Sydney recalls the 1996 AFL preliminary final — ABC News Australia
In Sydney, Australia, people recalled the 1996 Australian Football League preliminary final between the Sydney Swans and Essendon at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The match was attended by 41,731 spectators. As ABC News Australia reports, for the Swans, this game became the culmination of the team's rapid rise in the mid-1990s.
The Sydney Swans finished last in the league for three consecutive seasons in 1992–1994. After one win in 1993, the team recorded four wins in 1994, eight in 1995, and won 16 matches in the 1996 season to top the standings. The Swans reached the preliminary final after defeating Hawthorn in the finals series.
Essendon's lead in the first quarter
Essendon started the game actively and, with seven minutes remaining in the first quarter, held a 25-point lead. At the end of the opening period, Dale Lewis kicked a goal, reducing the Swans' deficit to 19 points. After the first quarter, Sydney trailed 1.1 to 3.2.
In the second quarter, the Swans began their comeback. Captain Paul Kelly, Daryn Cresswell, Tony Lockett and Troy Luff scored goals. After accurate kicks by Lockett and Luff, Sydney took the lead, and the team went into the main break 12 points ahead.
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A narrow lead before the final period
In the third quarter, Lewis kicked another goal, but Essendon responded with scoring attacks. In the final minute of the period, Steven Alessio was accurate from about 50 metres. Before the last quarter, Sydney held only a one-point lead — 8.7 to 8.6.
At the start of the final period, James Hird put Essendon ahead. With 18 minutes and 27 seconds remaining in the match, Essendon led by five points, and after several inaccurate kicks, the score was 9.9 to 8.9.
Essendon's 18-year-old forward Matthew Lloyd felt unwell during the match after a collision with Mark Bayes. He finished the second quarter, came on at the start of the third, but later left the field and was taken to a hospital in Sydney's Kings Cross district.
