Louise Curtis is a 33-year Sydney Swans member, did an assignment on the red and white in year 10, travels from Canberra with her family for every home game and her husband is a lifelong Collingwood die-hard.

So it’s of no surprise she was beside herself with joy when Tom McCartin snared a miracle goal to shatter Collingwood hearts, handing Sydney a thrilling two-point win at the SCG in Round 20.

Tom Papley slammed the ball inside 50, the Sherrin hit the turf amid chaotic congestion and McCartin – with the Swans facing a four-point deficit in the shadows of full-time – threw his boot at the ball while sprawled across the ground.

Evergreen Magpie Travis Varcoe had threaded a goal with five minutes on the clock to put his side four points up, before the Swans worked the ball forward to pave the way for McCartin.

The 18-year-old touched the footy just six times in the night but came to the fore when the game was on the line.

As the Swans prepare to Live the Moment in Saturday’s elimination final against the Giants at the SCG, Curtis says McCartin’s match-winner made for a moment to savour.

“I was so overwhelmed, I was so up and down, the emotions were up and down and I was thinking ‘We’re going to win, we’re going to lose, we’re going to win, we’re going to lose’,” Curtis said.

“Then when McCartin kicked that goal the relief was amazing. The emotion of winning was just incredible and knowing that we somehow pulled a goal from nowhere was unbelievable.”

Curtis didn’t know McCartin had kicked the goal – the ball shot from the pack in the blink of an eye – but the reactions of the 39,238 onlookers told her all she needed to know.

“I sit behind the southern-end goal posts so I didn’t know it came off McCartin’s boot,” Curtis said.

“I couldn’t even tell who had kicked it. I knew it was a goal but I had no idea where it had come from until I saw the replay. From where I was sitting I could not tell.

“There was manic craziness going on, but we had no idea what happened – only that we got the six points.”

Arguments are never far around the corner in the Curtis family.

Louise has two sons, one who’s a Swans fan and the other who sides with the West Coast Eagles, while her husband flies the Magpies flag.

When McCartin waved his wand to seal the win for the Swans, Louise and her eldest son were the only ones chirping – and they did the whole way home to Canberra.