Sydney FC (AFL)

Sydney is an existing club that plays in the Australian Football League, and has previously played in the Victorian FL and the Victorian FA as South Melbourne. The club was formed in 1874 and has won ten premierships.
== Formation ==
The club was originally created without a name on June 19, 1874. The name South Melbourne was adopted about a month later.
== Early years ==
Little is known of South Melbourne's first few years of existence. One assumes that they played as a junior club outside of the senior ranks prior to the formation of the VFA.
== VFA ==
South first entered the VFA in 1879 and until 1883 they didn't finish outside the top three. This included their first premiership in 1881. In 1884 they finished fourth but they rose again for their second flag in 1885. Another two years in the top three was followed by a string of success with three flags in a row from 1888 to 1890. South then started to struggle by their lofty standards finishing fourth, sixth and fourth over the next three seasons, but they were back up to third in 1894. A slip to fifth to 1895 was followed by an equal first finish with Collingwood, requiring the second ever VFA grand final. South would lose the game in their final VFA contest.
== Start of the VFL (1897-1907) ==
The grand final appearance ended up seemingly as a fluke in the new league the VFL, as South Melbourne floundered further finishing fifth in the first two seasons. In 1899 though South took advantage of the sectional system by winning all of it's sectional matches to face Fitzroy in the season decider. And there was a point in it in the end with Fitzroy winning. No such luck in 1900 as they wound up fifth and didn't win a single sectional game. Those games disappeared and South finished sixth again in 1901.
In 1902 South Melbourne finished fifth before dropping to their first ever wooden spoon in 1903 - the second club to win it in the VFL after St Kilda had won the first bunch. It was back to fifth in 1904 only missing out on the finals by percentage, followed by fifth again in 1905 missing out by one and a half games and then fifth yet again in 1906. Finally in 1907 South made the finals finishing second. They defeated Collingwood in their semi final but lost to minor premiers Carlton in the final by another narrow margin - this time by 5 points.
== To World War 1 (1908-1915) ==
With two new clubs admitted to the VFL, South slipped back to fifth again in 1908 before a reasonably strong period. In 1909 it started very well with the minor premiership and a semi final victory over Collingwood. In the final though they lost to Carlton, but had the right to challenge. And South made no mistake in the grand final to win it's first VFL flag.
In 1910 South Melbourne finished third, and played minor premiers Carlton who were slightly depleted by the dropping of players who had been bribed to "play dead". South won and faced Collingwood in the final and were defeated. In 1911 South finished second but lost their semi final to Collingwood. In 1912 they won the minor premiership but lost their semi final to Essendon. The challenge was used and Essendon repeated the dose to deny South the flag. In 1913 they finished second again, but again lost the semi final this time to St Kilda. Another second place in 1914 but South Melbourne weren't going to repeat the exit and defeated Geelong in their semi final. They defeated minor premiers Carlton in the final, but they lost the challenge game. That was followed by a slip to fifth in 1915 as the clouds of World War 1 gathered.
== Post War (1916-1924) ==
South took a year off in 1916 because of the war and returned in 1917 finishing third. They would lose their semi final to Collingwood. But in 1918 South Melbourne would go through the season with only one loss - an upset loss early in the season to St Kilda - to win the minor premiership. They then pipped Carlton in their semi final before managing to defeat Collingwood to win their second VFL flag.
In 1919 South finished second but Richmond ended their season in something of an upset. That seemed to hurt South Melbourne as they missed the finals finishing fifth in 1920 and then seventh in 1921 before sliding to their second ever wooden spoon in 1922. That however seemed to galvanise South who leapt back into the finals in 1923 finishing third. They upset the minor premiers Essendon in the semi final, but couldn't follow it up being beaten in the final by Fitzroy. In 1924 they finished second but were faced with a round robin finals series in which they only won one game and on percentage finished fourth.
