Round 17, 1987, or 35 years ago in football terms, the Sydney Swans had a day like no other. They posted the highest score in a club history that now stretches 2507 games.
Sitting 3rd on a 14-team ladder on a six-game winning streak and coming off a 130-point win over West Coast, they obliterated 7th placed Essendon 36.20 (236) to 11.7 (73) at the SCG.
It was the third-highest score in 16,118 AFL matches all-time, behind only Geelong’s 37.17 (239) against Brisbane in 1992 and Fitzroy’s 36.22 (238) against Melbourne in 1979 and left the Bombers with their biggest loss and highest score conceded.
And it is the headline story in this week’s flashback series on the Swans’ 40-year history in Sydney – “Remember When … Round 17.”
The club’s brutal scoring assault came in Tom Hafey’s second year at the helm and was scoring high point of a season in which high-flying glamor boy Warwick Capper became the second of just three Swans players to kick 100 goals in a season.
Capper, who followed three-time century goal-kicker Bob Pratt (1933-34-35) and preceded three-time century goal-kicker Tony Lockett (1995-96-98), kicked a game-high six goals to lead the demolition.
It was a score-fest after a moderate and even first quarter in which the Swans kicked 5.4 to 5.2. They booted 10.4 in the second quarter, 12.5 in the third and 13.7 in the last.
The 36 goals were spread across 12 different goal-kickers, with no less than 11 multiple goal-kickers in what makes for an astonishing comparison with corresponding figures for 2022, when the Swans have averaged 13.1 goals, 7.8 goal-kickers and 3.1 multiple goal-kickers per game.
The 13-goal final quarter was the second-highest score in any quarter in club history, behind only the 17.4 (106) final quarter against St Kilda at Lake Oval in 1919.
Stevie Wright kicked five goals to go with 25 possessions and earn himself one Brownlow Medal vote, while Gerard Healy had 24 possessions and kicked four goals. Brett Scott’s 31 possessions and three goals was rewarded with three votes, while Tony Morwood’s 17 possessions and two goals was enough for two votes.
Also, on the goal-kicking list were Mark Bayes (3), Barry Mitchell (3), Merv Neagle (3), Mark Browning (2), Paul Hawke (2), Terry Thripp (2) and David Bolton (1).
In 39 Round 17 matches during the Swans’ 40-year history in Sydney they club has posted an aggregate 23-16 win/loss record: 15-5 at home and 8-11 away.
The ‘Hafey Hurricane’ of 1987 was no fluke – he had led the Swans to a score of 29.15 (189) and a 124-point win over Melbourne at the SCG in Round 17, 1986.
In other Round 17 highlights:
1983 – Celebrating in Style
Colin Hounsell was a 173cm centreman/rover from the tiny town on Collingullie, near Wagga who played 122 games for the Swans in two stints from 1975-79 and 1981-84.
He had his moments in the spotlight. Like in 1976 when he was offered by the club to Collingwood as part of a trade which ultimately saw Robert Dean join the club. But not for Hounsell. He refused to go.
At the end of the 1979 he quit what was then South Melbourne to play first with Nightcliff in Darwin and later Woodville in the SANFL before returning to South midway through ’81 at the request of his fiancée.
And after being part of the playing group that moved from Melbourne to Sydney, he wrote himself into the club history books with a special 100th game celebration.
He was the 70th Swan to play 100 games for the club, doing so in Round 17, 1983 against Melbourne at the SCG, and the third to post his 100th after the move to the Harbour City behind Tony Morwood and Bernie Evans, who did so earlier in ’83.
The Swans jumped the Demons early, leading 8.2 to 2.1 at quarter-time, and although they were out-scored in each of the last three quarters won 18.17 (125) to 16.16 (112) in what was also the 100th AFL game for Melbourne’s ex-Swan Shane Zantuck.
Daryl Sutton, in his first season in red and white, kicked six goals for the winners, and Hounsell topped the possession count with 39. And therein lies the extra special part of his 100th ‘party’.
Since the 1965 introduction of possession counts 88 players have posted 100 games for the Swans. Only six marked the occasion with 30+ possessions.
Greg Williams (1989) and Barry Mitchell (1991) marked the occasion of their 100th game with 30 possessions, and more recently Dan Hanneberry (2013) and Callum Mills (2021) had 33, and Jake Lloyd (2018) had 36. But none have bettered Hounsell’s career-best 39.
