On the this day: Nick Davis saves the Swans in September

The 2005 semi-final was a sluggish affair on the muddy SCG, a low-scoring game with only 14 goals kicked between both sides, but the final quarter performance of Nick Davis endures in AFL folklore and Sydney Swans history. 

After a disappointing four-point loss against the West Coast Eagles the previous week, and a long trip back to Sydney from Perth, it seemed the Swans were all but spent for September.

Facing the Geelong Cats in the do-or-die semi-final, Michael O'Loughlin got the Swans off to a hot start, kicking the first of the match within five minutes of the bounce. 

Then scoring dried up for the Swans, with the Paul Roos-coached team kicking their second major late in the first, and then not kicking another goal until the final minutes of the third quarter. 

Geelong's defence held up in the third quarter, keeping the Swans to just the one goal for the term, and maintained a 17-point lead heading into the final quarter. The Cats extended the lead to 23 points early in the fourth, when David Johnson kicked truly. 

Then came Nick Davis to save the Sydney Swans. Davis burst through a forward 50 stoppage and snapped on his right to kick his first of the quarter, and start the comeback. 

He didn't slow down, either, slotting two more majors to get the margin back to three points with just five minutes left in the match. 

The ball was bouncing around the Swans' forward 50, with multiple half-chances to get a shot off, squandered by the Cats' defence, which had been under pressure for all of the second half. 

It eventuated in a stoppage, deep inside the Swans' forward line. Ruckman Jason Ball tapped the ball down perfectly to a full-speed Davis, who bobbled the ball, but somehow managed to get a boot on it and snap through a miraculous goal, completing the miracle comeback. 

“It was a very special night,'' Davis told the Sydney Swans media.

“It was a scrappy night and we were trying our best, things weren't going our way,  but in the end I was able to kick four goals and we got over the line.''

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The Swans would go on to upset a Grant Thomas-coached St Kilda Saints outfit in the preliminary final by 31 points, at the MCG. 

Ultimately, the Swans would win the 2005 AFL Grand Final and end their premiership drought, beating the West Coast Eagles, thanks in part to a great leap by Leo Barry, and ensure the fairytale finals run got the ending it deserved.