== To World War 2 (1925-1942) ==
Three new clubs joined the VFL in 1925 and the Bloods dropped to eighth on the ladder, rising to fifth in 1926 missing the finals on percentage. In 1927 South would finish sixth, but would drop to tenth in 1928. Eighth place was the result in 1929 followed by seventh in 1930 and 1931.
In 1932, South Melbourne started a two season recruitment drive bringing in recruits from interstate. The first stage brought South back into the finals for the first time since 1924 finishing fourth, but they would lose the first semi final to Collingwood. In 1933 the recruitment drive became known as the Foreign Legion, while a cartoonist dubbed the club the Swans due to the number of recruits from Western Australia where the black swan is the state emblem. South Melbourne finished second on the ladder and defeated Richmond in the second semi final to progress to their first grand final since 1918. There they defeated Richmond again to win the flag. No one would know that it would be a long time before their next one.
In 1934 the clubs adopted the Swans nickname and made the finals again finishing third. They defeated Collingwood in the first semi final and then Geelong in the preliminary final to make their second grand final in a row only for Richmond to avenge the previous year's defeat. In 1935 the Swans finished on top of the ladder and defeated Collingwood in the second semi final. But an injury the night before to full forward Bob Pratt hurt South and Collingwood won the flag to effect South Melbourne's second grand final loss in a row. In 1936 South finished second and lost the second semi final to the Magpies. They bounced back in the preliminary final defeating Melbourne but Collingwood were again too good for the third grand final loss in a row for the Swans.
The era of the Legion ended abruptly in 1937 as South Melbourne crashed to ninth. In 1938 the club dropped to their first wooden spoon since 1922, and got their second in a row in 1939. World War 2 began and in 1940 the Swans climbed to tenth and then eighth in 1941. South returned to the finals in 1942 finishing third and defeated Footscray in the first semi final. But Essendon would end their season in the preliminary final.
== Post War (1943-1959) ==
In 1943 South Melbourne slipped to eighth in what was a close season before rising a place to seventh in 1944. But in 1945 the Swans were back and finished on top of the ladder for the first time since 1935, and repeated that year's win over Collingwood in the second semi final. But it would be Carlton who would oppose them on grand final day.
But what happened that day would live in infamy - it would become known as the Bloodbath Grand Final, with the Swans defeated after retaliating and losing grip of the game. Suspensions were handed out to players of both sides but the harm to South would be profound. They would not make the finals again for many years.
The slide began with a seventh place finish in 1946. The Swans dropped to eighth in 1947 and then tenth in 1948 where they stayed in 1949. They then dropped to eleventh in 1950 albeit a clear five games ahead of the bottom rung. There was then a promising rise to eighth in 1951 before South got to fifth in 1952 missing the finals by just half a game thanks to an upset loss in the last round to Footscray. That hurt the club and they slipped back to eighth in 1953 before spending the rest of the decade fumbling between ninth and tenth.
== 1960's ==
The new decade was a poor one for the Swans. The highest they finished was eighth, gaining that position in 1960, 1965 and 1966. From 1961 to 1964 the club never got out of the bottom two, getting the wooden spoon in 1962 - their first since 1939. In 1967, 1968 and 1969 South finished ninth, but it was that year that they gained the services of Norm Smith as coach. Long suffering supporters were hoping for better times coming up.
== 1970's ==
In roudn 20 of the 1970 season, the Swans faced Geelong at Kardinia Park and the victory obtained that day meant that for the first time since 1945, South Melbourne would play finals. This was despite a demoralising loss to Collingwood in the final round that left South in fourth spot when they went in third. In their first final they faced St Kilda and led at half time by five points. But then a fade out followed and the Swans were defeated by 53 points.
A letdown followed in 1971, falling to the wooden spoon with just three wins. In 1972 the Swans only won two games, but luckily finished eleventh. Smith resigned. He could do no more for the under resourced club. Struggles continued with another wooden spoon in 1973 before a rise to ninth in 1974. Another wooden spoon followed in 1975 before another rise to eighth in 1976.
