The 1982 season was the 85th season of the Swans in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and its 103rd season overall. The club – formerly known as South Melbourne – was relocated from Victoria to New South Wales this year, playing all home matches at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Sunday afternoons.
South Melbourne had been operating at a loss of at least $150,000 for the previous five years, leading to the club's board deciding to play all 1982 home games in Sydney as a strategic opportunity to capture an untapped market and save the club. The proposal was formally accepted by the VFL in July 1981 and took place despite a large supporters' group, known as "Keep South at South", taking control of the club's board for several months in late 1981. The club was known simply as "the Swans" during the 1982 season, with the VFL approving a formal change on 2 June 1982 that saw "South Melbourne" dropped from the club's name. It was officially renamed to the "Sydney Swans" prior to the 1983 season.
On the field, the Swans had limited success during the VFL season, winning 12 of its 22 matches but missing out on the finals series. However, the club won the Australian Football Championships night series for the first and only time in its history, defeating in the Escort Championships grand final by 32 points. The Swans averaged an attendance of just under 16,000 people at the SCG during the home-and-away season, the lowest of any VFL club in 1982 and slightly worse than their average home attendance the previous season.
VFL season
Home-and-away season Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores Venue Crowd Ladder Home Away Result 1 Sunday, 28 March (2:10 pm) SCG 15,764 4th 2 Saturday, 3 April (2:10 pm) Arden Street Oval 14,097 7th 3 Saturday, 10 April (2:10 pm) Moorabbin Oval 17,811 6th 4 Sunday, 18 April (2:10 pm) SCG 13,617 4th 5 Sunday, 24 April (2:10 pm) Kardinia Park 20,770 6th 6 Sunday, 2 May (2:10 pm) SCG 15,461 6th 7 Saturday, 8 May (2:10 pm) Western Oval 11,487 7th 8 Sunday, 16 May (2:10 pm) SCG 20,905 6th 9 Saturday, 22 May (2:10 pm) Princes Park 23,954 7th 10 Sunday, 30 May (2:10 pm) SCG 15,420 8th 11 Saturday, 5 June (2:10 pm) MCG 28,216 8th 12 Sunday, 13 June (2:10 pm) SCG 14,523 8th 13 Sunday, 20 June (2:10 pm) SCG 10,034 7th 14 Saturday, 26 June (2:10 pm) Junction Oval 12,300 6th 15 Sunday, 4 July (2:10 pm) SCG 12,221 6th 16 Saturday, 17 July (2:10 pm) Windy Hill 22,278 6th 17 Sunday, 25 July (2:10 pm) SCG 11,289 6th 18 Saturday, 31 July (2:10 pm) Victoria Park 20,636 6th 19 Sunday, 8 August (2:10 pm) SCG 25,601 6th 20 Saturday, 14 August (2:10 pm) Princes Park 15,743 6th 21 Sunday, 22 August (2:10 pm) SCG 21,083 7th 22 Saturday, 28 August (2:10 pm) MCG 27,521 7th
Escort Championships
Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores Venue Crowd Home Away Result 1 Tuesday, 11 May (8:30 pm) VFL Park 4,752 QF Tuesday, 8 June (8:30 pm) VFL Park 4,761 SF Tuesday, 6 July (8:30 pm) VFL Park 4,955 GF Tuesday, 20 July (8:30 pm) VFL Park 20,028
Notes
References