Warning: Some of the content in this story may cause heartache for loyal Swans fans of the early 1990s. But it has a happy ending.
The ending came 26 years ago today, at about 4:45pm on Sunday afternoon, 27 June 1993, when the final siren at the SCG signified a 40-point Swans win over Melbourne.
It was as if the home team had won a final. Or more. The sheer delight that exploded through the entire red and white camp and among a small but loyal crowd of 8250 was enormous. And with very good reason.
It was a win that ended 413 days of Swans agony and a 26-games losing streak.
It was the ninth longest losing streak in AFL history, and the Swans’ second-longest losing streak behind only a 29-game stretch in 1972-73.
It took in every opposition side in the then 15-team competition, was spread across 10 different venues in each mainland State capital, including 12 games at the SCG, and involved three coaches and 51 players.
If captain Paul Kelly and Neil Brunton were over-zealous in their celebrations it was quickly forgiven because they were entitled. They had played in all 26 losses after the Swans previous win in Round 8 1992 by 74 points against the Brisbane Bears at the SCG.
Likewise Mark Bayes, who had played in 24 and Andrew Dunkley 22.
David Strooper and Dale Lewis watched the celebrations with mixed feelings. They had played in 25 and 22 of the losses respectively, but missed the breakthrough win through injury.
So, too, did Simon Minton-Connell. He’d played 20 of the 26 losses and had kicked 72 goals, with bags of 7-8-5-7-6-5 during the stretch, to almost double the club’s next highest goal-kicker during the stretch - Strooper (39).
Gareth John was also in the mixed emotion camp. He had had played in nine of the losses and was dropped for the breakthrough win over Melbourne. He never played for the Swans again, heading to North for one game in 1994.
And at the other end of the scale, Richard Ambrose had played in only one of the 26 losses before sharing in the end-of-streak celebrations, although his career ended with his third and last game the following week.
Jamie Lawson, four weeks out of the side after playing in 18 consecutive losses, also returned for the drought-breaking win.
There were so many unforgettable stories of a day and a period that hardcore Swans fans remember for good and for bad.
Heading into a Round 13 match that would go down in club history, the Demons coached by Neil Balme and captained by Garry Lyon, started warm favourites against the winless Swans.
The visitors were 10th on the ladder with a 5-6 record but had beaten fourth-placed Collingwood and third-placed Essendon in their two previous outings.
The Swans led by three points at halftime after scores had been level at quarter time. And then, sparked by a brilliant burst from Richard Osborne, they blitzed the Demons 10-4 to 0-1in the third quarter to grab an unassailable lead.
It was enough to bring on raw scenes of emotion from long-suffering home fans from early in the final term, and by the time the final siren sounded on a 23-11 (149) to 16-13 (109) win there were tears all over the place.
The players stayed on the ground for a prolonged period after the siren before a private moment with all and sundry deep in the bowels of the SCG.
If they’d had the celebration circle of the modern era for the ceremonial singing of the club song it would have been an odd look, with as many players in the middle of the circle as on the outside. Because for half of the side it was their first Sydney win.
Daryn Cresswell had waited 18 AFL games for his first win, Jason Mooney 12, Scott Direen five and Richard Ambrose two. Off-season recruits Dean McRae and Scott Watters had played 12 Swans game before finally getting a breakthrough win. Jayson Daniels and Paul Bryce nine games, Osborne eight and Tony Begovich four.
Ron Barassi, too, celebrated his first win as Swans coach in his seventh game in charge.
Barassi had stepped into the job in Round 7 to relieve Round 5-6 caretaker coach Brett Scott, who had taken over when Gary Buckenara, coach from the start of 1992, had exited at Round 4.
It had been a slow build for the master. In his second game at the helm Barassi had overseen a 162-point loss to the Bears at the Gabba, which was the club’s second-biggest loss ever – three points less than a 165-point hiding from Essendon at Windy Hill in 1984.
Barassi, one of the original hard men of football, admitted he had “cried a little” after the win. “I feel extra good. I haven’t been here as long as those other guys. They’re really crying,” he said.
And rightly so. It was the beginning of a new era.
The breakthrough win of 27 June 1993 was the Swans’ only win of that year, but they had four wins in 1994 and eight wins in 1995, and 16 home-and-away wins and a draw in 1996, plus two finals win, including their first since 1945. And they played in the grand final.
Never has the club returned to the struggles of 26 losses in a row.
As is so often said, it is in the good times that you should really appreciate the dark times. And what it takes to fight through the tough periods. Just as Barassi, Kelly and their team did 26 years ago today.
So, the breakthrough match is highlighted here to recognise the efforts of those who worked so hard to help establish what is now one of the most respected clubs in the AFL.
Osborne, who had moved to Sydney from Fitzroy in 1993 via the Pre-Season Draft, was the hero of the drought-breaking win, which turned out to be the only win of his only season with the club.
The high-flying blonde forward kicked 10 goals to become became the sixth of what is now eight players to kick or more 10 goals in a match for the Swans, following Harold Robertson (1919), Bob Pratt (1933), Lindsay White (1942), Jack Graham (1948) and Warwick Capper (1986) and preceding Tony Lockett (1995) and Lance Franklin (2017).
Remarkably, Osborne’s most celebrated moment in a red and white jumper came a month after he had been taken from the SCG in an ambulance following an accidental head clash with teammate Lewis that left the prized newcomer convulsing on the turf.
Curiously, too, it was only good enough to earn Osborne two Brownlow Medal votes.
