The MCG was described in 2003 by Melbourne journalist Greg Baum as "a shrine, a citadel, a landmark, a totem" that "symbolises Melbourne to the world". It is near impossible to say it better. It is that and more. And it is unquestionably the home of Australian football.
Sydney’s biggest win at the MCG was Round 18, 1997 against Melbourne and is the headline story this week in the flashback series on the Swans’ 40-year history in Sydney – “Remember When … Round 18.”
Firstly, a bit on the history of the MCG itself ...
Originally built in 1853 on a Wurundjeri camping ground that hosted numerous corroborees, it was one of three sites offered to the Melbourne Cricket Club.
There was an area adjacent to the current MCG site, a site at the junction of Flinders Street and Spring Street, or a 10-acre site next to Richmond Park, now known as Yarra Park, which had originally served as a large agistment area for the horses of the mounted police, border police and native police.
The MCC, founded in 1838, chose the Richmond Park site because it was level enough for cricket but sloped enough to avoid flooding. It was located at what is now the Richmond or outer end of the MCG.
The original MCG wooden members’ stand was built in 1854 and was followed by the first public grandstand in 1861 as slowly the ‘G’ took shape. Capacity was about 9000 when football was first played there in 1897, with South Melbourne playing the fifth game at the world-famous venue in Round 8 against Melbourne. They won by 53 points.
The South Melbourne/Sydney Swans have now played 234 times at the MCG, behind only Lake Oval (697) and the SCG (496) on the list, for a 97-235 win/loss record, with two draws and five premierships in 1909, 1918, 1933, 2005, and 2012.
The Swans’ biggest win at the MCG was Round 18, 1997 against Melbourne. Coming off a grand final appearance in 1996 in their first season under coach Rodney Eade, the Swans had started in mixed fashion. They were 7-7 at Round 14 and one of five teams placed between 7th and 11th on the ladder separated only by percentage.
But with three consecutive SCG games to follow, Sydney started to find momentum. They beat 14th-placed Essendon by a point in Round 14, 6th-placed West Coast by 37 points in Round 15 and obliterated 2nd-placed Western Bulldogs by 97 points in Round 17, when Tony Lockett kicked eight goals.
Eade made just one change for Round 18, bringing in 11th-gamer Leo Barry for an unavailable Greg Stafford as they travelled to the MCG to face a Melbourne side anchored at the bottom of the ladder at 3-14 under caretaker coach Greg Hutchison, who had replaced Neil Balme after a diabolical 1-8 start.
It was a Saturday afternoon, and it was over early. The Swans led 10-5 to 1-2 at quarter time, and after the Demons had a degree of parity in the second quarter Sydney added 7-5 to 2-2 in the third quarter and 4-3 to 1-4 in the last.
The 116-point winning margin on the 25.19 (169) to 7.11 (53) scoreboard bettered a record that had stood since 1912, when South Melbourne beat Melbourne 13.8 (86) to 0.8 (8) by 78 points.
It was the club’s 8th-biggest win overall at the time, and now sits 11th on the all-time list. And it is the club’s biggest win in 212 games against Melbourne.
Lockett and Mark Bayes kicked six goals, and Michael O’Loughlin, Leo Barry and Shannon Grant three goals, while Paul Kelly topped the possession count with 34 on top of two goals.
Kelly, who along the way kicked his 100th Swans goal, picked up three Brownlow Medal votes in a year in which he polled 21 votes to finish equal 2nd with West Coast’s Peter Matera behind St Kilda’s Robert Harvey (26) after the Western Bulldogs’ Chris Grant had topped the vote count with 27 when ineligible due to suspension.
It was a young and inexperienced Sydney team. There were six players 21 or younger and only Paul Roos (34), Lockett (31), Bayes (30) and Kevin Dyson (30) were on the wrong side of 30. Kelly, in his 159th game, was fourth on the experience list behind only Roos (334 games), Bayes (236) and Lockett (235).
