Sydney's barnstorming run through the 2017 AFL season came to an end on Friday night because the Swans finally ran out of puff.
That was coach John Longmire's simple assessment after Geelong scored an emphatic 15.8 (98) to 5.9 (39) semi-final win at the MCG.
Sydney won 15 of 17 games to make it to the sudden-death semi-final against the Cats, becoming the first team in history to make the finals after an 0-6 start.
Longmire admitted that stunning surge had taken a toll on his players.
"Our blokes looked a bit buggered tonight, to be honest," Longmire said.
"We looked like we were a bit tired ... we didn't have much energy.
"We've been going flat out for 18 weeks, playing elimination finals every week.
"We were trying but nothing we did worked. Whatever we tried to do, it didn't work.
"It was just one of those nights, which doesn't happen too often for our players, be fair on them."
Lance Franklin was kept goalless despite arch-nemesis Tom Lonergan dropping out before the game with food poisoning.
Harry Taylor stepped in to blanket the newly-crowned Coleman medallist, who Longmire said was 100 per cent fit despite sporting a heavy bandage on a corked thigh, suffered last week.
The move of star midfielder Patrick Dangerfield to full-forward paid big dividends for the Cats when he kicked four first-half goals.
Longmire denied the Swans had been blindsided by the move.
"Dane (Rampe) is normally one of our best players in those situations," he said.
"We just didn't play well - that happens."
Despite the amazing effort to make the finals after their disastrous start, Longmire said the hurt of the opportunity lost was his overriding emotion.
"Looking at (the season) in its entirety some of the efforts were amazing to get off the canvas, but even given that you can't help but be disappointed," the coach said.
"We played an elimination final, we got to the second week and we didn't really fire a shot ... that's the disappointing thing."
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