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.

#12 - Tony Lockett’s preliminary final point v Essendon, 1996

In the first ever home final in Sydney, the Swans had to dig deep to overcome a plucky Hawthorn side who played beyond their eighth-placed finish on the AFL ladder.

The Swans were dealt a massive blow in the lead-up to the game with Tony Lockett a late withdrawal from the side with a groin injury that had previously ruled him out of the West Coast game the week before.

At the final change the Swans trailed the Hawks by nine points, before the home side finally hit the front thanks to a Jason Mooney goal. The lead was only temporary, however, as Hawthorn regained the advantage through Tony Woods.

With time running out and the scores level, Stuart Maxfield banged the ball long into the Swans forward line where Daryn Cresswell took a miraculous mark in the goalsquare over the much taller Hawks defender Nick Holland. Cresswell went back and kicked the goal to give the Swans a famous six-point win, the club’s first finals win since the second semi-final of 1945.

The win over Hawthorn gave the Swans a week off and a Saturday night preliminary final date with Essendon at the SCG on September 21.

The Swans were buoyed by the inclusion of Lockett into the side, but the team were slow out of the blocks as Essendon raced to a 19-point quarter time lead.

A five goal to nil second quarter saw the Swans turn the contest around and go to the main break up by two goals and with all the ascendancy.

The second half was a tight affair as the Swans held a single point lead at the final change, before Essendon worked their way back into the lead in a ferocious final quarter. The Bombers looked to have the game sewn up when Michael Symonds goaled to extend their margin to 12 points with only three minutes remaining.

As they did in the qualifying final, the Swans fought back again with Dale Lewis goaling from 10 metres out, and then Cresswell followed up with another clutch goal, tying the scores when he converted from 40 metres out.

In the frantic dying moments of the game, the Swans were able to sweep the ball from defence and into attacking 50, before a quick clearing kick from Essendon’s Symonds was marked by Wade Chapman on the western wing of the SCG. Rather than bomb the ball long into the forward line, Chapman spotted up the leading Lockett with a perfect kick to advantage which the full-forward marked with 17 seconds on the clock.

The siren sounded as Lockett lined up for goal, and any score would see the Swans into the Grand Final. With his recent groin troubles, it took Lockett’s best kick to send the ball 55 metres through for a famous point, and with that, the Swans booked their first Grand Final appearance since being defeated by Carlton in 1945.

Pandemonium swept across the SCG as the Swans players piled on top each other to celebrate their historic one-point win over the Bombers. Their joy was equally matched in the stands, with the long-suffering Swans supporters savouring the incredible moment.

The Swans would travel to the MCG the following Saturday for a Grand Final meeting with North Melbourne who had earlier booked their place in the season decider with a 38-point win over the Brisbane Bears.