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 2000...

The 2000 season started three weeks earlier than is normal for the AFL, as come September all eyes would be on the Olympic Games to be held in Sydney.

The Swans began the season in fine form, with three wins – over St Kilda, West Coast and Melbourne – to open the year.

However, the team then began to feel the loss of several injured players, including Paul Kelly who had a troublesome fracture in his kneecap which simply refused to heal. Jason Ball, who had been recruited from West Coast prior to the season, was also sidelined with an ankle injury, and a broken arm kept Dale Lewis out of the team for much of the season.

After sitting fourth on the ladder at the conclusion of round three, the Swans then lost ten of their next 12 games.

Round 15, the last of this collection of mid-season losses, held one of the biggest surprises of the season. The Swans travelled to Perth to take on Fremantle, and unexpectedly included in the team was Paul Kelly.

The Swans had allowed Fremantle a huge lead by quarter time, as the Captain watched from the bench. When he took to the field, the Swans rallied and managed to hit the front, but Fremantle proved too strong and held on for a final score of 20.3 (123) to 14.12 (96).

Two weeks later, Paul Kelly was the focus again, as he played his 200^th senior AFL game. This time West Coast was the opponent, and the Swans registered a 71-point victory, as they made a late surge towards the finals.

In the same match, Rodney Eade coached his 112^th senior game with the Club, and became the longest serving coach in Swans history, breaking the record set by Ian Stewart in 1981.

Following Kelly’s return to the team, the Swans won five of their last seven matches, and despite still having faint hopes of finishing in the top eight going into round 22, the Club ended the season in tenth position on the ladder, only two wins short of playing in the finals for the fifth consecutive year.

It was a frustrating result. Of the twelve games the team lost, four were by a goal or less, another two matches were lost by under two goals.

There was reason to remain hopeful, however.

Andrew Schauble was named Club Champion in his first season at the Club after crossing from Collingwood, and younger players such as Jude Bolton, Jared Crouch, Nic Fosdike and Adam Goodes continued to improve.