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.

#3 - Club’s highest score in history, 1987

Following the disappointment of a straight sets exit in the 1986 finals series, 1987 started positively on the field for the Swans, winning six of the first seven games of the season.

A mid-season slump of three consecutive losses followed, before the Swans went on an eight-game winning streak that propelled them into premiership favouritism. The final three games of the streak saw the Swans produce a burst of form that sent SCG scoreboard attendants into overdrive.

The first game, in round 16, saw West Coast travel to the SCG for the first time, and after a relatively close first quarter, the Swans piled on the goals in the remaining three quarters. The Swans finished with a then club record score of 30.21 201 to defeat the Eagles by 130 points.

Led by Stephen Wright with eight goals and Warwick Capper with five, it was the first time the club had ever kicked more than 200 points in a match, but the record score would only stand for a week before it was smashed against Essendon on an historic Sunday afternoon.

Similarly to the West Coast game the week before, the first quarter was a tight affair - the Swans led 5.4 to 5.2 at the first break - and didn’t give any indication of the onslaught that would occur in the final three quarters of the game.

Capper (six goals) and Wright (five) combined again for the Swans, as the team booted 10, eight, and 13 goals in the last three quarters to record a score of 36.20 236 to defeat the Bombers by 163 points.

After coming into the side to replace reigning Brownlow medallist, Greg Williams, Brett Scott was voted best on ground with 31 disposals and three goals, while Barry Mitchell was stiff not to get a vote with 38 touches and three goals of his own.

The final score fell two points short of Fitzroy’s then league record score of 36.22 238, and currently sits as the third-highest score ever recorded in VFL/AFL history. The final margin remains as the Swans second-highest winning margin, and is still the Bombers largest defeat in their 140-year history.

For then Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy - who the Swans had interviewed for the vacant coaching position at the end of 1985 - the magnitude of the loss is something he still vividly remembers.

“I don’t forget that,” Sheedy recalled earlier this month. “They played their song (Show it to ‘em Sydney led by the Swanettes) every time they kicked a goal, so I don’t forget that - 36 times. And then they played it at the end of the game for half an hour.”

It was the first time that a club had scored over 200 points in consecutive games, and a week later they fell just short of making it three-in-a-row when they defeated Richmond by 91 points on Friday night at the SCG. 

Greg Williams didn’t miss a beat in his return to the side with 34 disposals and two goals, while Capper again continued his remarkable year with five goals, this time supported by Merv Neagle who also kicked five in a best on ground performance.

While the Swans couldn’t make it three successive games with scores in excess of 200 points, they became - and remain - the only side to have ever kicked 30 goals in three consecutive matches. It truly was a three-week purple patch which rewrote the record books.

Unfortunately, it would be the high point of the year for the Swans, as they lost three of their four remaining home and away fixtures, before again being defeated in both of their finals in Melbourne.