In the lead-up to the Swans round 8 home match against Melbourne, which will celebrate the Club’s 30 years in Sydney, sydneyswans.com.au is collating the 30 Defining Moments of the Swans in Sydney in chronological order.

The 30 Defining Moments have been selected by Sydney Swans Chairman, Richard Colless, Deputy Chairman, Andrew McMaster, and Swans Hall of Fame inductee and former Club captain, coach, and director, Rick Quade.

#25 - 2006 qualifying final win, 2006

After the triumph of 2005 which saw the club claim the premiership for the first time in 72 years, the 2006 season got off to yet another slow start for the Swans. When Melbourne defeated Sydney by five points in the round four ANZAC Day clash, the reigning premiers had a 1-3 record and many commentators were wondering if the side would make the finals, let alone defend their flag.

Six successive wins followed the loss to the Demons, and the Swans moved to fourth on the ladder after ten rounds. After some mixed results in the second half of the season, the team went into the final round in fifth place on the ladder and needed a win over last-placed Carlton, and a loss for either Melbourne or Fremantle to jump into the all-important top four.

The Swans smashed Carlton by 91 points, and with Adelaide defeating Fremantle by 30 points, they finished the season fourth on the ladder and set up a qualifying final meeting with fierce rivals West Coast at Subiaco in a repeat match-up of the previous year’s Grand Final.

The Eagles had won the only meeting between the two teams during the season by two points in round 15, which was also played in Perth. That home-and-away season result meant that going into the qualifying final, the previous three meetings between the Swans and Eagles had been decided by a combined ten points.

Unbelievably this final proved to be closer still, as the Swans edged past West Coast by one point in another classic.

After conceding a two goal lead early in the game, the Swans were able to turn things around quickly thanks largely to Michael O’Loughlin who kicked three of the Swans' first four goals and spearhead Barry Hall who kicked two in the first half, including an amazing set-shot on the stroke of half-time.

When Adam Schneider goaled at the beginning of the third quarter, the visitors had opened up a 22 point lead, but West Coast responded with majors to Adam Hunter and Chris Judd before two huge goals from Quinten Lynch in a minute put the Eagles within four points. Hunter then hauled in a huge pack mark and converted to put West Coast in front for the first time since the first quarter, but Hall responded immediately to give the Swans the lead heading into a tense final term.

The Eagles hit the front when Ben Cousins goaled two minutes into the last quarter, only for the Swans to reclaim the advantage following Schneider’s second of the game. The lead again changed when Judd kicked an amazing left-foot snap, but the Swans kept answering. Ryan O’Keefe found Hall in the forward 50 and the co-captain kicked his fifth, despite suffering from back and hip soreness, to restore the Swans lead.

But the game was still not sealed, and the Eagles looked like they had done enough to go directly through to the preliminary final when Steven Armstrong snapped a goal from a stoppage deep in the West Coast forward line to put them up by five points with only minutes remaining.

There would be one last, late twist however, when the Swans built up an attack from deep in defence and a long Nick Malceski kick inside 50 went towards a contest between O’Keefe and Eagle Drew Banfield. The West Coast veteran got the spoil but it went straight to the top of the Swans' goalsquare, where O’Loughlin was waiting having edged past his opponent, Brett Jones.

O’Loughlin pounced on the loose ball and ran in to kick the sealer with 26 minutes run in the final quarter. In continuing his run past the goals, the Swans’ number 19 got up close to a couple of members of the West Coast cheer squad and let them know what had just happened. It was an iconic moment, and a fitting finale to one of the greatest finals ever played.

"I thought in that last quarter there was a few signs that we were out on our legs," then Swans assistant coach John Longmire said after the game.

"They saw what Judd was doing, he was single-handedly lifting West Coast.

"I thought that there was a period of time there where we were struggling a bit but then I thought the strength of mind of our blokes in the last 10 minutes to get up and going again when they were on the deck was just amazing."