games now known as Accor Stadium, had first hosted AFL football in 2002. Ten years on, in Round 14, 2012 it hosted its 39th AFL game, when the Swans played GWS on a Saturday night.
It was a big night. The Swans prevailed 19.18 (132) to 5.8 (38). And a further 10 years on it remains the biggest win at the ground.
Lewis Jetta, with three goals, led 11 different Sydney goal-kickers as Kieren Jack (33 possessions, two goals), Jude Bolton (24 possessions, eight tackles) and Ryan O’Keefe (36 possessions) took the Brownlow Medal votes.
2014 – A New Hero
Lance Franklin slipped into his red and white jumper beautifully in his first season with the Swans in 2014. Immediately adopted by Sydney fans, he kicked 79 goals and won the Coleman Medal despite missing three home-and-away games and finished equal third in the Brownlow Medal, polling an equal career-best 22 votes.
Round 14 was just one of many games where he was a standout. He kicked the only two goals of the final quarter of a Friday night blockbuster against Richmond at the MCG to give the Swans an 11-point win.
With Zak Jones making his AFL debut, the third-placed Swans were under the pump against the 15th-placed Tigers when they trailed at every change. And while they’d cut the deficit from a game-high 26 points late in the second term to one point at the last change, there was plenty still to do.
Franklin kicked the first goal of the final term four minutes in before a 17-minute slog in which neither side managed a goal. Then he jagged what turned out to be the last goal of the game before the visitors survived another eight goalless minutes to win 9.8 (62) to 7.9 (51).
With four goals straight in a low-scoring game Franklin picked up three Brownlow Medal votes. And while he never seriously challenged the top of the leaderboard on Brownlow night, with West Coast’s Matt Priddis (26) hanging on to win from Fremantle’s Nat Fyfe (25), he did miss Rounds 19 and 23 in an epic finish. And that after he was injured early in Round 6 and missed Round 7.
2015 – The ‘other’ Essendon nail-biter
There will only be one ‘best-ever’ Sydney one-point win over Essendon at the SCG – when Tony Lockett’s behind after the siren in the preliminary final put the Swans into the 1996 grand final.
But Round 14, 2017 was a pretty good second after the Swans, 24 points up in time-on of the third quarter, trailed the Bombers by 19 points with 25 minutes played in the final term. And won.
It was Sydney (12th) v Essendon (8th). Having started 0-6 the Swans had won five of their last six to resurrect their season but were coming off a six-day break while Essendon, 70-point winners over fifth-placed Port Adelaide in Round 12, were fresh coming off a bye. It looked for all money like the lead-up inequity had taken a toll as the visitors kicked seven goals in a row.
With 4min 32sec on the clock Ollie Florent, in just his seventh game, soccered one off the ground from the edge of the goalsquare. It was back to 13 points.
Luke Parker marked just out the 50m arc and dished off to Lance Franklin running past on his left. “It’s a goal,” screamed Brian Taylor in commentary before the officials called for a review. The goal umpire called ‘touched’ and although Taylor was insistent the call stood. ‘Woe Wee,” he said. It was 12 points.
Josh Kennedy kicked long to the goalsquare where Nic Newman found himself in an unlikely match-up with Joe Daniher. The ball came to ground. Newman recovered best and snapped over his shoulder. Six points with 1min16sec to play.
Sydney went forward again but Daniher took a huge saving mark. Essendon went forward but Callum Mills turned them around. He went to Sam Naismith, who kicked a floater that miraculously found its way to Franklin. He turned onto his left and let fly from 55m but he pulled it right.
The clock showed 41sec to play as Essendon fullback Michael Hurley set himself to kick it back in. He went short to himself and played on, but out of nowhere Tom Papley threw himself across Hurley’s boot to affect a brilliant smother. Out-of-bounds and just 24sec on the clock.
From mega-congestion Dane Rampe gathered and threw it on his boot. Gary Rohan, one-on-one with Hurley on the goal line, outbodied the man who would later receive three votes as best afield and marked overhead.
“It’s an extraordinary night,” offered Bruce McAvaney in commentary. “The Swans are going to win.” The siren sounded and Rohan calmly put it straight over the goal umpire’s head from the square for a 11.20 (86) to 12.13 (85) win.
Kennedy, with 36 possessions, picked up two votes, and Isaac Heeney, with 21 possessions and two goals, received one vote.
Nine weeks later the Swans would complete one of the most amazing mid-season turnarounds in history. They won 11 of their last 12 games to finish sixth on the home-and-away ladder at 14-8 and took out Essendon by 65 points in the elimination final before falling to Geelong.
