Lance Franklin's booming left foot got Sydney underway before Dane Rampe led a rampant Swans outfit in a 49-point domination of Gold Coast to begin their AFL season.
The visitors won 16.14 (110) 9.7 (61) at Heritage Bank Stadium on Saturday night, becoming just the second beaten grand finalist in seven years to win their opening game.
Twelve different Swans kicked goals but none managed more than two, while Rampe (25 touches) defied the slippery, humid conditions to have 20 disposals at halftime.
Chad Warner (30), Jake Lloyd (28) and Dylan Stephens (27) took up the slack after that.
That spread sparked a team-wide display of pressure that rattled the Suns early, with 11 goals from turnovers killing Stuart Dew's men.
The contest was effectively over inside 20 minutes, the Swans kicking the game's first five goals and Franklin the opening couple.
Franklin may have a case to answer after making high contact on Sam Collins in the final quarter, but he started brilliantly.
The 36-year-old, in his 19th and final season, marked over the head of Collins and boomed the opener high into the stands.
Then his set shot straightened to send Sydney on their way, Franklin overtaking Barry Hall to move to third on the club's goal-scoring chart in a sparkling first 10 minutes.
"He was charging around and it was really hot, humid conditions out there, really slippery," Swans coach John Longmire said.
"But a bit drier in that first quarter and we were able to get some balls through ... he was able to be a real presence, but so were the others.
Dismissing the result in the context of their 2022 grand final loss, Longmire said Rampe's smarts in the slippery conditions shone, while his defensive workrate set the tone.
"We spoke about the grand final before Christmas, but it has been six months, so we get on with the next year," he said.
Two late goals rescued the Suns in the first quarter then David Swallow's snap skipped through to begin the third term and suddenly Gold Coast were only 15 behind.
But that pressure was brief, Tom Papley kicking two highlight-reel goals as part of a blitz either side of three-quarter time that killed the contest.
Back for his first AFL game since 2021, Ben King had to wait until the third quarter for his first kick.
But from deep in the pocket it was long and straight for a Suns goal in front of 13,648 fans.
He then put his body on the line to deflect a loose ball towards Ben Ainsworth for the first of his two final-quarter goals.
Suns ruckman Jarrod Witts battled hard while it took Touk Miller (29 touches) and Matt Rowell (28) until the third term to get their hands on the ball with any authority.
"They outworked us, outnumbered us, which allowed their class to come through and when we won it back we were under more pressure than we dished it," Dew said.
"We've got a fair bit to work on."
