Sydney has brought West Coast's incredible 10-game winning streak to an end, toppling the ladder-leaders by just 15 points in a low-scoring affair at the SCG.
Despite being kept goalless in the first and fourth terms, the Swans were able to keep the Eagles at bay in what was a hard-fought and intense match, thrusting themselves into premiership contention in the process.
While one West Coast streak came to an end tonight, another lives on, with tonight marking their eighth consecutive loss at the SCG - their last victory coming in round nine, 1999.
Although Oliver Florent and Josh P. Kennedy led the disposal count for the Swans, it was undoubtedly the Sydney defence of Jake Lloyd (28 disposals), Aliir Aliir (10 marks) and 250-gamer Heath Grundy (23 touches, seven marks) who were pivotal in their second win over the Eagles this season.
Dane Rampe was similarly as influential, keeping Josh J. Kennedy to just two goals.
Lloyd was a joint-winner of the HMAS Sydney II Memorial Trophy alongside West Coast's Elliot Yeo, who was best afield for the Eagles with 30 touches and three clearances.
Expectations of a high-scoring opening between two of the competition's elite were averted, with a 0.3 to 1.3 term getting Friday night underway.
Although lacking in terms of goals, the intensity certainly wasn't absent as both sides adopted a high-pressure and aggressive brand of football.
With both sides buzzing and full of aggression, the two were pressed for space and struggled to deliver penetrating kicks into their forward 50 early on.
While the sloppy entries were a contributor to the low scoring, as too were the resolute defences of either side, who nullified the key forwards and chopped off their opposition's attacks with precision.
Aliir, Grundy and Nick Smith were solid in the Sydney defence, each finishing the term with four marks apiece, while Jeremy McGovern's duel with Lance Franklin was intriguing all night.
Despite dominating the inside 50 count 8-18, West Coast had just the one goal to show for it, with Josh J. Kennedy kicking the only major of the quarter at the 18-minute mark of the term.
Although being the quarter's lone major, the game wasn't devoid of highlights, with a crunching Isaac Heeney tackle on Jackson Nelson and a Ben Ronke high fly just some of the exciting moments of the term.
West Coast too had their own flair, with a whopping Lewis Jetta kick-out up the guts almost resulting in an incredible coast-to-coast goal for the visitors.
It was just a glimpse of the Eagles' dangerous potential as they continued to ramp up the pressure, ending the term six points ahead and rendering the Swans goalless for the first time in John Longmire's eight-year reign.
Yet come the next quarter, the Swans managed to edge their way in front following a blistering second term.
Despite leading the inside 50 count and clearances 5-13, the Eagles were unable to reflect their dominance on the scoreboard, kicking just the one goal against the Swans' five.
It didn't take long for the Swans to make a statement after their goalless opening term, with Ronke levelling the scores with Sydney's first major of the match after just one minute of play.
Liam Ryan restored the Eagles' ascendancy just minutes later and marked his return with a blistering goal on the run, yet West Coast failed to trouble the scorers for the rest of the term.
With the Swans continuing to rack up plenty of ball, Tom Papley quickly converted his first, before a steely tackle from Harry Cunningham on Chris Masten deep in attack made it three Sydney goals.
After registering 123 disposals in the first quarter, the Swans' three majors from just 36 touches stood marked as they began to wrestle the momentum back in their favour.
Despite West Coast applying continual pressure on the home side, Sydney's defence of Jake Lloyd, Aliir, Grundy and Smith once again stood tall, thwarting West Coast's attempts to further themselves on the scoreboard.
Another Aliir intercept mark - this time on the Swans' forward 50 arc - directly fed Sydney their fourth of the game through Papley, with the margin stretching out to 11 points.
Franklin finally broke free of McGovern's shackles with a solid contested mark soon after; his centring kick allowing Josh P. Kennedy to extend the margin to 14 points at the major break.
Sydney's fifth major wasn't the only bad news for the visitors, with the returning Luke Shuey receiving an accidental, albeit self-inflicted, head knock in the marking contest with Kennedy.
Shuey returned to the field but had minimal impact, being kept to 14 touches for the game thanks to a hard tag from George Hewett.
West Coast's scoring was similarly minimal compared to that of Sydney's in the third quarter, being outscored three goals to five.
Even with their stars not quite firing and Jack Darling out of the side, the Eagles' forward line still looked imposing early in the piece thanks to Josh J. Kennedy's charging leads.
The West Coast key forward was rewarded for his hard work and was given a chance to bring the margin down to single figures just three minutes into the quarter.
Kennedy's shot on goal however cannoned into the man on the mark in Dane Rampe, whose crucial smother eventually paved the way for a blistering Sydney run and goal from Ronke.
The Sydney midfielders combined to make it six consecutive goals soon after, with Josh P. Kennedy's spearing pass to Kieren Jack followed up with an equally laser-like kick through the big sticks.
Franklin finally put a goal next to his name to edge out McGovern, with the Sydney powerhouse breaking free inside 50 and leaving the Eagle in no-man's land before duly converting and making it seven in a row for the home side.
The streak was finally ceased after Jake Waterman put through West Coast's first since the two-minute mark of the second term, before McGovern got revenge after kickstarting a coast-to-coast major, with Kennedy the final beneficiary.
