However, the victory was soured by the report of dual Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes for a head-high bump on Adam Selwood.
The Swans were held goalless in the opening quarter and trailed West Coast until deep into time-on of the final quarter, before Jude Bolton converted from a free kick to see the Swans home – 12.11 (83) to 11.12 (78).
The nail-biting win keeps the Swans in touch with the top four but of more immediate concern is the report of Goodes.
The star faced intense physical attention from West Coast both in and out of the contest in the opening five minutes of the game and, in a moment of frustration, Goodes ran at his immediate opponent who had his head down over the ball.
Within the opening two minutes, West Coast had goals on the board to Mark Nicoski and Daniel Kerr.
Selwood's free kick from the Goodes hit handed the Eagles their third goal with just five minutes on the clock.
The Swans were looking rattled but Goodes soon settled with a couple of important marks across half-back to stem the wave of West Coast attacks.
They steadied but couldn’t find their rhythm moving forward and rare attacks only resulted in behinds.
The Swans were playing shutdown football to keep themselves in the game, but the Eagles again broke free with a rapid succession of majors to David Wirrpanda, Daniel Kerr and Brent Staker to hold a 33-point lead at the first break.
The second quarter more closely resembled the recent clashes between the two sides with tough, man-on-man contests around the ground.
West Coast blew two golden chances in front of goal before Jude Bolton finally broke the goal drought for the Swans at the 11-minute mark.
Bolton, Nick Malceski and Jarrad McVeigh were finding more of the ball and generating drive for the Swans but they still couldn't find an individual winner in the forward 50.
Despite the improved performance, the Swans failed to make a dent on West Coast’s lead and were lucky to only trail by 36 points at the long break after the home side missed numerous scoring opportunities.
The third quarter saw Sydney finally matching West Coast in intensity as they literally clawed their way back into the game.
Goodes bounced back after a quiet second quarter and Brett Kirk made an impact through his hard running and tough attack on the ball.
Malceski continued to dominate around the ground and Kirk kicked two clever goals to bring the Swans within 14 points at the final change.
The last quarter brought back memories of the classic grand final clashes of 2005 and 2006 as the two teams traded goals before successive majors to Paul Bevan appeared to give the Swans the momentum they needed.
Quinten Lynch steadied for the home side but Amon Buchanan quickly responded.
A piece of magic by Goodes saw him knock the ball to Malceski to run into an open goal and put the Swans within one point at the 26-minute mark.
Malceski was in the action again minutes later but his shot missed everything to leave the Swans a point adrift with less than two minutes on the clock.
It was then that Jude Bolton stepped up to the plate after winning a free kick for high contact from Adam Hunter at the 31-minute mark, and the Eagles simply ran out of time to steal the lead back.
Sydney Swans 0.4 2.7 6.9 12.11 (83)
West Coast Eagles 6.1 8.7 8.11 11.12 (78)
GOALS
Sydney Swans: J. Bolton 2, Malceski 2, Bevan 2, McVeigh 2, Kirk 2, Buchanan, O'Loughlin
West Coast Eagles: Staker 2, Wirrpanda 2, Kerr 2, Lynch, Hunter, Seaby, Selwood, Nicoski
BEST
Sydney Swans: Goodes, Kirk, Malceski, Kennelly, J. Bolton
West Coast Eagles: Kerr, Embley, Lynch, Staker, Wirrpanda, Cox
INJURIES
Sydney Swans: Nil
West Coast Eagles: Nil
Reports: Adam Goodes (Sydney Swans) reported by umpire Matthew Head for rough conduct on Adam Selwood (West Coast Eagles) in the first quarter
Umpires: Donlon, Kennedy, Head
Official crowd: 38,802 at Subiaco Oval
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the club.
