Never has a ‘dead rubber’ between two teams 12^th and 14^th on the ladder been more important than it was in Round 22, 2002, when the Sydney Swans beat Richmond by 40 points at the Olympic Stadium.

It was important because it sent club champions Paul Kelly and Andrew Dunkley into retirement on a high note, and it was important because it was Paul Williams’ 100^th career win in a game in which he locked away back-to-back Bob Skilton Medals.

But it was much, much more important in the big picture. Because it confirmed the appointment of the coach who three years later would take the Swans to a premiership that ended a 72-year drought.

It was such a significant moment in club history that, as the celebrations of the Swans’ 40 years in Sydney reach fever pitch, it headlines the “Remember When – Round 22” piece this week.

Paul Roos had been caretaker coach for the last 10 games of the season after Rodney Eade had resigned at Round 12 with his side 14^th on the ladder at 3-1-8.

Roos was in only his second season as a member of the coaching staff, and at the time of his appointment his most significant ‘win’ as a coach had been taking the United States national team to a win over Canada in 2000 after his playing retirement in 1999.

It was widely assumed across the football landscape that Roos was only keeping the coach’s seat warm for Terry Wallace, who had stood down as Western Bulldogs coach in the belief that the job was his even though nothing had been guaranteed.

But the football landscape hadn’t counted on Roos turning the Swans season around, with the Round 22 win over the Tigers their fourth in a row and enough to see them finish a much more respectable 11^th at 9-1-12.

Roos had been hugely popular with Swans fans during the last four years of his playing career, helping the club to the 1996 grand final and showing the way for a host of young players.

Suddenly there was a new phenomenon at the SCG …. people power. The overwhelming majority of the fans wanted Roos to be appointed full-time coach. They even brought back the famous ‘Rooooos’ chant which had been a trademark of his playing days at Fitzroy and Sydney.

They beat 7^th-placed North Melbourne by 47 points at the SCG in Round 19, 15^th-placed St Kilda by seven points at the SCG in Round 20, and thumped 5^th-placed Melbourne at the MCG by 68 points in Round 21.

Round 22 was the final act in the Roos audition, and after they trailed by one point at quarter-time and four points at halftime the Swans did it in style, kicking 12.4 to 5.2 in the second half to win 17.14 (116) to 11.10 (76).

Daryn Cresswell topped the possession count with 30, Barry Hall kicked five goals, and after Richmond’s Ray Hall picked up the only three-vote Brownlow Medal rating of his 99-game career Williams received two votes and Nic Fosdike one.

After picking up his last Brownlow vote in Round 20 and kicking his 200^th and last goal in Round 21, Kelly went out in style in his 234^th game. Having suffered nine consecutive losses in his first season in 1990, he finished with four wins on the trot.

Dunkley likewise after 217 games. And he’d had an even tougher introduction to AFL football in 1992, losing the last 13 games of his first season in a streak that stretched to 22 the following year.

Williams, who won the Bob Skilton Medal in his first season with the Swans in 2001, had 20 possessions in Round 22 to become the first player since Kelly in 1996-97 to go back-to-back. Only Josh Kennedy in 2015-16 has do so since.

It was all too much for the Swans hierarchy to ignore. The public wanted Roos as coach. The players wanted Roos as coach. And so, Roos was appointed senior coach for 2003 to begin a golden era which climaxed with the ‘Leo Barry You Star’ moment and the 2005 grand final premiership.

Overall, in Round 22 matches during the Sydney era the Swans have enjoyed a 22-17 win/loss record after starting 0-5. They’ve won their last seven Round 22 matches and curiously are 13-11 away and 9-6 at home.

But the definition of ‘Round 22’ has varied. Not always has it been the last round of the home-and-away season, when it’s finals or bust. In 1991-92-94 and in 2011 there were still two rounds to go after Round 22, and since 2012 there has been one round after Round 22 – except in the Covid season of 2020 when there were only 18 rounds.

Other Round 22 highlights for the Swans have included:

1988 – A Two-Part Mission

The Swans were on a two-part mission in Round 22, 1988. To jump three spots on the ladder and into the finals, and to help Gerard Healy win the Brownlow Medal.

The first part was always going to be tough. Sitting 8^th on the 14-team ladder a win and a manageable percentage outside the top five, they needed to beat 13^th-placed Brisbane at Carrara and have two other results go their way: 6^th-placed Essendon had to lose to bottom side St Kilda at Waverley, and 7^th-placed Footscray had to lose to 4^th-placed West Coast in Melbourne to sneak into the finals.

They did their part – just.  After trailing at every change, and by 10 points at three-quarter time, they kicked 2.6 to 0.2 to win 10.21 (81) to 11.11 (77), with Greg Williams and Mitchell collecting 68 possessions and kicking four goals between them to lead the way.

West Coast did their bit by knocking off Footscray, but it was asking too much for the battling Saints to get over the top of the Bombers – especially as the Bombers celebrated Simon Madden’s 300^th game and Glenn Hawker’s 200^th.

So, the Swans had to be content with 7^th spot.

The second part of the mission was difficult to assess. Gerard Healy was a warm Brownlow favorite with the bookmakers, having averaged a League-high 28.5 possessions and 1.3 goals per game, but there were plenty of challengers. And it got a whole lot tougher when Healy missed the last game of the season.

