Our club is no stranger to adversity. Throughout a rich and proud history, splendor has often entwined with chaos; resilience essential. After winning a third VFL premiership in 1933, our Bloods would lose three consecutive deciders. One involving a bribery scandal and another played without legendary full-forward Bob Pratt after being hit by a truck having stepped off a tram just days before the 1935 Grand Final. Fateful moments indeed, as the premiership drought would reach epic proportions.

For Swans supporters, football has always meant drama, and the frantic final moments of the 2005 Grand Final can attest to that. And, with one spectacular leaping Leo Barry mark, our Swans were premiers. After seventy-two years, we were premiers.

The significance of that achievement was clear to most, particularly coach Paul Roos. "It's always going to be remembered as the first premiership in 72 years, and you're never going to change that narrative. The number of people that contributed to that is just extraordinary. All players and staff who represented the club during those 72 years, every one of them contributed to that premiership."

It was the culmination of years of untold turmoil, turned over time, into trust. Trust in the club and trust in each other. "It's hard to put a measure on it, but what you do know is that you have 100% commitment and trust that the guys you're playing with that sacrifice and do anything for you, that they'll never let you down," says club champion, now assistant coach, Brett Kirk.

Kirk refers to the now-famed Bloods culture that came to life under the early-tutelage of Roos. "We wanted to have that relentless attitude, and we never wanted to give up, which the club is synonymous with. We wanted that to be a big part of who we were, so we drove that pretty hard, and we talked about it often." He continues, "I know we'd be deep in games, and we might be a couple of goals down, but I always had this faith that we'd be able to find a way. We tended to do that on most occasions, and then it becomes a bit like folklore when you start really believing in it."

That bond created through brotherhood carried our team into the final match of the year, for the first time in nine years. The group had one survivor from 1996; club favourite, Michael O'Loughlin. "For myself, being in the last Grand Final side, it felt a little bit familiar to me, but most of us hadn't played in one. And I was only 19 then, so it was all basically new to everyone," he says.

In his third full season as senior coach, Paul Roos felt the experience of also being a losing 1996 team player had given him a certain expectancy on what lay ahead. "Luckily towards the end of the Prelim, we were winning comfortably, so I had some time to think through things. I was already starting to envisage what the week was going to look like. We had an experienced football manager in Andrew Ireland, who had been at the Brisbane Lions; we had the experience of '96, so as a club, we were ready to play in a Grand Final again. We just sensed that."

The initial hours of Grand Final week were shrouded in controversy though, as co-Captain Barry Hall fronted the tribunal after being charged for striking. Many felt that Hall would miss the match, with even the man himself in some doubt. "I had tried to play it as cool as I could all along, but of course, I had been worried. It was the most amazing feeling of relief when I was free to play," Hall said in his autobiography of 2011.

With his star-forward cleared to play, Roos felt as though the air was clear. "Andrew Ireland's experience was significant. His ability to get everyone in and get us all organised on the Monday, get the week set up, talk about tickets for families, it was pivotal, and then we could get on with it and focus on the task at hand. By that stage, the being so long since we'd won a flag, the build-up became even bigger than it was in '96. It was an enormous build-up and an enormous week," says Roos.

With support in Sydney surging, even training was well attended by the faithful, something more common in more traditional Australian Football states. "I remember going to training leading up to the Grand Final, and we got out on the track, and there were a few hundred people there to watch us train, which was bloody unusual for Sydney. We don't have anyone come and watch us train! It's not like seeing a Collingwood training session before a Grand Final with ten thousand people there. To have that happen was amazing," O'Loughlin recalls.

The rivalry between the Swans and the Eagles is now well documented, but these were the early stages. But, with the Qualifying Final in Perth decided by four points in the home team's favour, many were predicting another tight affair. Much debate focused on the competing midfield units and an apparent contrast in capability, again favouring the Eagles.

With that in mind, co-Captain Kirk entered a pre-match press conference, armed with an analogy of his very own. "One of my strongest memories during the week was when I had to do a press conference, and there had been so much comparison between Sydney's midfield v West Coast's midfield." He adds, "They had unbelievable talent throughout their team, especially through their midfield, and it got me thinking. I thought they might ask me about that, and during that day, I was thinking back to being with Mum and Dad growing up. They used to have this Ford Cortina, and it was just this car that didn't look real flash but just kept going and going, and it never gave up. So, I thought West Coast was a Lamborghini-type, coming up against the more blue-collar Ford Cortinas. It came from a philosophy we had through Ross Lyon, our midfield coach, who was always talking about putting the work boots on and getting to work."