Scott Watters, who had begun a two-year stint at Sydney in 1993 after four years at West Coast and ahead of two years at Fremantle (1995-96), earned three votes for 20 disposals. Brunton, with 12 disposals, received one vote.
Murphy (26), Bryce (25) and Bayes (21) led the Swans possession count, while Cresswell kicked three goals and Bryce, Scott Direen and Murphy two.
In the Melbourne side, Steven Febey played his 100th game, Allen Jakovich kicked six goals, Todd Viney had 33 possessions and an 18-year-old David Neitz, later to become the Demons’ first 300-gamer and club record-holder, played his 18th game.
The 26-game losing streak had taken in the last 15 games of 1992 and the first 11 games of 1993, and included three games against Richmond, one game against Adelaide, Collingwood and Melbourne, and two games each other club.
It was tough going. Very tough.
Of 104 quarters the Swans won 25 and split three. Four times in 26 games they led at quarter-time, twice they led at halftime, twice they led at three-quarter time, and they were level at each change once.
Only once in 26 games did the opposition fail to score 100 points – in the 26th game against the Western Bulldogs - and 17 times the opposition scored 126 points or more.
Only three times was the losing margin below 25 points, nine times it was between 26-50 points, and 11 times it was between 51-75 points. The average was 54.7 points. Or nine goals and change.
Of 156 Brownlow Medal votes awarded in Swans games during the steak the Swans picked up 24 – 14 in 15 games in 1992 and eight in 11 games in 1993. Kelly got 10 of them from one three-vote rating, three two-vote ratings and one one-voting rating. Lewis polled twice for five votes, Tunbridge one three-voter, Simon Minton-Connell two singles, and Jamie Lawson, Barry Mitchell, Paul Bryce and Sanford Wheeler one single.
And interestingly, in undeniable proof of how the game has changed since 1992-93, despite having an aggregate percentage through this period of 54.7, the Swans still topped 100 points five times and averaged 85.5 points per game while conceding 140.2 points per game.
In 13 games this year, of which they’ve won five, the Swans have averaged 77.9 points for and 84.5 points against.
Of the eight games the Swans have lost this year, a score of 85.5 points like they averaged during the 26-game losing streak would have won three of them and seen them lose two others by 2.5 points and 3.5 points.
Through the 26-game stretch no less than 22 players joined the all-time Swans playing list, from player #1219 Gary Stevens, through #1220 Damien Angove, #1221 Jason Mooney, #1222 Stuart Wigney, #1223 Daryn Cresswell, #1224 Paul Atkins, #1225 Robert Neal, #1226 Paul Bryce, #1227 Ed Considine, #1228 Jayson Daniels, #1229 John Hutton, #1230 Nathan Irvin, #1231 Tony Malakellis, #1232 Dean McRae, #1233 Richard Osborne, #1234 Scott Watters, #1235 Michael Werner, #1236 Greg Stafford, #1237 Tony Begovich, #1238 Andrew Thomson and #1239 Scott Direen to #1240 Richard Ambrose.
Three club greats wore the red and white for the last time during this period.
Stevie Wright played his 246th and last game in Round 24 1992, Dennis Carroll his 219th and last game in Round 5 1993 and David Murphy his 156th and last in Round 22 1993. All were later named in the Swans Team of the Century,
The Wright farewell game was also the 170th and last for Barry Mitchell before he moved first to Collingwood and later Carlton.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom. Five members of the breakthrough winning side of Round 13 went on to play in the 1996 grand final – Bayes, Cresswell, Dunkley, Kelly and Mooney. Likewise Lewis. And Troy Luff and Greg Stafford, who had been much lesser parts of the long losing streak.
The 51 players who were part of the 26-game losing streak, in reverse order of how many games they played, were
26: Neil Brunton (*), Paul Kelly (*)
25: David Strooper
24: Mark Bayes (*)
22: Andrew Dunkley (*), Dale Lewis
20: Simon Minton-Connell
19: Brad Tunbridge
18: Jamie Lawson (*)
17: Daryn Cresswell (*)
16: Darren Holmes (*), Craig Nettlebeck
15: Darren Kappler, Barry Mitchell
14: David Murphy (*), Sanford Wheeler (*)
13: Gavin Rose
12: Leon Higgins (*)
11: Dean McRae (*), Jason Mooney (*), Scott Watters (*)
10: Troy Gray ,Troy Luff, Andrew McGovern (*)
9: Dennis Carroll, Gareth John, Stevie Wright
8: Paul Bryce (*), Jayson Daniels (*), Michael Werner
7: Ed Considine, Neil Cordy, Ben Doolan, Richard Osborne (*)
5: John Hutton, Tony Malakellis, Gary Stevens
4: Damien Angove, Scott Direen (*), Terry Thripp
3: Tony Begovich (*)
2: Paul Atkins, Dion Scott, Greg Stafford, Andrew Thomson
1: Richard Ambrose (*), Nathan Irvin, Jason Love, Robert Neill, Alan Thorpe, Stuart Wigney.
(*) denotes members of the side that broke the 26-game losing streak.
The 10 longest losing streaks in AFL history have been:
51 – University – 1912-14
48 – St Kilda – 1897-99
35 – North Melbourne 1933-35
33 – North Melbourne 1930-32
29 – South Melbourne 1972-73
27 – St Kilda 1900-01
27 – Hawthorn 1927-29
27 – Fitzroy 1963-65
26 – Sydney 1992-93
23 – St Kilda 1901-03
