1990, the season in which the VFL became the AFL, is most memorable in Sydney Swans history for being the year which saw the debut of a young player from Wagga Wagga.

At the time, Paul Kelly could not possibly have anticipated the important role he was to play in the Club’s fortunes over the next twelve years, nor how beloved by the Sydney crowd he would become.

There was other fresh talent at the Swans that year, in the form of Troy Luff and Dale Lewis, each of whom would go on to play over 150 games in the red and white.

However, there was little else to enjoy about 1990.

A series of eleven mid-season losses saw the team slide down the competition ladder, and also meant the crowds, who had been so captivated by the Swans only a few seasons earlier, stopped flocking to the SCG.

Average attendances dropped below 10,000 for the first time since the move to Sydney – a situation which did nothing to ease the financial difficulties the Club still faced, and which had resulted in players and staff facing significant salary cuts.

Serious injuries, including the wrist injury which ultimately forced Brownlow Medalist Gerard Healy’s retirement from the game, did not help the team’s cause either, and the last few rounds of the season became a desperate bid to avoid the wooden spoon.

In the end it was Brisbane who finished on the bottom of the ladder, one game behind the Swans, who had only 5 wins for the season.