The year was 1982. Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister. Random breath testing was introduced on our roads. Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of the murder of her daughter. “Eye Of The Tiger” was the big hit blaring from radios across the country. Gurners Lane won the Melbourne Cup and Australians were flocking to the cinema to see “The Man From Snowy River”.

And significantly for Australian sport, after months of turmoil and bitter debate, and facing a dire financial situation which threatened the very survival of a proud and historic Australian Football Club, South Melbourne moved to Sydney.

Just under 16,000 people turned up to the SCG to see Sydney’s newest sporting club play its first home game on Sunday 28 March. The ground was sodden after heavy overnight rain but the game was an entertaining spectacle nonetheless, with the Swans defeating Melbourne 20.17 (137) to 16.12 (108).

The club faced great adversity during the 1982 season – stretched finances, infrastructure and facilities virtually non-existent, players still living in Melbourne and flying “home” for games, and the squad unable to train together as one group.

However, the team’s on-field performance belied the difficulty it faced.

Coached by Rick Quade and captained by reigning Brownlow medallist Barry Round, beating North Melbourne in the final of the 1982 night premiership was the team’s first great achievement. The mid-season seven game winning streak was the Club’s best run since 1936, and the 199 points kicked against St Kilda at the SCG in June was (at that time) the highest score ever registered by the Club. At season’s end the Swans finished seventh on the ladder - only one game short of making the finals – with 12 wins, 10 losses and a percentage of 103.3.

And back in Melbourne – the home of football – Paul Roos made his debut for Fitzroy.