So, it all came down to a nail-biting count.

At the halfway mark Hawthorn’s Tony Hall (12) led from Essendon’s Simon Madden (11), Collingwood’s Darren Millane (10) and ex-Swan Shane Morwood (10), Healy (9) and Footscray’s Peter Foster (9).

In Round 12 Millane polled three votes to go to the front. In Round 14 Healy picked up two to get himself back into the picture but was quickly on the back foot again when Madden picked up three votes. A new leader at 14 before Healy polled three votes in Round 15 for joint leaders at 15.

In Round 16 Madden received two votes and Healy three. It was Healy 18 from Madden 17. Neither player polled in Round 17 or Round 18 before Healy’s three-vote rating in Round 19 gave him a four-vote buffer.

But knowing Healy hadn’t played in Round 22 made it tough. That was until neither player polled in Rounds 20-21, meaning that Healy was home regardless of what happened in Round 22. And when Madden failed to poll in his 300^th game it finished Healy (20) from Madden (16) and the fast-finishing Jason Dunstall from Hawthorn (16). Hall (15) was fourth.

And so, with Swans great Greg Williams having shared the 1986 Brownlow with Hawthorn’s Robert Dipierdomenico the club had two Brownlow Medals in seven years in the Harbour City.

1996 – A Minor Premiership

The Swans had won the VFL/AFL minor premiership six times in 1909-12-18-35-36-45, but it had been an even half century since they had last finished top of the home-and-away ladder as they went into the League’s centenary season in 1996.

It was a tough slog early. Sitting 15^th after Round 1, one spot off the bottom, they were 14^th-12^th-10^th-8^th-7^th-5^th-7^th-7^th-5^th-5^th to the halfway mark at Round 11. They picked up after that, going 4^th-4^th-2^nd-1^st-1^st-2^nd-2^nd-1^st-1^st.

But after an 18-point loss to 7^th-placed Essendon at the MCG in Round 21 they slipped to 2^nd. They were equal on points with the Brisbane Bears but 7.7% behind them.

In Round 22 Brisbane were to play 11^th-placed Collingwood at Victoria Park on the Saturday afternoon before the Swans faced a tough finish against 3^rd-placed West Coast at the SCG on the Saturday night.

The Pies did their bit when they upset the Bears to close out Tony Shaw’s first season as coach, but still the Swans had to beat the Eagles.

They were 27 points up at quarter-time before the visitors to cut it to four points at halftime. The home side regained the upper hand with a 4.4 to 2.1 third term, and ran away with it in the last to take the points and the minor premiership 12.13 (85) to 6.14 (50).

Daryn Cresswell was best afield with a team-high 26 possessions and a goal, while Greg Stafford took two Brownlow votes for 14 possessions and a dominant display in the ruck.

The Swans went on to beat Hawthorn by four points in the qualifying final and Essendon by a solitary point in the preliminary final, when Tony Lockett kicked a point after the siren, but lost by 43 points to North Melbourne in the Grand Final.

2011 – What Are The Odds?

In their first season under John Longmire Sydney were clinging grimly to 8^th spot on the ladder heading into Round 22 in 2011, half a game ahead of 9th-placed Fremantle as they prepared to take on 6^th-placed St Kilda at Stadium Australia.

It was a huge game and pretty much line ball with the bookies. But what do you think would have been the odds if you’d been told the Swans would trail at every change and would not have even one multiple goal-kicker?

Probably not good, but that’s exactly what happened. And still they won by 15 points – 10.23 (83) to 10.8 (68).

Down by 10 points at quarter-time and half-time and seven points at three-quarter time, they had 355 possessions for 10 straight kicks – one goal each to Rhyce Shaw, Dan Hannebery, Jarrad McVeigh, Adam Goodes, Shane Mumford, Ryan O’Keefe, Jude Bolton, Matt Spangher, Sam Reid and Jesse White.

Mumford had 54 hit-outs to go with his goal and 16 possessions for three Brownlow Medal votes, while Goodes added 21 possessions to his goal for two votes.

But still the job wasn’t done. This was one of those 24-round seasons, and it took a 13-point Swans win over 2^nd-placed Geelong at Kardinia Park in Round 23 and a 52-point win over lowly Brisbane at the SCG in Round 24 just to secure 7^th spot. They accounted for Essendon by 25 points in the first week of the finals before being eliminated by Hawthorn.

2017 – A Last-Gasp Win

There’s nothing like a really good Round 22 win to bolster the confidence levels going into the finals, and that’s exactly what the Swans got when they played top side Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in 2017.

Up by 11 points at three-quarter time the Swans suddenly found themselves nine points down 20 minutes into the final term. They needed someone to stand up and they got it. First it was Sam Reid who put the visitors within a kick, and then it was Tom Papley who got them over the line.

They won 13.5 (83) to 11.14 (80) in front of a Friday night crowd of 51,566 to guarantee themselves a finals berth, with Josh Kennedy picking up three Brownlow Medal votes for 31 possessions and a goal, and Lance Franklin one vote for 16 possessions and three goals.

They beat lowly Carlton by 81 points at the MCG in Round 23 to finish 6^th and pumped Essendon by 65 points at the SCG in week one of the finals before being eliminated by Geelong.