In the latest of his Classic Matches series, Jim Main looks back at an amazing Swans’ finals victory over Port Adelaide.
Sydney Swans vs Port Adelaide
Qualifying Final , September 7, 2003
Football Park
Sydney Swans fans groaned in unison when star forward Michael O’Loughlin limped from the MCG late in the final round match against Melbourne in 2003.
With just a few minutes to play, O’Loughlin tore a hamstring and fans knew almost immediately that he would miss the finals series.
The Swans might have defeated Melbourne by 34 points to finish the home and away season in fourth position, but faced the daunting prospect of playing minor premier Port Adelaide at Football Park in the first week of the finals without O’Loughlin and number one ruckman Jason Ball (shoulder). Ryan O’Keefe and Jason Saddington also were sidelined through injury.
The Swans therefore went into the Qualifying Final as underdogs, especially as the Power had not been defeated at home since round two.
Despite being severely undermanned, with Daryn Cresswell having to pass a late fitness test because of a hamstring niggle, the Swans jumped from the blocks to kick three goals in the opening 15 minutes.
Although the Power managed to cut the Swans’ lead to one goal, the red and white kicked away again through the brilliance of key forward Barry Hall.
The burly Hall kicked three goals in the second quarter, with Paul Kelly, Jude Bolton and Cresswell chipping in for important goals.
The Swans led by 40 points at the main break, only for Brendon Lade and Nick Stevens to kick early goals for Port in the third quarter; the Swans looked as if they would buckle under the pressure.
To make matters worse, Tadhg Kennelly, Stephen Doyle and Brad Seymour copped injuries to leave the Swans with 19 fully-fit players.
However, Hall again rose to the occasion and when he kicked his sixth goal, the Swans again took control to lead by 24 points at the final break.
Although the Swans’ Nick Davis kicked the first goal of the final quarter, the injury-depleted Swans then had to hold on for grim death over the final 25 minutes, with the Power launching attack after attack.
The Swans threw themselves into every contest to thwart the Power’s desperate efforts to steal victory.
When Josh Carr goaled for the Power the margin had been reduced to 13 points and excited Port fans roared their players on for what they thought would be a last-gasp win.
However, the Swans defence held firm over the final few minutes for a 12-point victory; it had been a victory against overwhelming odds and one of the greatest in the club’s long and proud history.
The win gave the Swans a home Preliminary Final against the Brisbane Lions at Stadium Australia a fortnight later but, despite a gallant effort, the red and white went down by 44 points after trailing by just three points at the final break. The Lions went on to thrash Collingwood by 50 points in the Grand Final.
SYDNEY SWANS 4.4 11.5 14.8 15.10 (100)
PORT ADELAIDE 3.2 4.7 10.8 13.10 (88)
GOALS: Hall 6, Cresswell 2, Davis 2, Maxfield 2, J. Bolton Roberts-Thomson, Williams.
The Swans’ 2003 season ended on a high note with Adam Goodes sharing Brownlow Medal honours with Collingwood’s Nathan Buckley and Adelaide’s Mark Riccuito, with each of them polling 22 votes. And, of course, Goodes went on to win another Brownlow Medal in 2006.