The record-breaking win left the Swans one of five teams with a 10-7 record, a game off the top, but it wasn’t the catalyst to future success it might have been. They lost three of their last four home-and-away games to finish 6th and in the first week of the finals were eliminated by the Bulldogs in their next game at the MCG.
Other Round 18 highlights include:
1985 – Last win at Victoria Park
It was only a short 7km trip from the old Swans’ homeground at Lake Oval to Collingwood’s Victoria Park, but it was never an especially appealing journey for the old South Melbourne fans.
From 1897 to 1981 the Swans record was a miserable 20-60, and that included two four-win streaks from 1911-14 and 1941-44. They lost 14 in a row at the ever-inhospitable home of the Magpies from 1960-75.
Things improved after the Swans’ move to Sydney in 1982. In Round 18 of their first season in the Harbour City, and their first season under Ricky Quade, they won 13.12 (90) to 12.15 (85) at Victoria Park after trailing by five points at the last change. Michael Oaten kicked a team-high three goals in just his 7th game, while Paul Morwood topped the Swans’ possession count with 22.
The Swans’ last Victoria Park win came two years after their biggest win there – a 91-point thumping of the Pies in 1987 thanks chiefly to a career-best nine goals from Warwick Capper. But when the club lost their next five games there, including a record 99-point hiding in 1991, there were no complaints from Sydney when Victoria Park was closed to AFL matches in 1995.
1991 – Mitchell ‘masterclass’ in an epic win
In his last two years with the Swans in 1991-92 Barry Mitchell was the No.1 ball-winner in the AFL. He topped the League in possessions in 1991 and was second to Adelaide’s Craig McDermott in 1992, averaging 30.5 possessions in 44 games. He had 30 possessions or more 26 times and topped 40 twice.
So, when Mitchell and McDermott were opposed in Round 18, 1991 as the Swans visited Football Park for the first time it was a “stat off”. Mitchell won easily. While the Crows skipper had just 29 possessions Mitchell collected a career-best 46 and kicked two goals.
Sydney had lost Greg Williams, David Willis and Warren McKenzie from the selected side, and as the teams took to the field the commentators were still trying to sort out who was playing.
When the teamsheets finally landed Jim West, Jamie Lawson and Warwick Capper, back with the Swans after three years with the Brisbane Bears for what was ultimately the penultimate game of his career, were the late inclusions.
The Crows, enjoying almost rock-star status in their first season in the AFL, led 5.6 to 2.0 at quarter-time. They got six goals up early in the second term and were still 21 points clear at halftime.
But when the Swans kicked the last three goals before three-quarter time to cut the margin to two points it was ‘game on’ in Dennis Carroll’s 199th game for the Swans.
The home side got the all-important first goal of the final term before Capper accepted a bullet-like pass from Mark Bayes for his third goal. Momentum was with the visitors, and when Dale Lewis, in his 18th game, floated in from the side to take a screamer and converted from 30m on the angle the Swans were in front for the first time.
Rod Jameson kicked his fifth to regain the lead for the Crows before West, on the end of a brilliant pass from Carroll, marked strongly and kicked truly. It was Sydney by two points: 104-102.
The Crows scored the next four points before David Murphy fed a running West, who took a bounce, crossed the 50m line and let fly for his third goal. Swans by four with 4-minutes and 33-seconds to play.
Matthew Liptak put Adelaide back in front, but the Swans surged forward from the centre bounce and when the influential West fed Jason Love by hand for him to kick his fifth it was Sydney by four again. The clock was down to 3-minutes and 20-seconds.
The crowd of 40,000-plus was deafening one minute and silent the next. When Jameson slotted his sixth goal after a free against Bernard Toohey for holding the ball it was like thunder. Crows by two with 2-minutes and 22-seconds to play.
Sydney won the all-important clearance and locked the ball inside the forward 50m zone without being able to score. After two boundary throw-ins and a ball-up Mitchell received a free kick for a high tackle. From 25m he wobbled it through. Sydney by four.
That was it. The siren went as the ball was bounced and the Swans had recorded an epic victory.