Sydney responded swiftly to extend the margin back out to four goals through Will Hayward, before Franklin made his third consecutive kick on goal count after a mismatch with Brad Sheppard.
A stunning goal from Elliot Yeo outside 50 closed out the term, with the margin resting at 26 points to keep the Eagles well within the contest.
Yeo went back-to-back to open the final term, delivering another long bomb from outside 50 to give his side a sniff at a mythical 11 consecutive wins.
But it proved to be the only major for the next 22 minutes, with both sides locked in a tight tussle to break through their opposition's defences and kick a crucial major.
The Swans were wasteful in their forays forward and failed to definitively close the game out, yet the Eagles similarly failed to seize their opportunities in front of goal with five behinds for the quarter.
Although Scott Lycett finally put the Eagles on the board in the game's dying stages, it came too late as the clock ticked down, leaving the Swans 15-point victors over the top-of-the-table Eagles.
Sydney will have a chance to freshen up with a week off before their massive clash with Richmond in two Thursdays' time, while West Coast will have just a six-day turnaround before facing Essendon at Optus Stadium.
SYDNEY 0.3 5.3 10.6 10.12 (72)
WEST COAST 1.3 2.7 5.10 7.15 (57)
GOALS
Sydney: Franklin 2, Papley 2, Ronke, JP Kennedy, Hayward, Jack, Cunningham
West Coast: Yeo 2, JJ Kennedy 2, Ryan, Lycett, Waterman
BEST
Sydney: Lloyd, Florent, Heeney, Rampe, Rampe, Aliir, Kennedy
West Coast: Yeo, Redden, McGovern, Kennedy, Gaff, Naitanui
INJURIES
Sydney: Nil
West Coast: Nil
TALKING POINTS
1. EAGLES' 10-GAME WINNING STREAK COMES TO AN END
All good things have to come to an end eventually, and Sydney decided the time was right for West Coast's remarkable 10-game winning streak to be broken.
Sydney remain the only team to knock the Eagles off their perch this season, with West Coast's two losses from rounds one and 13 both attributed to the Swans.
The Eagles haven't had much luck against the Swans on their home turf, with their last win at the SCG coming from round nine, 1999.
While the West Coast defence was sound for majority of the night and kept the home side goalless in the first and fourth terms, it was ultimately the Eagles' forward end which proved to be their undoing.
Registering 7.15 for the night, West Coast had their opportunities to slice the margin and potentially turn the tide in their favour, yet were unable to take full advantage.
Still on top of the ladder, tonight's result does no harm whatsoever to the Eagles' premiership aspirations.
2. SWANS' DEFENCE SOLID
Oliver Florent may have been the Swans' leading ball-winner with a career-high 29 touches, yet the Sydney defence were the heroes of the night.
Running half-back Jake Lloyd was phenomenal with his 28 touches - his eighth game above 25 disposals - and was declared a joint-winner of the HMAS Sydney II Memorial Trophy for his courage, while Nick Smith was solid with 20 disposals and six marks.
In his second game for the season, Aliir Aliir was thoroughly impressive with 10 marks - six of which were intercepts - and was a sound replacement for the absent Jarrad McVeigh.
Heath Grundy was the glue that held them all together however, piecing together a sublime 250th game, complete with 23 disposals and seven marks.
A strong defence often is the backbone for a solid offence, and in Sydney's case, it most definitely holds true with their defence among one of the best in the league.
3. ROYAL REG
What better way for Heath Grundy to celebrate his 250th match with a win over the competition's elite.
The 32-year-old was once again at his underrated best with 23 touches, and was pivotal in keeping the West Coast key forwards quiet for most of the night.
Armed with a strong marking ability and an excellent one-on-one player, Grundy started off as a forward before becoming a mainstay of the Sydney defence in 2009.
250 games is an extraordinary achievement, but to do so after being pick No. 42 in the rookie draft and being close to delisted is truly phenomenal.
Although often overlooked as one of the defensive greats in the competition today, tonight's celebration was well deserving for the Sydney stalwart.
An elite of the Swans, no doubt.
4. BRING BACK THE BARREL?
Lewis Jetta was spotted pre-match unleashing monstrous barrels in excess of 70m from the goal square, leaving commentators and spectators in awe.
It's been a long time since the likes of Ben Graham or Dustin Fletcher launched massive torpedoes from full back, which left opposition forwards helpless and teammates starstruck.
But Jetta didn't unleash the fabled kick all night, with a solid drop punt from a kick-out the only sign of his whopping right-foot all night.
One can't help but wonder whether the Eagles should have bit the bullet and taken the game on with a colossal torp up the ground, particularly in the final term when the visitors still had a slight chance of coming back.
Perhaps it's just nostalgia talking, but it's certainly worth a try.
5. HEWETT AN UNDERRATED HERO
It's been a while since the Swans have had a genuine tagger, but George Hewett looks to have stepped up to the role without a hitch.
Keeping Luke Shuey to just 14 touches tonight and racking up 24 himself, the 22-year-old was among Sydney's best, yet often flies under the radar as fellow midfield jets in Luke Parker and Josh J. Kennedy take credit.
Hewett similarly held Jack Steven to just 13 disposals last week, and one can't help but wonder whether he'll be the one to line up on Dustin Martin after the bye.
Indeed a match-up to keep an eye on.
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