What is it about the number 19? If you exclude Swans great Michael O’Loughlin, the AFL’s all-time games record holder in #19, it’s not a number that generally means good things in football.

Fans of the era prior to interchange, when there was a 19^th man and 20^th man in each team, even confess privately to something of a stigma about being the 19^th man. After all, the 19^th man was a reserve.

But during the Swans’ 40-year history in Sydney Round 19 has been positively sensational, delivering a host of unforgettable moments individually and collectively, headed by the club record for most possessions, most goals in a game, and a milestone moment like no other.

It is impossible to give seniority to one over the others, which explains why the “Remember When – Round 19”  flashback has started as such, with three statistical mega-highlights in chronological order. They are:

1989: A Williams Masterclass

Greg Williams had a big day out in Round 19, 1989 against St Kilda at the SCG. So big that, statistically at least, it might be the best individual performance in AFL history.

Williams, going on 26 in his 78^th game for the Swans and the 112th of his glittering career, had 53 possessions and kicked six goals as the then 7^th-placed Swans beat 10^th-placed St Kilda by 50 points.

It was Sydney 25.9 (159) to St Kilda 16.13 (109), with the team possession count showing 301-300 to the home side. More accurately, Williams had 53/6 for the Swans while ‘The Other 19’ had 248/19.

And while it is both pointless and impossible to try to compare such a stupendous all-round game from a midfielder with a pure goal-kicking masterclass from a full forward, like Fred Fanning’s all-time AFL record 18 goals for Melbourne in 1947, it is an intriguing question … which is best?

Since the introduction of detailed statistics to the AFL in 1965, Williams is the only Swans player in 58 years to have 50 possessions in a game, and one of just eight players overall.

He was the third player overall after Collingwood’s Barry Price had 52 possessions against Fitzroy at Victoria Park in Round 4, 1971, and three weeks later teammate John Greening had an even 50 against Geelong at the same venue.

Ex-Collingwood skipper Tony Shaw was next, with 50 against Brisbane at Carrara in 1991, followed by Scott Thompson’s 51 for Adelaide against Gold Coast at Carrara in 2011, and Gary Ablett’s 53 for Gold Coast against Collingwood at the MCG in 2012.

Ex-Swan Tom Mitchell had the next three 50-possession games wearing Hawthorn colors. He had an even 50 against Collingwood at the MCG in 2017, a League record 54 against Collingwood at the MCG in 2018, and an even 50 against GWS at Giants Stadium 14 weeks later.

Finally, Brisbane’s Lachie Neale had 51 possessions against Richmond in the MCG in 2019.

Of the total 50+ games, six were rewarded with three Brownlow Medal votes, while specific voting for the 1971 efforts of Price and Greening is not available.

Mitchell’s 50 possessions in a loss to GWS in 2018 earned him two votes, with Giants skipper Cal Ward receiving three votes for his 32 possessions, two goals, six tackles and 11 clearances.

Shaw’s 50 possessions in a win over the Bears went unrecognised by the umpires. Paul Williams, later to play for the Swans, got three votes for 28 possessions and a goal, Brisbane’s Michael McLean got two votes for 23 possessions, and Collingwood’s Craig Starcevich, now women’s coach at Brisbane, got one vote for 30 possessions and five goals.

Significantly, while Greg Williams complemented his dose of ‘leather poisoning’ with six goals, in only one of the other 50-possession games did the player in question get on the goal sheet. Neale kicked one goal.

So, statistically at least, Williams’ phenomenal performance in this football week 33 years ago has the other nine 50-possession games covered in the ‘best individual performance all-time’ conversation.

Williams’ 53-possession game bettered the previous Swans record of 46, set by Bob Skilton in 1967 and equalled by Barry Mitchell in 1991. Josh Kennedy’s 45 in 2015 is next on the club list, followed by Greg Smith’s 44 in 1982, Williams’ 43 in 1990 in between two Barry Mitchell games of 43 in 1989 and 1991, and Paul Kelly’s 43 in 1993.

Five Swans players have had a total of nine games with 42 possessions – Skilton in 1968, Dan Hannebery three times in 2012, ‘13 and ‘15, Jarrad McVeigh in 2013, Kennedy twice in 2016 and ‘21, and Jake Lloyd twice six weeks apart in 2019.

