"We were the lucky ones that got to play in the game, but we represented so much more." – Michael O'Loughlin.

At half-time of the 2005 Grand Final, our Swans held a strong position in the match. However, we had been here before. This time though, as had been the modus operandi, Roos, entrusted the players. Ryan O'Keefe once said that Roos made the players feel like this was their club; they all owned a little piece of it and felt empowered to drive the result.

Champion forward O'Loughlin was confident but wary of West Coast. He had also grown accustomed to close tussles during what had been an incredibly tight finals series. "We'd played West Coast, Geelong & St Kilda, and those games were all pretty bloody hectic to tell you the truth. The three finals leading up to the Grand Final were all huge, on the edge of your seat stuff. So, you can imagine, the adrenaline and the excitement in those rooms were just incredible because we were living on a knife's edge every week."

The Eagles soared back into contention due to an impressive third-quarter fightback, and true to form, this one would go down to the wire. The robust red and white crowd contingent willed their team on for one final advance, and from the outset, the last term consisted of considerable appetite for the contest.

Roos recalls one moment in particular that continues to resonate. "One of my lasting memories, in a strange way, was when Luke Ablett kicked across our goal, and Ben Cousins marked the ball and kicked an important goal in the final quarter." He continues, "I remember three or four players going straight over to Luke. It instantly deflated the crowd, and even we were a little bit in the coach's box. But, because the players ran over to him, it almost reignited the crowd and reignited us. That was a massive, pivotal moment that doesn't get talked about. That camaraderie, where the players were saying, no Luke, we're not going to let you get down mate, we've got you covered, was phenomenal, and it typified the Bloods culture and sticking together."

"Amon's goal was huge, so were his tackles and, of course, Leo's mark, but that was probably the unsung moment in the whole game for me. It signaled to the whole footy world that we're certainly not going to chuck the towel in because of one mistake. It settled everyone down in the MCG, including everyone inside the Sydney Swans coach's box," says Roos.

Players often refer to the defining matches and moments of their careers as a 'blur.' And for the courageous Brett Kirk, this rings true.

"I've actually never watched the game back in full," he says.

"A couple of key moments I can remember though, there was a ground ball coming in late in the game, and it was a real fifty-fifty ball. I had to bee-line Ben Cousins, as he was running through, and we just smashed into each other. I probably did go more for him than the ball and was probably a bit lucky not to give away a free-kick, but I had to go. There was another late in the game when I took a low, diving mark in the pocket, and I faked a cramp in my leg and then switched from my right leg to my left leg. Then, the umpire said, 'come on mate, get up and just take your kick,' Kirk laughs.

Kirk got up, and as an Amon Buchanan snap - from the Swans' most methodical mechanism - the forward stoppage, sailed through for a goal, eighteen minutes of play remained. Amazingly, this would prove to be the final and winning goal. Kamikaze defensive displays dominated the absorbing last minutes, but none are more renowned than the final act.

Leo Barry's miraculous mark in the dying seconds sent the sum total of Swans into rapture.

"To win when Leo takes that unbelievable mark and saves us all was incredible. When I heard that siren going, it'd be the same for everyone who wins one; it doesn't matter if you're up by 100 points or 1 point, that number one feeling is relief. It was just like 'Oh my god, we've done it," recalls O'Loughlin.

"The celebrations begin, and after that game with it going back and forth so many times, so many cliffhanger moments, it was sensational. I missed a few sitters, the kick across the goal; there's a tackle here or a little tap on there; they all make a difference. And then when it all finished, it was just wow, the hoodoo's gone, we've broken the drought. It was incredible."

Kirk recalls the moment with clarity. "When the siren went, it was a mix of relief and exhilaration. I was close to Adam Goodes, so Goodesy and I grabbed each other in an embrace and fell to the ground. Then I was just going around, sharing in it with every teammate you worked so hard with and sacrificed so much with."

"Then there were past players out on the ground like Paul Kelly, Bobby Skilton, and Peter Bedford. These were guys that bled for our footy club, so that was special to have them out there. I just loved post-game being able to share it with the thousands of people who've followed our club and been starved of success for so long," Kirk says.

And then, calm among the chaos.

As Roos and his coaching staff entered the arena, the previous year's events occupied the coach's mind. "I credit Mark Williams for the presence I was able to keep after the game. I remember him going nuts after Port Adelaide won, grabbing his tie and choking himself up on the stage." He adds, "I thought to myself if I ever get there, I want to be present and calm and remember things. That really helped me. Straight after the game, we were able to spend some time in the coach's box. I remember walking out on the ground calmly and seeing the players' faces, my wife and my boys, seeing Barry Round, Paul Kelly presented the cup, Basil Sellers, Mike Willessee and Peter Weinert were out there. Past players like Dennis Carroll. So, everything is still really clear in my mind from after the game."

