Sydney has been ruled out of finals contention, suffering a three-point loss to Essendon in Coffs Harbour on Saturday afternoon.

In a match that was delayed 35 minutes due to lightning, the Swans had to win to lock up their spot in November action, but the 2.2 (14) to 1.5 (11) loss instead paved the way for West Coast - whom the Swans defeated last week - to rise into the eight.

SWANS v BOMBERS Full match coverage and stats 

The Swans started as the hottest of favourites against an injury-devastated Bombers side that had lost eight games on the trot.

The Bombers led 14-2 early in the final quarter when Sophie Alexander tumbled through a goal.

Sydney cut the margin back to three points with four minutes remaining when Zippy Fish registered the Swans first goal of the match, setting up a grandstand finish.

The Swans continued to pepper in search of the goal they needed to secure a finals berth, but Essendon were able to hold firm to secure the 2.2 (14) to 1.5 (11) win.

Sydney finish its season with a 6-6 record and with thoughts of 'what could have been'.

Essendon won the inside 50m count 17-4 in the opening quarter, but its only return was two behinds to forward Amelie Gladman.

The Bombers edged eight points ahead in the second term when Bonnie Toogood snapped a goal from the pocket, and Sydney looked set for a scoreless first half until a rushed behind was recorded just 19 seconds before the main break.

There was only one point scored in the third quarter, and Essendon started the last term with a goal inside 30 seconds as belief continued to grow.

It proved to be enough of a buffer to secure victory, leaving Swans players devastated at the final siren.

Yet another lightning delay
Originally scheduled for a 5.05pm AEDT start, the clash was pushed back to 5.20pm and then to 5.40pm as wild weather lashed Coffs Harbour. Lightning and thunder was in the area surrounding C.ex Coffs International Stadium, with patrons at the ground urged to take shelter. When the match did start, it was a soggy slog with both sides battling on the sodden deck.

SYDNEY              0.0      0.1      0.2     1.5 (11)
ESSENDON         0.2      1.2      1.2      2.2 (14)

GOALS
Sydney: Fish
Essendon: Toogood, Alexander

BEST
Sydney: Gardiner, Ham, Hurley, Fish
Essendon: Nanscawen, Cain, Toogood, Gee

INJURIES
Sydney: Nil
Essendon: Chloe Adams (nose)

LATE CHANGES
Sydney: None
Essendon: Maddy Prespakis (calf) replaced in selected side by Bailey Hunt