The all-conquering Hawthorn team of the 1980s produced numerous senior coaches, and it was the recently retired Gary Buckenara, player in four Hawthorn Premierships, who became the coach of the Sydney Swans in 1992.
The season started well, with a bye in the first week, followed by a three-point victory over eventual Premiers West Coast. Victory over Carlton in round five, a draw against Melbourne in round seven and a convincing win over Brisbane in round eight followed, but they were to be the only successes for the year, as the rest of the season brought fifteen successive losses.
For the first time since 1975 the Swans were wooden-spooners, finishing the season with only three wins and a draw to show for 24 rounds of football.
There were few positives to the 1992 season – Captain Dennis Carroll’s 200th game, the debut of Andrew Dunkley and the mid-season drafting and debut of Daryn Cresswell (each of whom would go on to play over 200 games for the Club) and Paul Kelly’s first Best and Fairest were the highlights of an otherwise bleak season.
However, the darkest days of the Club were being played out off the field.
Crowds had significantly decreased yet again, leading to lost revenue which compounded the Club’s truly dire financial situation. There were rumours of mergers with other Clubs, and Carlton had been approached to play their away games in Sydney, thus effectively replacing the Swans whilst maintaining the concept of a national competition.
It seemed there was a very real possibility that all the hard work, dedication and pioneering spirit of the Swans ten years previously had been for nought, and the Club would cease to exist.
In September, the owners of the Club informed the AFL that without a restructure the Club’s survival could not be guaranteed. On 14 October the Club was given an ultimatum by the AFL Commission – a solution must be found within a week.
A merger with the Brisbane Bears was officially proposed by the AFL on 19 October. They were anxious times for the red and white faithful as a future without a footy team loomed.
The meeting of the AFL and Clubs on 21 October was to decide our fate. At 7.33pm, after lengthy debate, with three clubs abstaining from the vote, the remaining clubs voted 11–0 to pass a financial rescue plan which would secure the future of the Sydney Swans. The rescue package waived the outstanding $1.95 million licence fee, thereby providing working capital for the Club.
Somehow the Sydney Swans survived to fight another day. While it would be a long recovery process, the darkest days were behind us.