1998 – Two Adopted Favorite Sons
Paul Roos and Wayne Schwass were two of the Swans’ favorite adopted sons of the Sydney era. The 87-game 1996 grand final team member turned 2005 drought-breaking premiership coach and the 98-game 1999 Skilton Medallist who helped build the culture of the 2005 premiership side.
So, when Roos and Schwass found themselves playing big career milestones in Round 17, 1998 there was a strong want from coach Rodney Eade and his playing group to ensure they had a win
It was the 4th-placed Swans against the 15th-placed Lions at the Gabba as Roos played his 350th AFL game and Schwass his 200th game. And while it was a ‘should win’ game for the visitors on a Sunday afternoon they were clinical in making sure they got the points.
The Swans won 22.17 (149) to 14.5 (89) against a Lions side coached for the sixth time by Roger Merrett after first-choice coach John Northey had been sacked six weeks earlier.
Daryn Cresswell, later to be an assistant-coach at the Gabba, was best afield with 31 possessions and a goal, while Schwass had 28 possessions and a goal for two Brownlow votes, and Tony Lockett kicked seven goals.
2000 – A Double Century for Kelly
If there was one Round 17 game that was just meant to be a win it was in 2000, when the Swans played West Coast at the SCG in the 200th game of one of the club’s all-time favorites, Paul Kelly.
Kelly had been through a tough introduction to his AFL career. He went 23-2-87 through his first six years and 112 games, and was 0-5 in Round 17 games, with one bye.
Even in 1996, when the Swans won eight games in a row from Rounds 9-16 and three in a row from Rounds 18-20, in Round 17 they lost by 26 points to 13th-placed Fremantle at Subiaco.
Kelly had broken through for a Round 17 win in 1997 but didn’t play Round 17 in 1998-99 so he went into his major milestone game without a lot of statistical confidence.
It was his third game back from a knee reconstruction, but he slotted in beautifully as the 12th-placed Swans hosted the 11th-placed Eagles, who were celebrating the 200th game of a similarly popular Glen Jakovich.
It was a game which would shut down the faint finals hopes of the loser. The home side led all the way and took the points 22.19 (151) to 12.8 (80). Ben Matthews picked up a career-best 36 possessions, Michael O’Loughlin had 18 possessions and two goals for three Brownlow Medal votes, and Daryn Cresswell kicked a career-best four goals to go with 35 possessions and two votes.
The win kept the Swans in the finals hunt and going into Round 22 a win over Geelong at Kardinia Park could have secured them a finals spot. Sadly, a three-point loss saw them miss out.
But Kelly went into the club record books as the 15th of what is now 34 200-gamers, and the second behind Dennis Carroll.
2018 – Welcome to the AFL, Col
Colin O’Riordan, a Gaelic football product from Tipperary in Ireland, travelled from the other side of the world to sign an international rookie contract with the Swans in October 2015. Going on three years later he made his AFL debut in Round 17, 2018 against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
Sydney were 5th chasing a top four finish and North were 9th but only outside the eight on percentages. It was a big game and a big introduction for the Irishman.
North led by 12 points at quarter-time before Sydney were 13 up at halftime. North were 11 points up at three-quarter time before Isaac Heeney, Robbie Fox and Lance Franklin (2) gave Sydney a 12-point buffer with 13 minutes to play.
North came again. Three goals in five minutes from Ben Brown, Majak Daw and Jack Ziebell, who combined for 13 of their side’s 15 goals, put the Roos seven points up with four minutes to play. But despite having lost Josh Kennedy to injury early, the visitors refused to be beaten.
Dane Rampe kicked long to the square. Off hands a big tackle from Will Hayward sprung the ball free and Ron Bonke, in just his 11th game after kicking seven goals in his 3rd, snapped his 5th goal from close range in the pocket. They were a point down, and then they were level.
Tom Papley cleverly knocked the ball forward to space from a contest at centre half forward and Aliir Aliir, thrown to full forward by coach John Longmire in his 21st game, slotted his 1st AFL goal from 20m to get the Swans home 16.8 (104) to 15.8 (98).
Jake Lloyd (30 possessions), Heeney and Rampe were standouts for the victors before O’Riordan enjoyed the customary post-game sports drink shower that may have had a few people in Ireland wondering what was going on.
