Sydney v GWS: The rise of football in the Harbour city

By Daniel Cherny
Updated September 4 2016 - 10:08pm, first published 9:59pm
Emotional: Ron Barassi sheds a tear as he leaves the Swans in 1995. Photo: Craig Golding
Emotional: Ron Barassi sheds a tear as he leaves the Swans in 1995. Photo: Craig Golding
Tough times: The Swans train near the Opera House in 1986. Photo: Robert Pearce
Tough times: The Swans train near the Opera House in 1986. Photo: Robert Pearce
Towering: Wayne Carey flies for a mark during the Kangaroos' foray into Sydney in 1999. Photo: Anthony Johnson
Towering: Wayne Carey flies for a mark during the Kangaroos' foray into Sydney in 1999. Photo: Anthony Johnson
Champions: Richard Colless celebrates the Swans' 2005 premiership with Paul Roos. Photo: Vince Caligiuri
Champions: Richard Colless celebrates the Swans' 2005 premiership with Paul Roos. Photo: Vince Caligiuri
Short-lived: Israel Folau in his final game for GWS in 2012. Photo: Ryan Pierse
Short-lived: Israel Folau in his final game for GWS in 2012. Photo: Ryan Pierse

Expectations for football were low in Sydney during the first half of the 1990s. Then Swans general manager Ron Joseph remembers the mindset of the club's small band of fans during a period that reached its nadir during a 26-match losing streak across 1992 and 1993.

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