It was a gut-wrenching defeat for the Cats who played outstanding football for three quarters only to come to a grinding halt in the last as the Swans outscored them 3.8 to 1.0.
The Swans will be happy with the victory and the four points, but the manner of the win would be far from satisfactory for coach Paul Roos.
The Swans disposal and decision-making was poor and they hardly had a winner on the field but it was though sheer tenaciousness that they came through.
For the Cats, the loss will mean absolute devastation. They tried their hearts out for three quarters only to run out of legs.
James Kelly was best on ground. With three goals and a game-high 19 possessions he lead the Cats' brigade. Not far behind him were Darren Milburn, David Haynes, Paul Chapman and debutant Andrew Mackie.
Geelong coach Mark Thompson had devised the better of the match ups and this was frustrating for the Swans. Notably the Swans half backs, Leo Barry and Tadhg Kennelly were well-held, thus depriving the home team of much forward thrust.
The Swans raced out of the blocks with quick goals to Ryan O’Keefe and Adam Schneider but the Cats' superiority at the clearances and their ability to slow down the game and frustrate enabled them to get back into match.
Goals to Kelly and Kent Kingsley leveled the scores and the Swans went to a quarter time lead of six points thanks to a late goal to Jude Bolton.
The Cats built on their burgeoning confidence in the second quarter and came out firing.
Two goals to Chapman and one to Henry Playfair in the opening six minutes gave them a handy 12-point lead.
With most of the Swans down on their game it was Jarrad McVeigh who broke the streak of three straight Geelong goals. When Barry Hall kicked his first scores were level.
The sides then traded goals and it was only a goal deep into injury time to Paul Williams which saw the Swans trail by two points at the long break.
Williams had an early kick for goal in the third quarter and his miss set the tone for the Swans as they proceeded to played lacklustre ineffective football.
Poor decision-making highlighted by an overuse of handball played into the Cats hands.
Goals to Cameron Mooney followed by a third to Kelly stretched the Cats' lead to 14-points heading into the final quarter.
The Swans started the final quarter with three behinds followed by a goal to Williams. They followed this with three more behinds and hit the lead at the 15-minute mark with a goal to Hall.
Adam Goodes kicked another one which gave the Swans a vital buffer which would prove invaluable as Kingsley would kick a goal with just one minute left.
Sydney coach Paul Roos paid credit to Geelong, who were much better than their 0-3 start to the season suggests.
"It was very much played at their tempo for probably three quarters, so it certainly suited them," Roos said.
"They were very well-coached and obviously the players carried out their instructions very well, so it made it a frustrating night for us.
"It wasn't until the last quarter when we were able to play some semblance of our game. You win the four points and you are happy then you dissect the game during the week."
Roos said he didn't panic at three-quarter time when addressing his players.
"I didn't think we could play as bad as we did for four quarters... well I was hoping," Roos said.
"That was the main thing, we haven't played that well and we are only 14-points down, so let's go down swinging, let's have a crack and if we lose, we lose, but I reckon if we have a go we may get up.
"So that was the main theme. I didn't have enough time to go over all the problems so I was just trying to make a sweeping statement."
While gutted by the defeat, Geelong coach Mark Thompson was encouraged by the Cats’ effort.
“This was the standard for the way we should play,” he said.
“If we would have played like that in the first two weeks I wonder if we would have won a game.”
Thompson was lost for ideas when quizzed about why the Cats stalled in the final term.
“It was hard to know. We played a really good style of football and deviated from it in the final quarter,” he said.
The Swans now face the unbeaten Kangaroos at Manuka Oval next Sunday with Geelong trying to regroup next Saturday night when they host Richmond at Telstra Dome.
SYDNEY: 3.2, 7.3, 7.5, 10.13 (73)
GEELONG: 2.2, 7.5, 9.7, 10.7 (67)
GOALS: Sydney: Williams 2, Hall 2, O’Keefe, Schneider, J.Bolton, McVeigh, Crouch, Goodes
Geelong: Kelly 3, Chapman 2, Kingsley 2, Playfair, Gardiner, Mooney
BEST: Sydney: J.Bolton, C.Bolton, McVeigh, Kirk, James
Geelong: Kelly, Milburn, Mackie, Haynes
INJURIES: Sydney: O’Loughlin (groin) replaced in starting side by Buchanan, Kennelly (ribs), Williams (calf), Schneider (quad), Maxfield (neck)
Geelong: Riccardi (groin) replaced in starting side by Rooke, Kelly (hip), Enright (wrist).
REPORTS: Nil
UMPIRES: Rosebury, Nicholls, Schmitt
CROWD: 25,451 at SCG
