Ahead of the Sydney Swans’ showdown against the West Coast Eagles this weekend, let’s take time to look back at the two classic grand finals the two clubs fought out in 2005 and 2006.
Saturday’s match between the Swans and Eagles isn’t only just a clash of two teams who are expected to feature again in September, it will mark a decade since these two sides fought out two of the best deciders of the 21st century.
When the two teams met in the 2005 decider, it was the fourth time that they met in the year. They faced off twice in the regular season, with West Coast winning by 45 points in Perth in Round 6 before the Swans returned the favour in Round 17, winning by 21 points and handing the Eagles just their second loss of the year.
They also met in the second qualifying final at Subiaco Oval, with the Eagles winning by four points to progress directly to the preliminary final while the Swans were forced to take the hard route if they were to reach their first grand final since 1996.
John Worsfold’s men would eventually reach their first decider since 1994, defeating the team that denied them the minor premiership in the final round of the regular season, the Adelaide Crows, at home, while the Swans advanced via sudden death victories over the Geelong Cats and St Kilda.
The victory over the Cats will be most remembered fondly by Swans fans (but not by their Cats counterparts) for the final quarter heroics of Nick Davis, who kicked four goals including the match winner with merely seconds left.
That sent them into a preliminary final against the Saints, who’d touched them up by 43 points earlier in the season in a performance that drew criticism from all corners including then-AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou.
It proved to be the huge turning point in the Swans’ 2005 season, as it also was seven years later when they won just their second premiership in nearly 80 years. On both occasions, the Saints were celebrating a milestone: Fraser Gehrig his 200th game in 2005 and Lenny Hayes his 250th game in 2012.
But the Swans would get their revenge on the Saints, winning their preliminary final match by 31 points to progress to their first grand final since 1996 and extend the Saints’ premiership drought to 39 years (49 as of 2015) and counting.
Captain Barry Hall faced the prospect of missing the decider after he was cited for striking Saints defender Matt Maguire in the stomach in the first quarter. However, he successfully argued that the incident occurred in play, rather than behind play, and so was exonerated, clearing him to play in the grand final.
The 2005 decider had the potential to be a classic, with the Swans defying a poor start to the season and constant criticism early on to finish in the top four for the second time in three years, and the Eagles boasting the two most recent Brownlow Medallists in Chris Judd (2004) and newly-minted Ben Cousins (2005).
The Eagles started aggressively but inaccurate kicking meant they trailed at the first change by two points. The Swans then took control in the second quarter, three goals to none to lead by 20 points at half-time.
However, the reverse would occur in the third quarter and the Eagles would trail by just two points at three-quarter-time. To this point, no team had trailed at three-quarter-time and won the flag since Essendon in 1984 (and later Geelong in 2009).
John Worsfold’s men looked set to emulate the Bombers’ feat of 21 years previous when they kicked what could have been a match-turning goal midway through the final quarter when Ben Cousins pounced on a Luke Ablett brainsnap in defence.
But the Swans would hit the lead again through Amon Buchanan and from there they would hold on to win one of the classic grand finals and end a 72-year premiership drought – the longest in VFL/AFL history.
The victory was confirmed when Leo Barry took a last-gasp mark in the dying seconds, denying the Eagles a potential shot at goal after the final siren. It went down as one of the greatest grand final moments in history.
Despite being on the losing side, Chris Judd was adjudged to be the best on ground, adding the Norm Smith Medal to the Brownlow Medal he won in 2004 (he would win another Brownlow Medal at Carlton in 2010, exactly six years to the date since he won as a third-year player at the Eagles).
Twelve months later, the Swans and Eagles would be at it again, but this time it would be a case of role reversal, not just in the grand final, but also the route that both teams had to take.
Again they met in a qualifying final at Subiaco Oval, and again it was a close contest, with Sydney’s Michael O’Loughlin kicking the match winning goal in front of a parochial West Coast supporter squad in the dying minutes.
In contrast to the previous year, this time Paul Roos’ men earned the week off while the Eagles were forced to take the same route their rivals had twelve months earlier.
The Swans defeated Fremantle in their home preliminary final to return to the big dance, while the Eagles had to defeat the Western Bulldogs at home, and then the Adelaide Crows at AAMI Stadium, to book their shot at a third flag.
Much like the previous year, the 2006 grand final was again another close affair, though the Eagles would set up their victory in the first half, leading by 16 points at the first change and then by 25 at half-time.
But just as John Worsfold’s men looked like they would run away with it, the Swans would peg them back in the third quarter, kicking four goals to two to trail by only eleven points at three-quarter-time.
After Adam Goodes, who won a second Brownlow Medal in the Monday leading up to the match, goalled within 15 seconds of the final quarter starting, what ensued would be one of the most enduring final quarters in grand final history, with the two teams throwing just about everything at each other.
Then, with five minutes remaining, the Eagles would come up with a huge play, with Daniel Chick smothering a kick out of defence from Amon Buchanan and setting up Adam Hunter for a goal that would put the Eagles seven points up.
But just when you thought it was enough, it wasn’t – Nick Malceski would snap for the Swans just moments later to bring the margin back to a solitary point.
Though the Swans would attack desperately in the dying minutes, the Eagles would hold on to win their third premiership and first since 1994, and thus reverse the previous year’s heartbreaking result.
It seemed only appropriate that the Eagles would win given the Swans’ close victory twelve months earlier, meaning the two teams finished tied 1-all in the two grand finals they contested in 2005 and 2006.
Eagles wingman Andrew Embley would win the Norm Smith Medal after tallying 26 disposals, kicking two goals and taking a crucial mark in defence late in the match.
In the years that would follow, both teams would regenerate their playing lists but it was the Swans who would enjoy success sooner than the Eagles, winning the 2012 flag under second-year coach John Longmire while the Eagles had to wait until last year to return to the grand final, where they lost to Hawthorn by 46 points.
A decade on from their two classic grand final duels, the two teams will be at it again this Saturday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where the Eagles haven’t played since 2010 or won since 1999.
The last five meetings between the two clubs have taken place in Perth, with the Eagles winning their most recent match by 52 points in Round 17 last year. While it ended an eight-match losing streak against the Swans dating back to 2007, it was marred by the constant booing of Adam Goodes by the hostile West Coast crowd.
Both teams will take a 3-1 record into the match, with the Swans suffering their first loss of the season when they lost to the Adelaide Crows by ten points at the Oval last week while the Eagles are in hot form, thrashing Richmond by 68 points at home last Friday night.
Adding further spice to the match (and to a lesser extent the rivalry), Lewis Jetta and Callum Sinclair could face each other for the first time since swapping jumpers during last October’s trade period.
Having not played at the SCG in six years, the Eagles are preparing for this match by training within well-reduced Domain Stadium dimensions to match those of the smaller Sydney venue, where the Swans haven’t lost since Round 13 last year.
They’ll almost certainly be without back-up ruckman Scott Lycett for their first trip to Sydney since mid-2013 after he was offered a week’s suspension for striking Tyrone Vickery last Friday night.
This would give Jonathan Giles the chance to make his West Coast debut, having previously played for the GWS Giants (51 games) and Essendon (three). On the other hand, the Swans should get ex-Eagle Sinclair back after he missed the loss to the Crows with a toe infection.
A decade may have passed since the pair of classic grand final duels between the Sydney Swans and the West Coast Eagles, but even so both teams will be expected to fight out another close one this weekend.
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