We continue our countdown to the biggest event in the Club’s history - the 25 year Anniversary Dinner. Follow the highs and lows of each year the Swans have been in Sydney every day on sydneyswans.com.au leading up to the event. Here is 1993...
Paul Kelly became Captain in 1993 after Dennis Carroll stepped down from the role at the end of the 1992 season.
Only a few games into 1993 Carroll retired from football, ending a career spanning 13 years and 219 games. With his retirement came the end of an era, as he was the last remaining Swan who had relocated with the Club.
The season opened with a bye, followed by losses to Hawthorn, St Kilda and Essendon. After those three games Gary Buckenara was sacked as coach.
Former player Brett Scott coached the following week’s game, before the legendary Ron Barassi took charge of the team.
Ron Barassi was accustomed to success, having played in six Premierships with Melbourne. He then coached both Carlton and North Melbourne to two flags each. Surely if anyone could turn the on-field fortunes of the Sydney Swans around, Ronald Dale Barassi was the man for the job.
However, it was not until round 15 of the 1993 season, after the team had lost 26 matches in a row, that Barassi and his Sydney Swans had their first taste of victory.
Former Fitzroy player Richard Osborne, in his first game back after five weeks out of the side due to a head injury so severe he had been removed from the playing field by ambulance, kicked 10 goals in an inspiring performance.
The team went on to record a 23.11 (149) to 16.13 (109) win over Melbourne, and the losing streak was broken at last.
However, that game was the one bright spot in an otherwise forgettable season. The Swans did not win another match for the year, and the Club collected its second successive wooden spoon.
However, other changes were afoot during 1993. Inaugural West Coast Eagles Chairman Richard Colless became Chairman of the Club. The AFL had bought back the license, and the Club embarked on a path to stability which ultimately would see it rise above the problems it had confronted to this point.
