The Swans had a new lease on life, after winning the crucial vote to remain an AFL club. The league needed to ensure it wasn’t for nothing and decided to send in their own man, Ron Joseph. Taking back control of the club, the AFL and Joseph set off on a path to recruit the biggest name in the game to revitalise the Swans. Legendary figure Ron Barassi arrived to help change the fortunes of the club, as he handed over to a young, ambitious coach who took Sydney further than they had ever gone before.

<p>The Swans had a new lease on life, after winning the crucial vote to remain an AFL club. The league needed to ensure it wasn’t for nothing and decided to send in their own man, Ron Joseph. Taking back control of the club, the AFL and Joseph set off on a path to recruit the biggest name in the game to revitalise the Swans. Legendary figure Ron Barassi arrived to help change the fortunes of the club, as he handed over to a young, ambitious coach who took Sydney further than they had ever gone before.</p>

In the late 1970s the South Melbourne Football Club was fighting against extinction. Small crowds, lack of sponsors and an ailing Victorian Football League saw the Swans almost running on borrowed time. 
 
Despite an uproar from South Melbourne fans a decision was made for the club to move all of its operations to Sydney in 1982. What followed was years in the sporting wilderness, with the public not accepting of the team in a rugby league town. Fleeting on field success under a private owner helped them generate headlines and publicity, but it was short lived as the club were plunged into serious financial jeopardy. They were struggling to keep the lights on. 

With the help from some of the biggest names in footy the club would climb out of the mire and establish itself as one of the strongest sporting clubs in the land.
 
In this series we uncover the furore of the move away from South Melbourne, the challenging early years in Sydney, chaotic years of private ownership and the Swans' eventual rise as a new force in the AFL, as they broke the longest premiership drought in history.
 
This is the Swans' story, this is The Bloods.
 
Created by The Horde and brought to you by QBE Insurance, backing the Sydney Swans since 1987.