Liptak had 35 possessions and kicked three goals for the home side while Simon Tregenza had 33 possessions and Jameson was the game-high goal-kicker with six.
For the Swans, Wright had 29 possessions, Carroll 24 and a goal, Love five goals and Mitchell 46 possessions and two goals – including the match-winner.
But when the Brownlow Medal votes were announced at the end of the season it was one vote to Adelaide’s Grant Fielke, who had 29 possessions, two votes to Swans ruckman Brad Tunbridge for his 18 possessions and 31 hit-outs in his 18th game, and three votes to Carroll.
As history would show, it was not the first or last time Mitchell was overlooked by the umpires during his extraordinary run. He did not poll a vote in 1991 despite being the competition’s No.1 ball-winner, and in 1992 he polled just one vote when he had 38 possessions and kicked one goal in the 10th loss of a 15-loss streak.
2001 – Record win v Kangaroos
Who was the only member of the Swans’ beaten grand final side of 1996 who played in another grand final with the club? Michael O’Loughlin. And he played in not one but two more. After the devastation in ’96 at the hands of North Melbourne, O’Loughlin tasted the sweetest of success in 2005 when Sydney beat West Coast before they went down to West Coast in a 2006 re-match.
Still, for another seven members of the grand final side of 1996 there was a miniature revenge in Round 18, 2001 when the Swans inflicted a record-breaking 107-point win over North at the SCG.
It was a year in which Sydney played finals and North finished 13th, and 21 years on it remains the Swans’ biggest win over the Kangaroos in 166 meetings.
Daryn Cresswell, Andrew Dunkley, Paul Kelly, Stuart Maxfield, Daniel McPherson, Brad Seymour and Greg Stafford were the only other survivors from the ’96 grand final team who played in the 2001 belting of North 22.11 (143) to 3.18 (36).
O’Loughlin was the man of the moment that day, picking up 24 possessions and a goal for three Brownlow Medal votes as the home side piled on 9.3 to 1.5 in the final quarter.
Daniel McPherson earned two votes for 19 possessions and a goal, while Ben Mathews received one vote for a team-high 30 possessions and Paul Kelly and Greg Stafford topped the goals list with three apiece.
2021 – A comeback win
There are two Round 18 games in recent Swans history that sit in the record books with an asterisk beside them. In 2020, when they lost to Geelong by six points, and in 2021 when they beat GWS by 26 points.
Why the asterisk? Because both games were played on neutral turf at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast. In 2020 it was when the entire competition had relocated to Queensland due to Covid, and in 2021 it was when just the two Sydney teams were rushed out of the NSW capital due to a fresh Covid outbreak.
The 2021 win over the Giants in Sydney Derby #21 was extra special, and not just because it came 11 months after they had played Sydney Derby #19 at the new Perth Stadium.
At quarter-time on a Sunday afternoon in front of a Covid-restricted crowd of 2,374 the Swans trailed 1.2 to 6.1 at quarter-time and 3.4 to 9.2 during time-on in the second quarter.
But from that point on they out-scored the Giants 12.4 to 2.4 to win 15.8 (98) to 11.6 (72). A 10-goal turnaround in little more than an hour against the arch-rivals in orange.
Luke Parker was the star, picking up 31 possessions and a goal for three Brownlow Medal votes and the Brett Kirk Medal, awarded to the player judged best afield in each home-and-away clash between the two Sydney clubs.
It was a performance that wrote the veteran midfielder into the record books not once but twice and insured the historians would need another asterisk.
Having won his first Kirk Medal in derby #9 in 2016, Parker won it again in derby #19 in Perth and for a third time in derby #21 at Carrara. His unlikely double at venues which are unlikely to ever see another game between Sydney and GWS saw him join Kieren Jack and Lance Franklin as three-time Kirk Medallists.
Just for good measure, Parker claimed his fourth Brett Kirk Medal in derby #23 at Accor Stadium in Round 1 this year and now shares with teammate Josh Kennedy and GWS’ Callan Ward the distinction of having played a record 21 times in the Sydney derby.