Bottling your emotions isn't healthy. But, what happens when that occurs for seventy-two years? "You could feel the emotion in the ground. I'd say we had the majority of the crowd that wanted to see us win because we hadn't won one in so long," says O'Loughlin. "So, the romance of us winning it, I think everyone was maybe following that a little bit. I'm not a hundred percent sure, but it felt like that as a player. Many people said, 'we want you to win; it's been so long, you poor bastard.'. It was so great to win it, and our South Melbourne fans and people who had travelled from Sydney and all over the country to be at the MCG were so happy."

To the victor go the spoils. As he stood proudly among mates, awaiting the glory of grasping that elusive premiership cup, Brett Kirk's thoughts drifted to the Blood Stained Angels of days gone by. "As we were waiting to get our medals, I thought I wanted to pay homage to the Bloods, which is our history, but also the mantra that we'd taken on as players. That's why when I got up there to receive my medal, I grabbed the microphone and said, 'This is for the Bloods.' I grabbed hold of my guernsey, and I just wanted to put it out there in the world, how important the connection was between our past and our history, with the legacy that we wanted to leave."

South Melbourne and Sydney's connection had never been more substantial, and O'Loughlin unashamedly dedicates that flag to the diehards. "The crowd that day were riding every bump and kick, and then when the siren went, they broke down. We all broke down. Winning that flag was really for all our supporters and our people - especially all those from South Melbourne who'd been on that really tough journey. Our club has nearly been extinct several times. We had some tough, lean years and the strength of those people to keep the club alive, and our fans who kept paying their memberships and kept copping it from their mates, flying the flag. That is who the players play for."

"I had a really special moment in the rooms afterward," Kirk recalls. 'We went in and had a beer ourselves, which Roosy said was something we should all savour together. So, there we were, just the key personnel in there, soaking it all in."

The families who ride the footy wave so fiercely were next to share in the spoils. "I got a great photo afterward of my Dad, who I looked up to as my hero growing up. We had the cup there, with my Dad and Stewy Maxfield, who played a pivotal role in helping me along the journey, and unfortunately, he couldn't play that day. Still, he was such a big reason we got there and a big part of what our footy club's all about, so that's an exceptional memory," says Kirk.

"My family was all there in the rooms after the game," adds Roos. "I got a great photo with all of my family. I guess the one thing you think of is how the hell did all these people get in the rooms! It's quite amazing. And then the next day, at Lake Oval with all the fans. It's all still pretty clear in my mind how big it all was and how exciting it was."

"Winning that premiership was not just for the guys out on the field, it has so much more meaning to me, and I have no doubt the other players would be thinking along those lines as well. It really was a big thank you to the loyalty that a lot of people had shown. We had great leadership from Richard Colless and the board. They believed in what Roosy was putting together. The players believed in what Roosy was putting together, and we finally got there and clinched one. It really was the people's cup," recalls O'Loughlin.

To this day, this premiership means so much to so many. "I knew through my connection with Fitzroy how important footy is to people," says Roos. "The biggest thing that hits you is what an incredible moment it was for so many thousands of people, even to this day when I run into Swans fans. When you hear their stories, it strikes you how much it meant to so many people even to this day. And as time goes on, you realise it even more because people still refer to it fifteen years later, and it is incredibly humbling to be part of that experience and to understand the impact it had on so many people."

Festivities continued back in Sydney, and as the celebratory cavalcade prepared to depart Darling Harbour, Roos was nervous. "It was like a litmus test. I remember getting in the car with Hally, and I might've even said to him, geez, I hope someone turns up. Deep down, I probably thought this could be a bit embarrassing. The city loved the Sydney Swans, but I thought, who's going to come out in a Rugby League town and stand on the side of the road and support us?"

"Then, I was totally blown away. I mean, it was crazy. We got to Town Hall, and they all followed us, that was nuts! That was a real wow moment among so many wow moments; it was just ridiculous. It really cemented that relationship with the city. I knew people were going to turn out in South Melbourne; that was a given. But for that many people to turn up in Sydney just really cemented the Sydney Swans as a part of the fabric of Australian sport and an important part of the sporting landscape in NSW and Sydney," Roos recalls.

For O'Loughlin, an unmistakable sense of pride shines through. "It's a humbling experience. You're forever called a premiership player, and we were lucky enough to get that opportunity. Our footy club has the most Brownlow Medalists in AFL/VFL history, yet we only have five premierships. We've had the best players in the game play at our footy club, but sadly, we've had limited team success. It's an incredible place to grow up as a young man, and to get that premiership, it was just so humbling."

These players made a pact to play hard, disciplined and relentless footy. They most certainly delivered, and to speak to Brett Kirk about Bloods culture is to know passion.

"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 will sacrifice and do anything for you; that they'll never let you down. There were certainly moments throughout the season that we looked down and out, but we were able to find a way in the end." Kirk continues, "No doubt, I think it's tangible, and it's still powerful in our footy club. We really wanted to stand for something. We thought we'd lost that connection with our past, and we needed to reconnect. That's where it came from, and seventeen years later, it's still a significant part of the culture we have today."

Medallions, tears, joy. For those who waited seventy-two years, 'here it is!'.