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 Sydney grabbed its first win under coach Rodney Eade in a 1996 clash with Collingwood.

Troy Luff was zapped of energy as he lumbered up the race at the SCG for the Sydney Swans’ clash with Collingwood in Round 3, 1996.

Although he had just enjoyed one of the most special moments of his life, welcoming a first-born child at midnight just two days before a game of AFL footy is enough to wipe anyone.

But three hours later, as Luff and his teammates belted out a rousing rendition of the victory song, a 34-point win over the Magpies had clearly reignited the spark in both Luff and the struggling Swans.

Life under Sydney coach Rodney Eade had got off to a rocky start. 

His 21 men had opened their season with a 90-point loss to Adelaide, before stumbling in a 29-point defeat to Fremantle in Round 2.

It had also been a long time since Swans fans had supported a truly competitive outfit.

They hadn’t seen their team play finals footy since 1987, and the Swans had reached September only twice since the 1982 relocation from South Melbourne to Sydney.

But on Sunday, April 14, 1996, in front of a 17,674-strong crowd, the Swans would beat a club they had defeated just once in their previous nine attempts.

And not only did it kick-start a run of five undefeated games and put the Swans on the path to their first finals series in nine years, the team would power on to make its first grand final appearance since 1945.

On a personal note, Luff had managed just 42 games in his first six years in red and white, but the withdrawal of champion defender Paul Roos due to injury would present Luff with his first game of the 1996 season.

He seized the opportunity, playing a pivotal role in the win, holding his place in the side and playing 23 games in 1996, and ultimately finishing his career in 2001 as a veteran of 155 matches.

Luff will never forget the importance of Round 3, 1996 to the upswing that followed for Sydney.

Sydney Swans coach Rodney Eade addresses his charges in the 1996 Grand Final against North Melbourne.

“It came with a lot of relief to get that first win. At the start of the year our expectations weren’t that high because the previous year we had only won a handful of games under Ron Barassi. Then when Rodney Eade came along he was a fresh, new coach, it was his first senior role and he brought with him a more relaxed approach to football,” Luff told Swans Media.

“Because we didn’t have expectations of having an amazing year, it was a good win. We were excited, we were pumped and it was the start of a really good run of some great wins. The confidence that Eade had instilled in the team just grew and grew to the point that we thought we’d win every game. Coming from a mentality where you win once every four or five or six weeks, to all of a sudden having the mentality that you’re not going to lose – it was great.

“I remember how good everyone felt on the day. It was like we were a bunch of kids going out to play a game of footy, and then when the siren went we were like, ‘Yeah, what a great win!’

“It made us think, ‘Maybe we can win again and just keep going’. We were all just so relaxed, we kept enjoying ourselves and we just wanted to see what happened – and that was the new attitude of the team.”

Star Sydney Swans forward Tony Lockett in action against Collingwood in 1998.

Sydney’s Paul Kelly gathered 25 touches and three goals in an outstanding captain’s performance, while Tony Lockett, ruckman Greg Stafford and defender Andrew Dunkley were awarded the Brownlow Medal votes.

In his three-vote performance, the hero of the day was powerhouse Sydney forward Lockett, now the greatest goal-kicker in the history of the game, who booted eight goals to lead his side to a 15.17 (107) to 10.13 (73) victory.

After kicking just five goals over the opening two rounds of the season – miserly by Lockett’s lofty standards – his eight-goal haul had set him on his way to scoring 121 majors in a Coleman Medal year.

“During the 1996 season, he just got better and better, and I think that Collingwood game was his personal confidence-changer for the season,” Luff said.

“He had always been a confident player and a fantastic player, but that game really got him going for the year and he went on to kick over 100 goals again. He kicked eight goals on one of the best full-backs in the competition in Craig Kelly and his season was up and running.”

Luff looks back on his individual performance with immense pride, recalling he kept dangerous Collingwood forward Mark Richardson to just one goal and two marks.

He was filling in for a man who would retire as a seven-time All Australian, and he says Roos still loves to joke about what his withdrawal did for his career.

“Even to this day, Paul Roos still likes to say, ‘If it wasn’t for me you would never have played’,” Luff laughed.

“I still see him when we’re calling the footy on the weekend and he says, ‘Ah, are ya still thanking me?’ He’s been saying it for 20 years!” 

The Sydney Swans' Troy Luff flies for a mark in a clash with Port Adelaide in 1999.

Outside his commentary duties with Triple M, Luff runs a business called Troy’s Cut and Polish Services, a line of work which sees him look after the maintenance of cars.

He’s living in Sydney’s east and is the proud father of three children: 23-year-old Mitchell, born two days before the 1996 clash with Collingwood, as well as 20-year-old Olivia and two-year-old Millie.

And although almost 20 years have passed since he called time on his AFL career, 49-year-old Luff still loves playing footy as much as ever.

He parks himself inside 50 for the UNSW Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs every weekend and, so far this season, has bagged 20 goals in five games, including a haul of six last week.

But although he pulls on the red, white and blue for the Bulldogs every week, he says it’s the red and white of the Swans that will always be his first love. 

“I’m a very passionate, one-eyed supporter,” Luff said.

“And that will never change.”