That finish in 1976 under Ian Stewart was again promising, and in 1977 looked good - especially after the massive win over Collingwood at Victoria Park in round 10. But with a round to go they were outside the five by half a game and needed to defeat finalist North Melbourne at Arden Street and hope that fifth placed Carlton lost to Footscray who had nothing to play for. In two shock results, South Melbourne upended the Kangaroos and the miracle was delivered with the Bulldogs upsetting the Blues putting the Swans into the finals. However it ended there with defeat at the hands of Richmond.
Stewart departed for unknown reasons and Des Tuddenham took the club to eighth although it could have been better without four straight losses in the last four rounds. Stewart returned in 1979 but the club dropped to tenth and the cracks in the clubs resources were truly showing.
== 1980's ==
1980 was a promising improvement on the field at least, with South finishing sixth. But it would be in 1981 that the club's future changed forever. Midway through a season that had the Swans finishing ninth, the club was aware of the VFL's desire to admit a 13th club based in Sydney - and made a decision to play all of it's home games there in 1982. The VFL agreed, but club supporters were livid. However they were unable to stop the move and the Swans left the Lake Oval at the end of the 1981 season.
The first season for the Swans in Sydney was decent on the field finishing seventh. In 1983 the club slipped to eleventh followed by tenth in 1984 and 1985. Sydney wasn't getting behind the club. But midway through 1985, the Swans became the first privately owned club when Geoffrey Edelsten took over. This soon led to a spending spree not dissimilar to that of 1932 albeit not from interstate. Some off field in match diversions were also introduced Americanising the presentation somewhat. On field the Swans were rewarded with a return to the finals finishing second, their highest finish since their minor premiership in 1945. But Sydney would go out in straight sets, losing the qualifying final to Carlton and then the first semi final to Fitzroy.
In 1987 the Swans would again make the top three, this time finishing third. But they would again go out in straight sets, this time being thrashed by Hawthorn in the qualifying final and then being beaten easily by Melbourne in the first semi final. Two seasons without a finals victory took it's toll on Sydney and they slipped to seventh in 1988 with Edelsten selling to other parties. They also finished seventh in 1989.
== 1990's ==
By 1990 and the name change of the league from the VFL to the AFL the Swans were in big financial trouble. On the field Sydney finished thirteenth just a game off the bottom rung. A rise to twelfth was only a brief light in 1991 before the club finished with the wooden spoon three seasons in a row from 1992 to 1994. It would be in 1993 that the AFL stepped in and ended the private ownership and backed the club as rumours started over a merger with Brisbane and a move back to the Lake Oval. The AFL was desperate to maintain a presence in the harbour city but low crowds against rugby league was not helping.
But in 1995 things started to turn around. While Sydney finished twelfth, they found themselves a prize recuit in Tony Lockett from St Kilda. This gave the Swans someone to promote and the timing was sublime as the civil war in rugby league (the Super League War) was just beginning. And in 1996 the Swans took full advantage with their best season in a long time, winning the minor premiership for the first time since 1945. A final was played for the first time at the SCG with Sydney defeating Hawthorn to earn the week off. Fans of both the current club and the old South Melbourne dared to dream as they faced Essendon in the preliminary final. With scores level on the final siren, Lockett had a shot for goal after it and even though he only scored a behind that was enough and the Swans were in their first grand final since 1945. But on the big day North Melbourne were too good.
Sydney stayed in the finals hunt in 1997 finishing sixth but losing the qualifying final to the Western Bulldogs to end their season. A rise to third in 1998 led to a home final and a narrow win over St Kilda. But no week off and despite the home semi final the Swans were beaten by eventual premiers Adelaide for a season ending. In 1999 the club finished eighth and were easily beaten by Essendon to end that season.
