Scintillating Swans: The Ultimate Season
Round 10 – Kicking the Habit
Sydney v Melbourne – Round 13, 1993.

The lure of winning can provoke the most obscure of actions. As a vaguely interested member of the battling Umina Eagles Under 8’s soccer team, I witnessed the effects first hand. It was renowned American Football coach Vince Lombardi who famously said ‘Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.’ The pull of success had seemingly driven my coach to the brink. As unannounced home visits for hour-long running sessions began, I could sense fragility. However, as my rippling seven-year-old legs churned through the syrupy mud away at Kincumber, I could sense our first and only win was on the cards. Ah yes, the hard work had paid off and our crazy coach paid for Maccas.

Our Bloods began the ’93 season in search of their own success. Our previous fifteen matches of ’92 had resulted in losses and by the time this match came around, our losing streak stood at twenty-six. With key onballers Barry Mitchell and Stevie Wright departing during the off-season, West Coast ball-winner Scott Watters was brought in to help fill the void. “I think the club was still trying to really establish it’s footprint at that stage. Finding training venues was sometimes challenging and even though we were at the SCG, it almost felt like we were just wedged in a corner somewhere. While the club was still trying to find its place, on a positive note, there was a great group of people just starting to come together.” Watters recalls.

One of these key appointments was of the coach, Ron Barassi. After just four matches that season, Gary Buckenara was removed as senior coach of the Swans. Club legend Paul Roos credits the appointment of Barassi with changing the tide. “Barass set a lot of ground work and I think he has to take a lot of the credit because he gave the club credibility, he gave the club some real discipline. Tactically, by his own admission he was probably past it, but he was so pure in his teaching and how much he loved footy. He had the respect of the whole football world and that gave the whole place a lift.”

A new captain was also appointed. His name – Paul Kelly. An inspired choice and Watters could see the why. “Paul Kelly’s leadership was impressive, although in it’s very early stages, you could just see he was a real doer, so I think we was already a terrific captain because he was always leading by example. In some ways, he was still learning the game, but he was becoming a great leader.” The new captain’s influence greatly enhanced the feeling among the group. “There was a really strong bond forming among the players. One of the good things about playing in Sydney is that people get relocated there from a whole lot of different places and that just builds incredibly strong relationships. The very early stages of a great culture were being built I think, right then.” Watters adds.

Coming from the reigning premiers, to the reigning wooden spooners took some adjustment from Watters. “I’d come from a culture at West Coast where we’d just played in two Grand Finals. So, my expectation was that you were always in every game with an opportunity to win. To that point, that was my experience of footy. To come to a club going through a tough period, I noticed that players could get flat and maybe even lower their expectations. I wanted to do more than just compete, I wanted us to win games.”

The Demons were red-hot favourites to take the points from the SCG that day, but when our Swans matched them goal-for-goal throughout the first half, hopes had risen for an almighty upset. “At half-time there was a feeling that we were in the game again, but there wasn’t necessarily that overarching confidence that we would win. Clearly, the club had gone through so many losses in a row. But, in that era especially, when a key forward starts to have a purple patch, that could have a real ripple effect on a team’s confidence and Richard Osborne’s performance that day was just phenomenal.” Watters recalls.

Osborne had also joined the club from Fitzroy that year and just weeks after being involved in a sickening collision against Geelong, he was back to his match-winning best. “We knew we just had to get the ball into Ozzy’s area because he was just having one of those days where he was always making something happen.” Watters continues, “And without doubt, that started to breed confidence within the group. On his day he was such a dynamic performer and on that particular day, he was in full flight and the confidence level came from that.” Osborne would finish the day with ten goals.

At the final break, our Swans led by sixty-six points and after enduring 415 days without a win, Bloods fans could finally rejoice. Tears flowed in the stands and although the crowd only numbered 8,250, Watters recalls scenes of pure emotion. “It was certainly a small crowd, but it was just the real ardent, core group of supporters there that day, many of whom still remain. There was a really loyal group of supporters that were always there, game on game and to see them as we came down the race, made it even more special.” He adds, “I think there was a relief from the players to provide those real die-hard supporters the opportunity to celebrate because they’d probably earned it even more so than the players to be honest. They were a fantastic group of people. I can tell you that the Moore Park Bowls Club was rocking that night.”

When asked about the direction of the club at the time, Watters is clear. “To me it always comes down to people and there were great people getting involved at the club. Paul Kelly, Dale Lewis, Daryn Cresswell – these were really good footy people. And then, administrators like Rob Snowden putting things together with Ron Barassi coming in as coach, who was just such a galvanizing figurehead for the club. I think it all started to turn around with the gathering of great people. That then leads to a Paul Roos, a Stuey Maxfield and then all of a sudden you get a whole lot of people of great character together that are going to stay the course.”

“I think every club has something unique and has its own personality. The relocation of South Melbourne to Sydney and having to endure periods of time in the wilderness, has enabled a real strength to grow out of all that. Because you’ve got to lean on each other a hell of a lot more, you’re not surrounded by a lot of support, so I always felt that even when we weren’t winning games, there was a really tight group that was coming together and was going to deliver something. That’s a really strong bedrock that the club has continued to build on.” Watters identifies.

The Bloods culture was formalised in 2003, but according to Watters, early indications were evident during his time at the club. “I’ve been involved in five AFL footy clubs. Two whilst playing and three as a coach at West Coast, Fremantle, Collingwood, St Kilda and Sydney and I’ve always found that the Swans were the tightest, closest-knit group that I’ve ever been associated with. Sydney’s point of difference for me is that it is its own community. It’s not surprising to me that the culture there is so obvious and so strong. It’s always hard to put a finger on what culture actually means but you certainly feel it when you’re at the Swans.”

This win is a part of club folklore. The hard work had paid off and the losing streak snapped. I wonder if Barassi bought the Maccas?