Depleted, doubted and written off, yet somehow the Swans are just one win from another grand final

Sydney and Fremantle dominated much of the home-and-away season, yet it may have taken the events of the past few weeks to bring out their best finals football.

Footballers often talk about embracing a backs-against-the-wall mentality. When expectations are stripped away and the outside world begins to doubt you, the task can suddenly become simpler. Roles become clearer, players turn towards one another and the focus narrows to what can be controlled.

Both preliminary finalists have reached that point, although through vastly different circumstances.

Sydney has spent the past few weeks under an intense – and deserved – spotlight after the Pullman hotel scandal. This should not be framed as adversity simply happening to the club; the damage was caused from within. Nor should the Swans’ football be used to excuse or erase what occurred.

The more revealing question now is how the remaining players have responded.

The Swans have acknowledged the disappointment and its impact on the club and community, then turned their attention towards what they can control. Rather than allowing the situation to fracture the playing group, Sydney has galvanised and produced some of its most connected football of the season.

Perhaps being depleted, doubted and largely written off has given the Swans the clarity they needed. They are no longer carrying the expectation of a dominant home-and-away team. Instead, they are playing like a group with its back against the wall and something to prove.

Sydney’s 53-point qualifying-final victory was not built around individuals trying to compensate for the talent missing from the side. It came through role clarity, collective effort and complete commitment to the contest. Every player appeared to understand exactly what the team needed from them.

Even when captain Callum Mills ruptured his ACL early in the match, the Swans did not lose their heads when they easily could have. Mills had shouldered much of the responsibility that comes with being captain throughout the previous few weeks, making his injury an even crueller blow. Yet Sydney remained composed and focused on what it could control: playing football that its supporters and the broader community could be proud of again.

They scored 39 points from centre-bounce clearances against Brisbane – their third-highest return from that source across the past five seasons. Sydney won the centre clearances 19-9, first possessions 20-10 and hitouts to advantage 5-1. Most importantly, it outscored the Lions 39-6 from centre-bounce clearances.

Those numbers reveal more than midfield dominance. They demonstrate a team playing proactively.

Sydney did not enter the final hoping to absorb Brisbane’s pressure and simply remain in the contest. The Swans attacked from the game’s most direct starting point, generating territory and scoreboard impact before the Lions could establish their defensive structure.

Sydney is equal-first in the competition for scoring from offensive one-on-one contests. Clean centre clearances allow Charlie Curnow and Logan McDonald to attack before opposition defenders receive support.