== 2000's ==
The new millenium began and the Swans were still the holders of the longest drought in league history. In 2000 the club finished tenth but in 2001 Sydney finished seventh to make the finals. But Hawthorn eliminated them. In 2002 the Swans slipped to eleventh but in 2003 they leapt to fourth and managed to defeat top side Port Adelaide in the qualifying final for the week off. But in the preliminary final Brisbane knocked them off to end their season. In 2004 the Swans dropped to sixth and while they easily accounted for West Coast in the elimination final, St Kilda thrashed them in the semi final.
2005 arrived and Sydney finished third. They played West Coast in Perth in the qualifying final and were beaten by four points. That meant a semi final against Geelong and a narrow three point win put the Swans into the preliminary final against St Kilda. In a big result, Sydney got the win by 31 points to enter only their second grand final since 1945 and their first since 1996. Their opponents were West Coast and the game was tight all day. With the Swans in front the Eagles made one final thrust forward, only to be intercepted by Swans defender Leo Barry. As he walked back to take his kick - the siren went.
Sydney/South Melbourne had done it. The Bloodbath Curse was exorcised. For the first time in 72 years, the Swans were premiers and the Barry mark entered immortality along with commentator Steven Quartermain's call "Leo Barry you star!" Coach Paul Roos summed it all up on the presentation platform - raising the cup in the air he yelled "Here it is!"
2006 seemed like an after thought but Sydney made the top four again, finishing fourth. Another heart stopper with the Eagles followed with the Swans getting up by a point for the week off. Sydney took out Fremantle in the preliminary final for another grand final - again against West Coast. And this one was just as close. Only this time the Eagles reversed not just the 2005 result but also the qualifying final result by a point.
The Swans slipped to seventh in 2007 and were beaten by Collingwood in the elimination final to end that. In 2008 Sydney finished sixth and defeated North Melbourne in the elimination final. But the Western Bulldogs ended their season in the semi final. In 2009 the decade ended with the Swans finishing twelfth.
== 2010's ==
The next decade was quite a good one for the Swans considering their history. For the next nine years running they would play finals. It started in 2010 finishing fifth and then escaping Carlton by 5 points in the elimination final. But the Western Bulldogs would put the brakes on that season with a 5 point defeat. In 2011, Sydney finished seventh and won the elimination final again beating St Kilda by 25 points. But it would be Hawthorn winning the semi final by 36 points to end that year.
In 2012 the Swans would start a run of top four finishes, finishing third. They won the qualifying final over Adelaide in reasonable comfort for the week off and then took out Collingwood in the preliminary final to enter the grand final against Hawthorn. This would be a battle but with the last goal of the game putting the Hawks out of reach - Sydney picked up the win and the flag by 10 points, their second in seven years after waiting so long for the first.
In 2013 the Swans finished fourth but were bruised by a 54 point belting in the qualifying final against Hawthorn. Sydney rebounded with a 24 point win in the semi final over Carlton but ran into Fremantle in the preliminary final, losing by 25 points. 2014 was better finishing on top of the ladder and then dealing with the Dockers in the qualifying final by 24 points for the week off. In the preliminary final the Swans smashed North Melbourne by 71 points to make the grand final, but Hawthorn were on a tear and thrashed Sydney by 63 points.
Not bowed, the Swans finished 2015 in fourth spot, only to have a bad time in front of goals and hand Fremantle the qualifying final by 9 points. North Melbourne effected a straight sets exit for Sydney by 16 points. In 2016 though the Swans came back and finished on top again. The qualifying final this year was the first finals Battle of the Bridge against West Sydney and the Giants would upend the minor premiers by 36 points. Sydney came back and dealt with Adelaide by 36 points and then beat Geelong in the preliminary final by 37 points to get to their third grand final in six years. But the Western Bulldogs, seeking to break a drought of their own, defeated the Swans by 22 points.
In 2017, for the first time since 2011, Sydney would miss the top four finishing sixth. They won the elimination final over Essendon easily by 65 points, only to be soundly dealt with by Geelong in the semi final. In 2018 the Swans also finished sixth but went straight out courtesy of West Sydney. But in 2019 the club dropped to fifteenth, it's worst finish since the bad old days in 1994.
