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.

#24 - “Here it is!”, 2005

Leo Barry’s mark and the sound of the final siren that concluded the 2005 Grand Final led to an overwhelming release of emotion from Swans players and supporters alike.

Long-suffering fans who had seen their club relocated north and even on the brink of extinction just decades before, were openly shedding tears after the Swans had claimed the ultimate prize for the first time in 72 years.

Images of Tadhg Kennelly climbing on Barry’s back just after the siren went, a helmet-wearing Jude Bolton - the same helmet Brett Kirk wore the week before in the preliminary final - celebrating with fans atop the MCG advertising boards, and Kennelly’s Irish jig on the podium upon receiving his premiership medal were some of the lasting memories in the post-siren celebrations.

“This is for the Bloods,” Kirk famously said after being presented with his medal.

But the moment everyone associated with the Swans had been waiting for was the presentation of the premiership cup, handed over to captain Barry Hall and coach Paul Roos by Swans legend Paul Kelly.

“For the people who have waited 72 years to see South Melbourne/Sydney Swans win the premiership - here it is!” Swans coach Paul Roos exclaimed on the winner’s dais.

Reflecting on that moment years’ later, Roos said that ending to his speech wasn’t planned, but was a tribute to everyone who had played a part in the premiership over the years.

“I think you go into a Grand Final … and you’ve almost rehearsed your victory speech and you’ve rehearsed your speech in terms of losing as well,” he said.

“But I hadn’t rehearsed that part of it.”

“I think I really took my time in getting from the coaches’ box to the field … but I really wanted to embrace the whole moment in the coaches’ box, I think I stayed for about 30 seconds to a minute after the siren finished, and then walked to the ground and saw obviously my family, but people like Paul Kelly and Bobby Skilton and Barry Round, and even a lot of guys who had put a hell of a lot of money in in those early years - and that really made me realise how big an effort it was, not just for those players on the day and the coaching staff, but for the football club as a whole.”

After all the fanfare and laps of honour after the game at the MCG, the Swans players, coaches, staff, sponsors, and most importantly, the supporters, celebrated the victory that night at a function at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium and in pubs from South Melbourne, to Sydney, and even back in Ireland.

The following morning, an estimated 10,000 Swans fans flocked to Lindsay Hassett Oval in South Melbourne to celebrate the victory with the team and coaches.

Until the day before, nobody in the history of the AFL had played and coached more games without winning a premiership than Roos.

"The longer you wait the better it gets,” he told the strong red and white crowd. “It's just so special!"

The Swans, who had embraced the sentiment of their Grand Final banner, “Two Cities, One Team, Together, Living the Dream”, returned to Sydney and were greeted with a victory parade along George Street on Friday, September 30 and then an official welcome at Sydney Town Hall by the then New South Wales premier, Morris Iemma and Lord Mayor, Clover Moore.

A sea of red and white tickertape filled the city streets, the Swans flag flew from the Harbour Bridge, the name ‘Swans’ was etched in the sky above by a skywriter, and the team which had moved north from South Melbourne in 1982 was the toast of Sydney.

“`I'm absolutely in awe of the turnout today. This is just absolutely amazing,'' Roos said at the parade.