The South Melbourne/Sydney Swans Football Club has won 10 premierships over its history, including and five VFA premierships five VFL/AFL premierships.

Founded in 1874, South Melbourne won Victorian Football Association premierships in 1881, 1885, 1888, 1889 and 1890.

In 1896, the Victorian Football League was established, when six of the strongest clubs – South Melbourne, Melbourne, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy and Geelong – broke away from the VFA to establish a new league. Two more teams – Carlton and St Kilda – joined the new league in its inaugural season in 1897.

South Melbourne’s first VFL premiership came in front of a crowd of 36,700 at the MCG, when South Melbourne 4.14 (38) defeated Carlton 4.12 (36) at the MCG on October 9, 1909.

A second premiership followed in 1918 when South 9.8 (62) pipped Collingwood 7.15 (57) after trailing in the final minute of the Grand Final.

The Swans played four successive Grand Finals between 1933 and 1936, but captured only one flag – the premiership of 1933 – defeating Richmond by 42 points in the season decider, in what would prove to be the club’s last premiership for 72 years.

After decades of fruitless results, and a 1982 relocation north to Sydney, the longest premiership drought in the League’s history came to an end on September 24, 2005 when the Sydney Swans defeated the West Coast Eagles by four points in a nail-biting finale.

Thankfully, the Sydney Swans didn’t have to wait as long to record another premiership victory. With a new-look line-up, the Swans took home the 2012 premiership in another classic Grand Final, just seven years after the 2005 triumph. Going into the game as rank outsiders, the Swans kicked the last four goals of the match to come from behind and edge out Hawthorn by 10 points in front of a capacity crowd of 99,683.