== 2020 ==
Sydney started the 2020 season with a narrow win over Adelaide before the season was curtailed until June due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But on the return the Swans only won one game in the next six games to drop down the ladder as low as seventeenth. They never got going and only wins over Hawthorn, West Sydney and Melbourne kept them out of contention for the wooden spoon. A 6 point loss to Geelong in the final round combined with a win by Hawthorn left Sydney one position lower than 2019 - sixteenth.
== 2021 ==
The 2021 season started much better with an opening of four wins, including a strong win over reigning premiers Richmond. This had them third and in contention. Two losses though set the Swans back, including a narrow loss in the Battle of the Bridge and an embarrassing 40 point defeat at the hands of Gold Coast. Sydney bounced back with a win over Geelong and then an honourable loss to the top side Melbourne kept them in touch with the top four. But spasmodic form leading to the bye didn't help. After the bye and a narrow loss to Port Adelaide, the Swans nailed five wins on the trot to be knocking on the door of fourth place. An unwelcome loss to St Kilda though put pay to that and despite two wins to finish the home and away season, they would not make the top four - finishing sixth.
The elimination final would be a Battle of the Bridge, but forced by the pandemic to be played in Launceston. A close battle though would be won by the Giants and Sydney's season would end there.
== 2022 ==
The Swans wanted to follow up and got a celebration out of the way early when Lance Franklin booted his 1000th career goal in the final quarter of their 30 point victory over Geelong after the opening round win in the Battle of the Bridge. The round three loss to the Western Bulldogs was a wake up call and three follow up victories had Sydney in the top four. But the next six rounds leading to the mid season week off was a mixed bag with three wins and three losses. After the bye though was another matter as while the Swans lost two of the next three games they charged through the rest of the home and away season without a loss and finished third.
The qualifying final was against reigning premiers Melbourne and Sydney got the big win by 22 points to get the week off into the preliminary final. There they would meet Collingwood and the Swans would manage an exciting one point victory and enter the grand final for the first time since 2016. Their opponents would be Geelong, who they had not met since the round 2 Franklin celebration game. But this was a different Cats outfit to then and Sydney were thrashed by 81 points.
== 2023 ==
Two strong wins over weaker opposition helped get the Swans off to a good start in 2023, but then they only won one game in the next seven to fall from the top of the ladder to fourteenth. They recovered with two wins going into the mid season bye, but they were followed by two straight losses. A 171 point belting of West Coast was followed by a draw with Geelong and then a loss to Richmond had Sydney in fifteenth place. But then they got onto a roll and won six games on the trot, the first five bringing them back into the eight. A win in the last round would give the Swans a home final, but Melbourne won to leave Sydney in eighth place going into the finals.
It meant that the Swans were faced with Carlton at the MCG in an elimination final - losing by 6 points thanks to some poor converting.
== Reserves ==
South Melbourne were a part of the VFL Reserves competition from it's formation in 1919. From 1919 to 1924 they were called Leopold, a club that had enjoyed success in the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association. South were the only team in VFL not to win a reserves premiership, even after the club moved to Sydney and yet continued to play in the competition until it's demise in 1999.
In 2000 the reserves team played in the Sydney Football League but withdrew from the finals clearly seeing the competition was too weak for them. In 2001 and 2002 the club used it's Sydney FL team as a developmental team instead while it's main reserves aligned with Port Melbourne. In 2003 the Swans sent their reserves team to the stronger Canberra competition, finally winning flags - four in a row - from 2005 to 2008.
In 2011 the North East Australian Football League was formed and Sydney played their reserves team there. One more flag in 2013 but the Swans also developed a bad habit of losing premiership deciders, being runners up every other year except for 2015 and 2019.
Category:Australian FL clubs
Category:North East AFL clubs