1995: A Lockett Masterclass

If statistically Greg Williams can claim the best individual performance by a midfielder in 58 years, then Tony Lockett is certainly among the top seven performances in 126 years by a full forward.

It was Round 19, 1995 at Whitten Oval. Lockett kicked 16 goals as Sydney (14^th) obliterated Fitzroy (16^th) 27.8 (170) to 6.8 (44). Quarter-by-quarter Lockett kicked 5-5-2-4 and finished with 16 straight from 12 marks and 18 kicks.

Major support acts to the three-vote ‘Plugger Pulverisation’ were Paul Kelly, who earned two votes for his 39 possessions and three goals, and Daryn Cresswell, who picked up one vote for 28 possessions and a goal.

Lockett more than doubled the entire Fitzroy score on his own, as the scores went 50-14 in the first and 56-1 in the second for a halftime score of 17.4 (106) to 2.3 (15). It was 32-16 In the third quarter and 32-13 in the last.

The Swans’ 91-point lead at halftime is the biggest in club history and the 12^th biggest in the AFL all-time, while Lockett’s astonishing performance in perfect conditions is one of just seven games of 16 or more goals in AFL history. And the most recent.

Collingwood’s Gordon Coventry was the first player to kick 16 in 1929. He followed that with 17 in 1930 before Melbourne’s Fred Fanning in 1947 kicked 18 to set a record that still stands. Hawthorn’s Peter Hudson and Collingwood’s Peter McKenna kicked 16 goals 14 weeks apart in 1969, before Hawthorn’s Jason Dunstall kicked 17 in 1992 and Lockett closed out the 16+ club three years later.

Lockett’s 16-goal spree bettered the Swans record of 15 set by Bob Pratt in 1934, and between them Lockett and Pratt have 13 of the Swans’ 20 games of 10 goals or more split between seven players.

Lockett, with hauls of 16-12-12-11-11-10-10, has seven, and Pratt (15-12-11-11-11-10) has six. Harold Robertson’s only 10+ haul of 14 goals in 1919 is third on the individual list, while other Swans in the 10+ group are Lindsay White (12-11-10), Jack Graham (10), Richard Osborne (10) and Lance Franklin (10).

2009: A Triple Century for O’Loughlin

Michael O’Loughlin is player #1262 on the all-time Swans playing list, and by Round 19, 2009 that number had swelled to 1356 on route to 1442 of today. But on that day, when Sydney played Richmond at the MCG, it was all about just one man: Michael O’Loughlin.

The mercurial “Mickey O”, or “Magic” as he was also known, was the first of those 1356 Swans players to play 300 games for the club and the 62^nd member of the AFL’s exclusive 300 Club, which now numbers 97 or 0.75% of the all-time playing list of 13,015, and includes just three other Swans – Adam Goodes, Jude Bolton and Jarrad McVeigh.

Going into the mega-milestone the Swans were 11^th on a 16-team ladder two games outside the eight but still alive in the finals race. The Tigers, 12^th but a game and a half further back, were done.

It was a Sunday afternoon at headquarters 24 hours after Hawthorn had lost by 25 points to St Kilda in Launceston in what was Lance Franklin’s 100^th AFL game. The Swans were hell-bent on making sure O’Loughlin’s 300^th game didn’t finish the same way.

O’Loughlin, who had joined the Swans via selection #40 in the 1994 AFL National Draft, led his side onto the MCG carrying daughter Taya and son James for what was also the 249^th game for his long-time mate Adam Goodes.

Ben Cousins, in his 250^th AFL game and his 12^th for Richmond, kicked the first goal but after Sydney responded via Jarred Moore, Goodes and Kieren Jack they were never headed.

It was the Swans by 29 points at halftime and just to make sure there were no mishaps they blew it out to 64 points by the final change before it finished 18.15 (123) to 10.8 (68).

O’Loughlin kicked two goals in the third quarter – one after Goodes’ second and the other after Goodes’ third and fourth – and finished with 19 possessions, 10 marks, two goals and two goal assists.

If it wasn’t O’Loughlin who was set for three Brownlow Medal votes in the 300^th game script there was only one other person it could be. Goodes, of course. And Goodes it was after his 25 possessions and four goals. Jude Bolton (19 possessions, one goal) and Ryan O’Keefe (22 possessions) took the minor votes, while, almost as if to complete a personal tribute from the senior group, Brett Kirk had a team-high 14 tackles and six clearances to go with 14 possessions and a goal.

