With the latest grand final capitulation at the hands of the Lions, Sydney has officially gone from a club infused with the famous ‘Bloods’ culture to one quickly building a reputation of being unable to deliver – or even compete, on the AFL’s biggest stage. That may sound melodramatic, but they haven’t had a record to write home about lately in deciders. Since playing in back-to-back grand finals in 2005 and 2006 – winning the first by four points and losing the second by one – and beating Hawthorn in the 2012 decider by 10 points in a performance for the ages, the Swans have qualified for four grand finals in 11 years – losing all four by a combined sum of 226 points.
More AFL That’s an average losing margin of just under 10 goals per game. In three of those seasons (2014, 2016 and 2024), the Swans were minor premiers. Only two teams have won the premiership from outside the top four since the AFL changed its finals format in 2000; the Western Bulldogs in 2016 and the Brisbane Lions last weekend – with both victories coming against the Swans.
Last Saturday, the luxury of categorising the club’s embarrassing 81-point loss to Geelong in the 2022 grand final as a one-off aberration disappeared into the Melbourne skyline just as quickly as Katy Perry’s pre-game fireworks. The club’s showing – probably worse than in 2022, notwithstanding the slightly smaller deficit – now raises real questions about whether the famous ‘Bloods’ culture and the cl.
