Gary Rohan has helped Sydney snatch an astonishing one-point AFL victory over Essendon at the SCG, converting his set shot from the goal square after the final siren.
The Bombers looked set to complete an epic come-from-behind Friday night win, piling on seven consecutive goals to hit the front with 10 minutes remaining.
The visitors pushed it out to a 19-point lead but the Swans rallied in remarkable fashion. Lance Franklin missed two shots in the ensuing chaos but his side still managed to kick two goals in the final 80 seconds.
The margin was cut to five points when Franklin marked outside the 50m arc, wheeled around and kicked his sixth behind of the night.
Soon after, the Sherrin landed in the lap of Rohan, who had cost Sydney two goals during the Bombers' preceding blitz, and the flame-haired speedster did not disappoint.
The Swans won 11.20 (86) to 12.13 (85), surging into the AFL's top eight for the first time this season.
"It's not often you go through games like that," Sydney coach John Longmire said.
"We were in a lot of trouble with 4:30 to go and 19 points down.
"You're in the lap of the players (in those situations) ... the boys worked through it really well and we had a bit of luck."
Essendon coach John Worsfold was bitterly disappointed but refused to criticise his players, who faded in the frantic finish.
"Their attitude was outstanding. It hurts not to hold on and win the game," Worsfold said.
"We turned it around in the second half .. there's a couple of things we'd like to do better in the last few minutes but that's learning for us."
Both sides were guilty of crippling turnovers and inaccurate goalkicking, especially in the opening half.
Swans skipper Josh Kennedy, as has been the case throughout his side's revival, was inspirational in the engine room and likely to earn the three Brownlow votes.
The Bombers landed in NSW with two worrying records hanging over their heads.
The Swans had won the past six meetings between the clubs, while Franklin had averaged a bag of five goals in his 13 clashes with Essendon.
They successfully shot down one of the hoodoos. Franklin was held goalless by the Bombers for the first time in his 260-game career.
It wasn't entirely the visitors' doing. Franklin had the yips, as did fellow key forward Sam Reid, in what was far from Sydney's most-polished performance of the year.
The Swans, however, move to a position where finals are somehow on the cards.
It is some achievement, given they opened 2017 with six straight losses. No club has rallied from a 0-5 start and reached finals, let alone 0-6.
"Seven weeks now we've played some pretty good footy but we've certainly showed at times we dropped away from that," Longmire said.
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