Goodes was a Round 19 specialist. In five years from 2006-10 he polled 14 of a possible 15 votes, having to be content with two in 2008 in McVeigh’s 100^th game.

O’Loughlin, who in July 2007 had played his 261^st game to break John Rantall’s Swans games record in what was Goodes’ 200^th game, was the third and the last member of the AFL Draft Class of 1994 to 300 games, and the only ‘open’ pick. Ahead of him were Andrew McLeod, who was zoned to Fremantle and traded to Adelaide in 1994, and Brisbane zone pick Jason Akermanis.

O’Loughlin, second on the Swans all-time goal-kicking list with 521, was the leading goal-kicker to come out of the 1994 draft year. Akermanis (425 goals), was second on that list from Scott Lucas, who was drafted at #4 by Essendon and kicked 471 goals.

The next best goal-kickers were Sydney’s first two picks at #2 and #3 overall who were stung by the go-home factor and played most of their career in Melbourne – Collingwood’s Anthony Rocca (415) and North Melbourne’s Shannon Grant (361).

Overall, the Swans have enjoyed a 21-17 win/loss record in Round 19 games during the Sydney era, going 12-8 at home and 9-9 away. Other Round 19 highlights include:

1991: Carroll, a 200^th Game Hero

As much as he would say otherwise, if there was another Round 19 moment that could sit alongside the Williams-Lockett-O’Loughlin celebrations it came in 1991, when one of the club’s all-time favorites, Dennis Carroll, played his 200^th game. And did it magnificently.

The boy from Ganmain, outside Wagga, had begun his AFL journey at the old Lake Oval in 1981 before making the move to Sydney. He’d captained the club from 1986, seeing them through some of the toughest of times, and was still in charge when he became the 13^th Swans player to his double century.

Coming off a four-point win over competition newcomers Adelaide at Football Park, Sydney were 12^th on the 15-team ladder as they prepared to host 13^th-placed Richmond, who had pushed 3rd-placed Hawthorn to six points a week earlier.

The Swans kicked 5-3 to 1-7 in the first term and were still 21 points up at halftime, but the Tigers, inspired by Chris Naish’s 30 possessions and five goals cut it to seven by the last change. It was tight thereafter, but the Swans hung on 14.15 (99) to 12.20 (92).

Carroll earned three Brownlow Medal votes for 32 possessions – the most among 29 Swans players in their 200^th since the introduction of statistics in 1965, and the first to be judged best afield in his 200th – a feat since emulated only by Kieren Jack in 2016.

2002: Caretaker Coach Roos

Rodney Eade had coached the Swans for the 152^nd and last time in Round 12, 2002, when they lost a two-point nail-biter to Geelong at the SCG after being 28 points up eight minutes into the final quarter. They were 14^th on the 16-team ladder with three wins and a draw from 12 games when Paul Roos was appointed interim coach.

Roos had started in mixed fashion. An SCG win over lowly Fremantle and an MCG loss to lowly Hawthorn before close losses to ladder leaders Port at the SCG and second-placed Brisbane away. They did just enough to beat bottom side Carlton at the Olympic Stadium before losing to 4^th-placed Adelaide at the SCG in Round 18.

In Round 19, still 13^th on the ladder, the Swans were the ‘away’ side against North Melbourne at the SCG, having ‘sold’ the game to the Kangaroos. And when they were 22 points down at halftime after the Roos had added 6-0 to 1-1 in the second term it didn’t look like a good decision.

By three-quarter time the Swans had cut the deficit to 11 but it could still have gone either way, until Paul Williams sparked a brutal fourth quarter onslaught which served as a huge vote of confidence from the players in the caretaker coach.

The Swans battered the Saints 10.5 to 1.1 in the final stanza to win 22.12 (144) to 15.7 (97), with Williams kicking three goals in the last to finish with 24 possessions, four goals and three Brownlow Medal votes.

Ryan O’Keefe earned two votes for 16 possessions and four goals, while Paul Kelly’s 28 possessions and three goals earned him one vote.

With Roos growing into the job daily, the Swans went on to win their last four games of the season, highlighted by a 68-point romp against fifth-placed Melbourne at the MCG in Round 21, to finish 11^th. They were on the way, and three years later, with Roos in charge of a side which included 13 members of the 2002 side, they won the club’s first flag in 72 years.