As the Sydney Swans prepare to face Collingwood in a Preliminary Final at the SCG, Joe Moore previews the upcoming sell out, speaks with Swans Hall of Famer Daryn Cresswell and writes of our spiritual home at the SCG.

What we choose to remember, and in what form, warps, and changes in ways that suit the heroic story we want to tell. Research has shown that memories can be detailed, vivid, and emotional yet, entirely invented.

So, with that in mind, what happens next?

With one minute remaining in the storied 1996 Preliminary Final, Daryn Cresswell marks a Tony Lockett kick within striking distance from goal. The Swans are a goal down, the SCG crowd reaches fever pitch, and a debilitating hamstring cramp fells Cresswell. 

Of course, we all know our newest Swans Hall of Famer levels the scores before Lockett wins the match, after the siren, with the most famous point in our history. It still seems like a dream.

Thousands then stormed the field, and Paul Roos described the ear-splitting noise of the 41,731 in attendance as though it were more like 100,000. Until now, that's been the only Swans' preliminary final played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and for a reflective Cresswell, it's as though he's been transported back to that magical night.

'From where we'd come from to where we ended up that year was quite unbelievable,' he says. 'It was a really substantial night for our club - home prelim, big crowd, and what an epic game it was.'

'That feeling when Plugger kicked his point, and everyone ran onto the ground was incredible. It's something you don't see too often these days. When you win a game like that, and you see the smiles on the faces of people like Richard Colless, Andrew McMaster, Peter Weinert, and Mike Willessee, it's an amazing feeling.'

Including that watershed season, our spiritual home has now played host to eight finals matches, with six of those proving victorious. All in all, we've saluted in fourteen of nineteen Sydney finals, winning four of five home prelims. 

While two vastly different eras, Cresswell sees certain traits prominent in his day, reflected in the current team. 

'When Roosy brought the Bloods culture in, that really set the foundation of what we stand for as a footy club, and that has flowed on through our leaders like Stewy Maxfield, through Kirky, through Goodesy, through Macca McVeigh, and now through Dane Rampe, who's one of my favourite players.'

'I love Rampe, how he plays and how much the club means to him. You can see that leadership flow through, and the leaders pass on that culture, which has really held the club in good stead,' Cresswell says.

In the qualifying final win over reigning premiers Melbourne at the MCG, many aspects impressed. The standout moments highlighted the intensity synonymous with Bloods football. Who could forget the Robbie Fox smother, Jake Lloyd's courage under the high ball, or Ollie Florent's searing pass that dissected three Demons to find its way into Luke Parker's safe hands?

It was a night to remember, and the Swans excelled in three critical defensive facets. We rated a phenomenal 200 points for pressure, while the league average is 180. Our Bloods cracked in for 82 tackles. League average? 58. We made twenty-five of those tackles in our forward fifty. Incredibly, on average, that happens ten times per game.

Saturday's matchup with the Magpies demands a repeat of those efforts, and Cresswell, like us all, is excited to see what our young team can do.

'I love what Horse has been able to do with this team, and they speak about him a lot; how he's been bringing them together is really important,' Cresswell says.

'I really like their togetherness. They play for each other in every regard. They've obviously got a lot of skill and talent as well, but the belief that Horse and the leaders have instilled in them is amazing.'

'They bring that Bloods presence to every game they play. You're not going to win them all, but it gives you a greater opportunity of doing so; I think that finals footy is all about pressure and togetherness, and I reckon we're going to be really hard to beat,' adds Cresswell.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. 

During the year of South Melbourne's inception, 1874, teamwork rather than individual brilliance emerged for the first time as the key to victory. The game was in its infancy, and a strategy called 'little marking' changed the sport. In essence, it was the first attempt at controlling and sharing the ball.

In James Coventry's Time and Space, he tells how journalist of the time, Alexander Sutherland, portrayed the code for his British audience:

 'As with the Association game of England, the great aim in the Australian game is to get a team well drilled and accustomed to play into one another's hands. Individual prowess is of no avail against a team which acts with automatic precision, each player's individuality lost in the concerted movements of the whole, each man's yearning for his own personal distinction being subordinate to the honour of the team.'

Is it just me, or has Sutherland succeeded in articulating the Sydney Swans ethos here? 

Cresswell's former teammate, Brad Seymour, once told me that resilience reverberates around the walls of the Sydney Swans Football Club, his view informed by many years of blood, sweat, sacrifice, and tears.

The events of Cresswell's post-football life have challenged him deeply personally. At the club's Hall of Fame dinner in June, tears flowed as he came back into the fold. Another former teammate, Michael O'Loughlin, eloquently conveyed the love in the room.

'Life's all about learning. I'm helping people today who are in a similar position to what I was and want to be helped. Through my rough times, I felt embarrassed about what happened and letting the club down, and I'm just really grateful to be back,' he adds.

'I've had some really enjoyable moments in Sydney. I've played in finals, played in a Grand Final, won a best and fairest, and was named in the Team of the Century. But that night this year was the most enjoyable and pivotal night I've had at the club.'

'I've got so much respect for the club, and people at the club, the work they've done. You don't often get an accolade like that, and I just love the club; I always have. I'm just so grateful that the club has opened its arms to my family and me - my boys love the Swans too. I'm stoked that I've been able to come back and can feel relaxed in that environment again,' Cresswell says.

You often hear of footy clubs described as families. Now, for the McCartins and the Warners, they're one and the same, but for the rest of us, our club represents connection. It represents mateship, a unique bond, and instills an enormous sense of pride in us all.

The 1996 team did, the 2022 team does, and all those in between. When Saturday's match finally arrives, that affinity will permeate through the SCG, and when that moment of truth comes, have no doubt; that our Bloods are ready.

David King recently described our team as being 'so honest that it's scary.' The past eight weeks have epitomised the accountability and two-way running responsibility that is non-negotiable when you pull on the red and white - so prevalent against the Demons, so required against the Magpies.

'The way we play and our culture means that we don't rely on someone going out and kicking five goals, getting best on ground,' Cresswell says.

'It's about everyone contributing to the cause, and that's the real strength of our side. We don't rely on any given player to dominate; we're so even right across the board, which makes us hard to match up on and very hard to play against.'

Every sunset brings a new dawn. Australia will watch as the blaze of colour disappears behind the iconic Members' Stand, with the victor to live another day. Whether that's us, time will tell, but we'll play with an honesty that gives us every chance. 

The Sydney Swans are in the 2022 Finals Series, and it’s Bloody Exciting! Show your passion for the red and white by dressing your home, business or street in club colours. Find out more about our Finals Fences here.