SYDNEY has emphatically bounced back from the lowest point of its late-season slump to surge into a second Grand Final in three seasons with a 36-point triumph over Port Adelaide at the SCG.

Just 48 days after the Swans had been humiliated by their bogey side, the minor premier snapped an eight-match losing streak against the Power when it counted most with a 14.11 (95) to 8.11 (59) victory on Friday night.

SWANS v POWER Full match coverage and stats

Sydney will now return for a fifth Grand Final under coach John Longmire in his 14th season in charge, while hoping to clinch its first premiership since 2012 when it faces either Geelong or Brisbane.

Isaac Heeney celebrated his milestone match in style with another sublime performance as the midfielder gathered 24 disposals with six clearances and booted two goals. 

The gun onballer shook off the close attention of Power minder Willem Drew to find plenty of the ball around the field while also drifting forward to present as a danger near goal.

With Drew watching Heeney closely, Errol Gulden (27 disposals) was able to get off the chain and Chad Warner (21, two goals) warmed into the game as the Swans' midfield stars all shined.

Sydney also had plenty of options in attack as key forwards Joel Amartey (three goals), Logan McDonald (two) and Hayden McLean (one) each hit the scoreboard, while Tom Papley (three) brought his usual energy and added an early spark.

But the Swans will be sweating on the fitness of McDonald after he was subbed out in the final term suffering an issue with an ankle.

The Power opened the scoring with a goal to Jase Burgoyne from the first of several contentious free kicks, but were soon overrun as Sydney swarmed around the contests and got its slingshot firing out of defence.

Travis Boak turned back the clock to gather 22 disposals and kick one goal, while Ryan Burton (23, one) and Burgoyne (19, one) offered dash out of defence.

Captain Connor Rozee (17, two) led the way even as the Power were outplayed, while Zak Butters (20) had his influence limited by Swans minder James Jordon and at times looked to be playing under duress.

Aliir Aliir showed early signs of returning to haunt his former side as he cut off several Sydney attacks with his aerial prowess, however, the Port Adelaide defender’s impact was soon limited as the Swans sent versatile veteran Luke Parker to mind his ex-teammate while also presenting as a scoring threat.

On a night when Ken Hinkley coached the Power for the 274th time to overtake Mark Williams for the most matches in charge of the club, his side fell one game short of reaching the decider for the fourth time in his 12-year tenure. 

The Swans have been sluggish starters for much of the season, with the habit most starkly exposed when the Power opened up an improbable 71-0 lead in their clash just 48 days ago.

But for just the second time in the past eight matches, Sydney led at the first change as goalsneak Papley snapped truly from a set shot after the siren to stretch the margin to nine points.

The Swans pulled further away in the second term with their ball movement up and running as well as having more potency in the forward half, going into the main break with a 25-point advantage even as the Power dominated the clearances 26-9.

The Power fought out the second half bravely without being able to crawl back to within reach, until the Swans were able to cruise through the dying stages with a grander stage in sight.

Swans stalwart lives on the edge in milestone match
Dane Rampe had to do it the hard way before joining the Swans in the months after they won their most recent premiership in 2012. The former co-captain reached 250 matches on Friday night, but is yet to taste the ultimate success while being part of three losing Grand Final teams and risked missing another opportunity with a high blow on Zak Butters. The Swans were out to test Butters’ shaky ribs throughout the contest, but Rampe pushed it to the limits with a late bump as his forearm caught the Power midfielder around the neck. The hard-nosed Butters got up and played out the match without any sign of concern after a down-the-field free kick was awarded, but the incident was an early reminder to play the game with next week somewhere in the back of the mind. 

Power towers fail to make the most of their chance 
Port Adelaide found goals hard to come by as their key forwards were unable to make the most of their opportunities, while the Swans had more options in attack. Mitch Georgiades looked the most likely to have an impact and at least had multiple shots on goal, Charlie Dixon battled bravely and regularly brought the ball to ground, while Esava Ratugolea was mostly unsighted even as the Power searched for more targets. But after the Power were ruthless with 22 marks inside their forward 50 the last time these sides met, they could only manage eight in the preliminary final as their triple-threat failed to fire. 

Swans end Power supremacy with contest no longer king
Sydney paid the price for only being able to outmuscle Port Adelaide around the ball once during a horror stretch of eight head-to-head defeats in a row, and were thumped 41-31 in clearances and 135-108 for contested possessions during the 112-point rout in round 21. The Power were again on top at the clearances 34-28 while the hosts took out the contested possessions 119-115 on Friday night, but this time the Swans were able to limit the damage with intense pressure and punish their bogey side on the outside. The Swans blew away the Power with sublime kicking and swift transitions, even if they will still want to tidy up their work at stoppages in the decider next week.

SYDNEY                       4.0       9.1       13.7      14.11 (95)
PORT ADELAIDE         2.3       4.6       6.9       8.11 (59)

GOALS
Sydney: Amartey 3, Papley 3, McDonald 2, Warner 2, Heeney 2, Lloyd, McLean
Port Adelaide: Rozee 2, Burgoyne, Burton, Rioli, Georgiades, Dixon, Boak

BEST 
Sydney: Heeney, Gulden, Blakey, Rowbottom, Warner, Florent
Port Adelaide: Boak, Burgoyne, Rozee, Sweet, Butters

INJURIES 
Sydney: McDonald (ankle)
Port Adelaide: Nil 

SUBSTITUTES
Sydney: Robbie Fox (replaced Logan McDonald in the fourth quarter)
Port Adelaide: Francis Evans (replaced Jackson Mead in the third quarter)

Crowd: 44,053 at the SCG