The Swans and their arduous journey to becoming a staple of Sydney’s sporting landscape

Paul Roos is carried off the field in his 300th VFL/AFL game before Sydney played in the 1996 grand final and he coached the Swans to a first premiership in 72 years. Photograph: Getty Images

While gazing through their north-facing windows this week, those in the AFL’s southern epicentre might be surprised by the view. Sydney’s Swans and Brisbane’s Lions descend on Melbourne to bask in the grand final spotlight in what must be the national competition’s most transformational moment – a once unlikely match-up that has been decades in the making.

For the Swans, celebrating their 150th anniversary this year, a premiership would be the crowning glory. Visitors to the club’s sparkling, world-class training and administration facility at the Royal Hall of Industries – just an Isaac Heeney drop punt from the SCG – could be excused for assuming the club has always been so prosperous. The truth is that resilience reverberates through those walls.