In the lead-up to the Swans round 8 home match against Melbourne, which will celebrate the Club’s 30 years in Sydney, sydneyswans.com.au is collating the 30 Defining Moments of the Swans in Sydney in chronological order.

The 30 Defining Moments have been selected by Sydney Swans Chairman, Richard Colless, Deputy Chairman, Andrew McMaster, and Swans Hall of Fame inductee and former Club captain, coach, and director, Rick Quade.

#17 - Paul Roos appointed senior coach, 2002

Following Rodney Eade’s resignation as the senior coach of the Sydney Swans after three wins and a draw from the first 11 games of the 2002 season, the club appointed former player and assistant coach at the time, Paul Roos as caretaker coach.

With Roos confirmed as the stand-in coach, the Swans actively sought a permanent replacement for Eade who had been at the helm for 152 games since the beginning of 1996. North Melbourne’s Denis Pagan was one of the coaches in contention, but it looked more likely the club would make a play for Western Bulldogs’ coach Terry Wallace.

Meanwhile Roos was building a strong reputation during his tenure, with the team playing inspired, honest football. Heading into the round 22 clash against Richmond, Roos had coached the team to five wins from nine games.

When Wallace resigned from his role at the Bulldogs, many believed he would get the vacant coaching job in Sydney, but Swans fans and players showed their support for Roos in the final game of the season. Many supporters brought pro-Roos banners to the match at Stadium Australia, and the players ran their hearts out for four quarters against the Tigers, mobbing Roos at the conclusion of the game after a convincing 40-point win.

Following the outpouring of support for Roos, there was little doubt he would get the role full-time, and on September 14, 2002, the club announced the appointment of Paul Roos as the Sydney Swans senior coach.

In Roos’ first summer in charge, Stuart Maxfield was made the new captain of the club following the retirement of Paul Kelly. While several key players of the future made their way to Sydney in Jarrad McVeigh, Nick Malceski, Sean Dempster, Nick Davis and Craig Bolton. These players would play crucial roles in the Swans success both on and off the field during Roos’ time in charge of the Swans.

Roos’ first game as permanent senior coach of the Swans resulted in a 74-point drubbing of Carlton, with Barry Hall kicking four goals and Adam Goodes registering 28 touches. In his first full season in charge, Roos led the Swans to a home preliminary final appearance against the back-to-back reigning premiers, Brisbane. After a tight and courageous first three quarters, the Swans were eventually overrun by the powerhouse Lions side, who went on to win their third successive premiership a week later.

Roos went on to coach the Swans for a club record 202 games, finishing with 116 wins and the club’s first premiership in 72 years in 2005.

Described by Swans Chairman Richard Colless as “the greatest coach in the Club’s long history - and by a fair margin”, Roos stepped down as senior coach at the conclusion of the 2010 season.

Roos is currently the Head Coach of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy, and was inducted into the Swans Hall Of Fame in April last year.