With the battle lines drawn, attention turned to the Grand Final parade. "Our preparation had always been well structured under Roosy, so we knew what we were doing. We got down to Melbourne, and the parade was outstanding. It was something as a player that you watch on television, and its usually other teams doing it, so it was great to participate in that. To try and enjoy the moment was something that Roosy was pretty big on. Roosy's always had that pretty relaxed vibe about him anyway, and that certainly rubs off on the players, which was invaluable," says O'Loughlin.

Kirk enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to involve the family in the parade, as his baby boy came along for the ride. "I was fortunate enough to take my little boy who was less than 12-months-old on the parade with me, and if it went for sixty minutes, he would have slept for about fifty-four of them," he laughs. "I've got this beautiful shot of him asleep in my arms, with the crowd, and we had so much red and white there with the South Melbourne supporters. I remember people looking so happy for us to be in the Grand Final. My young fella is now 15, so I look back on that photo with great memories.

And as the sunset on Grand Final Eve, preparations drew to a close. Each player, each coach, left with solitary thought, each of them energised by the challenge and primed for their tilt.

"Roosy was a master coach and a master communicator with the players. His calmness, along with the calmness that the assistant coaches displayed, certainly helped us. It was clear to us that the preparation was spot on, and we knew that we had done the work. We knew we deserved to be there, and we knew that everyone was ready to go," says O'Loughlin.

It was also a rare opportunity for the coach to ponder what the big day might bring. "Just having real clarity the night before the game when I was thinking through what I would say whether we won our lost, what I was going to do whether we won or lost, really helped me. Rehearsing the moment a little bit has certainly helped me remember a lot of what happened, even a long time down the track," recalls Roos.

As the team assembled and prepared to enter the cauldron, it was Roos again with some valuable advice. "Pre-game, I remember Roosy talking to us and telling us to get out on the ground and to soak in the atmosphere during our first warm-up," Kirk recalls. "The crowd was so loud, and none of us had played in front of 100,000 people before. So, I remember running out there, and once we got out to the middle, I just stopped and looked around and took it all in. It was deafening, and that was probably the last time I heard the crowd until the end of the game. It was a pretty poignant message from Roosy."

The MCG was brimming with red and white as the Bloods brethren converged in the hope of long-awaited glory. The ghosts of Grand Finals past stalked the stands, memories of Pratt's prang infused with the horror of the 1945 'Bloodbath,' when as raging favourites, our Swans youngsters Billy Williams and Ron Clegg met errant elbows in the opening exchanges, rendering their valiant efforts redundant. Lifetime Swans yearned for that cup.

"Everyone in the football world knew what kind of game it was going to be. There were no surprises, and it really was business as usual. We knew what we were going to get, and I'm guessing they did too; two teams that were raring to go and the rest of Australia were watching," recalls O'Loughlin.

We burst through the banner reading 'Two cities, one team, together living the dream.' The match burst to life with the traditional MCG roar.

"We'd had some pretty epic games before this. So, the game unfolds, and it's a bit see-sawing; it's all over the place. Low scoring, but I think what people enjoyed about the Swans v Eagles games was the competitiveness, the ability of both teams never to give an inch, and you knew that if someone did get out to a lead, that it was always going to get pegged back." Says O'Loughlin.

The opening exchanges were typical of a Grand Final. It was even more characteristic of these combatants. It quickly became apparent that our boys were ready. They were more than willing. Some less fashionable types played with self-assured authority from the start. Fosdike, Roberts-Thomson, and Buchanan performed as though this stage was commonplace. Likewise, the usual suspects.

These Bloods had forged a growing reputation as being a supremely united force, hard as nails. O'Loughlin recalls the enjoyment of the team living up to that, on the biggest stage. "It was incredible to be involved over several years, but especially those two Grand Finals. I remember how tough it was to try and get a kick in this game. Always low scoring, but there were little battles all over the ground. If you had won your one-on-one contest against your opponent, that would impact the game. Everyone's one-percenters really did make a difference. They were all crucial battles, and everyone enjoyed that."

With the match being played mostly on their terms, our Swans played a first half full of fight. Moments of brilliance from Goodes, O'Loughlin, Kennelly, and Schneider ensured the scoreboard advanced at a pleasing rate, and we held a twenty-point lead as the players went inside. "Roosy's message was consistent throughout the season, and that was if we all can play our role, we'll give ourselves a good opportunity. That was a real focus for this game," recalls Kirk. Half-way there.