LUCK played its part in the Sydney Swans’ 44-point win over the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night but retiring skipper Brett Kirk says relying on chance was never part of the plan.

The Bulldogs had fought back from a 29-point deficit at half time to trail by just 15 points midway through the third term when Jude Bolton’s snap from a pack took a wicked bounce to break the Dogs’ run.

Kirk acknowledged in his post-match press conference that the Swans enjoyed the rub of the green but he said the triumph reflected the ethos of hard work that has characterised his time at the club.

“There were a few things tonight that went our way: Jude Bolton’s leg break… someone pushed that through. I’m not sure who it was but the universe was working our way tonight,” he said.

“[But] you don’t even consider luck, or that things are going to fall into place. It was more about inside and outside the contests, and winning contested footy.

“Going in with a plan and a purpose and everyone being committed to that one purpose, and that’s what we had tonight. It was never going to be about luck. It was going to be about preparation, selfless acts, guys committed to the end and we had that.

“To stand up like we did today was special and I loved being a part of it.”

Kirk, who joined coach Paul Roos on a farewell lap of the SCG after the game to thank the home crowd for their support, said it was a moment beyond belief.

“It was something special. It’s something I’ll remember forever,” he said/

“Tonight was about giving back to the fans and to be able to do that, I’m just so grateful to be able to do something I love. Growing up as a kid, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d be sitting here right being able to do something like that.

“You can just see footy’s such an emotional, passionate… probably more than a sport. It transcends that. Tonight, just being able to share that with everyone was special.”

However, he said he never considered taking a moment in the final quarter to “smell the roses” and look around at the famous old stands of a ground that he will play on no longer.

“I was out there, pushing down into a defensive stoppage, trying to give us a bit of cover,” he said.

“I’m just not made up like that. I was just out there to keep giving everything out on the ground and to keep fighting until that last siren goes.”

And while Roos and Kirk have said goodbye to the SCG, both have half an eye on a farewell on a much grander stage - the 2010 grand final.

“It’d be nice to have a farewell game on, what is it, September the 20-something-th?” Roos said in their joint interview. “Yeah, at the MCG,” Kirk replied with a smile.