The summer leading into the 1983 season saw the relocation of most of the Swans senior players to Sydney, although some were not willing to move and chose to continue their football careers at other clubs – a choice which had ramifications all the way to the Supreme Court.

Still the off-field dramas and difficulties continued at the start of the season.

The majority of the senior squad was in Sydney but some other listed players remained in Melbourne, leading to the farcical situation of separate training.

Facilities hadn’t improved – in fact, players had to ring in on training afternoons to find out at which temporary training ground they were to congregate.

Also, the continuing financial difficulties meant the players themselves helped contribute to the purchase of equipment. Crowds at the SCG dropped slightly as the novelty of having a local Australian Rules team, for Sydneysiders, had began to wear off.

However, on the field the Swans embodied the determination and fighting spirit for which the Club is still renowned. Perhaps the highlight of the 1983 season came in round one – a courageous one point victory over eventual grand finalists Essendon when the team was reduced to only 13 fit players.

However, overall the team’s performance was not as good as the previous year, and by season’s end the Swans sat in eleventh place on the ladder.