In a series new to 2019, we revisit moments in history involving the Sydney Swans’ round-by-round opposition.

History, nostalgia and memories form a special part of what makes Australian rules football great, and we hope the Footy Flashbacks series reignites some of your fondest Swans moments.

In the latest edition, we wind back time to the day Nick Davis booted four final-term goals in Sydney’s 2005 semi-final clash with Geelong, ripping victory from the grasp of the Cats before a raucous SCG crowd.

There are few moments in Sydney Swans history that eclipse Nick Davis’ last-term heroics in the club’s 2005 semi-final clash with the Geelong Cats.

His four-goal performance at the SCG is among the 33 items on the club’s revered Heritage List, sitting alongside Leo Barry’s 2005 Grand Final mark, the Swans players lost at war, the famed Swans guernsey and a trove of other sacred threads that form the fabric of the club.

It was Davis’ fourth last-quarter goal that stole victory in the do-or-die encounter, putting the Swans ahead by three points in the dying seconds of the match en route to a 7.14 (56) to 7.11 (53) win. 

As the final siren reverberated throughout the SCG, the footy world was already comparing Davis’ go-ahead goal to Tony Lockett’s behind in the 1996 preliminary final, which booked the Swans their first grand final appearance since 1945 

Hordes of Swans and Cats jumpers swamped the final ruck contest of the 2005 match as Sydney big man Jason Ball wrestled with Henry Playfair at the goalmouth.

The Sherrin tumbled through the air, Ball tapped the footy to his left and a swift Davis snatched possession, juggled and banged through the goal to send the 39,079-strong crowd delirious.

Almost 14 years on, Ball has offered Swans Media a glimpse into the final tense seconds of the match.

Star Sydney Swans forward Nick Davis enjoyed a night to savour.

“We knew it was pretty tight and there can’t have been a great deal of time left until the final siren,” Ball said.

“It was a scramble, we were trying to create space in the thick of congestion and for Nick to kick a goal out of a congested pack like that was amazing.

“Intense. Exhaustion. You’re sh*tting yourself because you knew whatever action you made next could win or lose the game, so we were all certainly on edge – that was for sure.

“If we had lost it would have been my last game of footy, so for me to be able to go another week and go down to Melbourne to play in a preliminary final was really exciting – and it was all part of the emotion. We had come back from being a long way behind, he hadn’t played our best footy, conditions were really tough and Nick’s contribution of four goals in the last quarter was one of the best quarters of footy anyone’s ever played.”

Sydney Swans fans were very happy with what the mailman delivered the morning after the semi-final clash.

Sydney champion Michael O’Loughlin slotted the opening goal of the game, but Swans fans would have very little to cheer about again until the final quarter.

Sydney didn’t score a goal between the 25-minute mark of the first term and the 26-minute mark of the third quarter, and in that time Geelong piled on four goals straight to establish a game-high 24-point lead.

The Swans’ second term was particularly uninspiring.

On a dour night of SCG footy, the Cats scrounged three second-term goals and kept the Swans to none, prompting Sydney coach Paul Roos to label his side’s second-quarter performance post-match as “really, really bad”.

The Cats thumped the Swans 15-5 in inside 50s in the second term as their star-studded midfield brigade squeezed the lifeblood out of the home side.

The fact the SCG groundstaff watered the turf three hours before the opening bounce was believed to be a significant reason for the ugly nature of footy.

Respected journalist Peter Lalor summed up the game to perfection.

“There were so many numbers around the ball it appeared to be played in a closet,” Lalor wrote in The Daily Telegraph.

The ball had little room to move in the dour 2005 semi-final affair between the Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats.

But although a struggling Sydney outfit had produced a dreary first three quarters of footy, Ball said he never doubted the possibility of a spirited comeback.

“One thing we had as a group was genuine belief in each other,” Ball said. 

“We knew that whatever was happening in the game, or how many points we were down, that we always had a feeling we had the ability to peg it back. We had a game plan that was pretty structured which allowed us to either close the game down or open the game up. So not once did I think we were going to lose the game, but it was about concentrating on what we had to do for the next 30 seconds: where we had to stand, where the footy had to go and who had to be involved. It was all around the game plan.”

Ball still marvels at the footballer Davis was. 

“He was the most talented footballer I ever played with,” Ball said.

“He knew where to be, he had amazing skills with the footy in hand and his instincts were incredible. I think that’s probably what makes him a good coach today. His insight into the game is the best I’ve seen.” 

Sydney Swans ruckman Jason Ball in action against Richmond in Round 14, 2005.

Davis amassed 168 games for Collingwood and Sydney in the years spanning 1999-2008, while Ball chalked up 193 matches for West Coast and Sydney between 1992 and 2005.

Ball retired with a 2005 premiership medal, played in West Coast’s 1994 premiership and was the Eagles’ 1995 leading goal-kicker.

Ball and his wife Jane now call Sydney’s eastern suburbs home and are the parents of three children: 19-year-old Zac, and 17-year-old twins Mattison and McKenzie. 

Outside his family life, the former Swan has worked as an AFL commissioner since December 2014 – and he says he considers himself very fortunate to have a role carrying so much responsibility.

“You’re running 18 teams and you’re running the AFLW as well,” Ball said.

“You’ve got development challenges in terms of making sure facilities and participation are strong, and you’ve got really strong growth in women’s footy, so there’s always that which needs attention. I am very lucky to be a position to do what I do.”

But although Ball keeps “a neutral perspective” at the front of mind when he’s wearing his commissioner cap, he says he’s one-eyed when cheering on the Swans.

“When I’m at a Swans game my heart is red and white.”