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.

#11 - Round 22 win over West Coast to secure minor premiership, 1996

Under first-year coach Rodney Eade, the Swans climbed to the top of the AFL ladder with a come-from-behind 17-point win over St Kilda at Waverley Park in round 16 of the 1996 season.

Over the next few rounds the Swans would relinquish, regain, and then relinquish again, top position on the ladder. Leading into their round 22 Saturday night clash against West Coast at the SCG the Swans knew a win over the Eagles would secure the minor premiership after Collingwood had defeated the Brisbane Bears at Victoria Park during the day.

A week earlier Swans star goalkicker Tony Lockett had been reported after tanging with Essendon’s Barry Young and faced a nervous wait in the lead up to the West Coast game to see whether he would be eligible to play. While he was cleared at the Tribunal, Lockett missed the Eagles game with a groin strain, although he still went on to win the 1996 Coleman Medal with 114 goals in the home and away season.

The Swans task of securing the minor premiership was made all the more difficult due to the horrendous Sydney weather on that Saturday night. Driving rain, gale-force winds, and a waterlogged SCG greeted both teams and the 29,517 fans who braved the conditions to watch the monumental match.

The Swans adapted to the conditions better than their West Australian visitors, and by the first change had built up a four-goal lead.

To the Eagles credit, they fought back with the wind in the second quarter and showed why they were a 90’s powerhouse who had won two of the last four premierships as they cut the margin to just four points at half-time.

Led by three goals from the mercurial Derek Kickett, the Sydney Swans were able to power home in the final half to win by 35 points. The defence also stood tall in the final two quarters, curtailing the dangerous Eagle forward line. In the engine room, Daryn Cresswell, Paul Kelly and Dale Lewis were all influential in driving the ball forward in the soggy conditions.

The round 22 win secured the minor premiership for the Swans for the first time since 1945, a finals appearance for the first time since 1987, and most importantly, the club’s first ever home final in Sydney to be played the following Saturday night against eight-placed Hawthorn.