The Sydney Swans overcame their serious off-field scandal and a major injury blow to stun the Brisbane Lions and set up a home preliminary final with a 53-point win at the SCG.
Many had written off the Swans after Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice were all stood down for breaching club standards last month.
But they began their clash against the reigning premiers in scintillating fashion, racing into a 36-point lead in the first quarter.
Watch every match of the 2026 Toyota AFL Finals Series before the Grand Final LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Yet they also suffered an early blow when captain Callum Mills was forced off with a suspected ACL injury.
Mills returned to the bench during the game — and began coaching his teammates at halftime after hobbling into the dressing room on crutches.
In the absence of Mills, Charlie Curnow, Logan McDonald and Tom Papley inspired the Swans, scoring 17 goals between them on a famous day at the SCG.
Lions star Lachie Neale was kept unusually quiet, barely touching the ball in the first half as the Swans thwarted the in-form Brisbane at every turn.
And the scenes at the end of the match — which ended 21.15 (141) to 13.10 (88) — were ones of ecstacy as the SCG exploded into celebration.
“All ll the boys just played their role, and I’m just so proud of the boys that came in,” Papley said on Kayo Sports.
“My belief didn’t change. “I believe in our system…our belief was always to win.
“The boys that are out, they’ve got a lot of talent but our system doesn’t rely on talent.
“It requires hard work and desire, and tell you what we had that today.”
The Lions will now need to re-group after a major blow to their hopes of a third successive flag.
It is the most points a Chris Fagan team has ever conceded in a finals game.
They will face the Adelaide Crows or Western Bulldogs in the semi-finals.
But the night belonged to the Swans, with Papley adding: “They’re back-to-back premiers and have played in three grand finals in a row, and these kids, like a lot have played 20 games or less.
“The ones that come in, they just did their role, they chased, they pressured. They know their role, and I just have full belief in our system. And the coaches have been amazing this year and they were amazing this week.
“They pierced us last time, but we went to work on why they pantsed us. And geez, today we just nailed it…we believed we could win today.
“We get a rest and we go into home prelim final and give ourselves the best chance, and we believe.’
See how the game unfolded via our live blog below