MELBOURNE — The Sydney Swans twice came from behind to upset the Hawthorn Hawks by 10 points and claim their second premiership in seven years in an Australian Football League Grand Final thriller Saturday. The 99,683 fans packed into the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) proved once again that Australia's native sport has no domestic rival when it comes to pulling in the crowds. They were treated to a dramatic topsy-turvy contest that was only decided when defender Nick Malceski kicked a goal with 34 seconds remaining to seal a 91-81 victory. It was a second title for the Swans, formed in 1874 as South Melbourne Football Club, since they moved to take up residence at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1982. “That's what our group is about,” Sydney's Adam Goodes, twice a winner of the Brownlow Medal as the best player in the league, said in a pitchside interview. “No matter how hurt you are, no matter how bad you are playing, you can always give something for the team ... and that's what got us the win today.” The Hawks, the 10-time champions who hail from the Aussie Rules heartland of the Melbourne inner-city suburbs, were pre-match favorites and led after the first quarter. The Swans surged into the lead in the second on the back of a run where they outscored the Melbourne-based side 48-2, only for the Hawks to hit back with a purple patch of their own. Sydney again went on a run of scores and erased an 11-point deficit to tie the match up at 78-78 with a little over eight minutes of drama remaining. Canadian Mike Pyke, the first North American to take part in a Grand Final, had an excellent game in the ruck to complete his remarkable transformation from a rugby union international. The AFL is widely regarded as the best run league in Australia's highly competitive professional sports market and is in the first season of a five-year, A$1.25 billion ($1.30 billion) TV deal. — Reuters
