There were emotional scenes at the SCG as Sydney Swans players and staff broke down in tears following a win over North Melbourne.
Head coach Dean Cox cut an exasperated figure as he hugged his staff, with players also arm in arm by the final whistle.
Captain Callum Mills and Errol Gulden broke down in tears before being comforted by teammates.
You can watch how the emotional scenes unfolded in the player above.
“I’m so grateful for our fans for sticking with us,” Mills told Fox Sports at full-time.
“We stayed united as a club this week and I’m really proud of that.”
The SCG erupted into a standing ovation upon seeing the scenes from inside the coaches box on the big screen.
Fans applauded as the Swans closed out the win with a behind from Logan McDonald in the final seconds, which made it 123-70 in their final match of the home-and-away-season.
Swans fans made their feelings clear throughout the day as they took to the SCG for a double header of AFL and AFLW action.
Several thousand supporters took to their seats to cheer on the women’s side against Essendon.
The Swans smashed their club record attendance for an AFLW match with 16,672 fans watching on.
Some sections of the crowd were vocal in their support of the women’s team, chanting “Sydney, Sydney”.
The AFLW side entered the SCG to the loud cheers of a small but vocal crowd with fans creating a guard of honour for their heroes before they proceeded through the banner.
Fans also displayed banners of their owns, of both a positive and negative persuasion.
One individual unfurled a banner referencing a famous Bloods policy, which read: “No more d***heads please”.
It was swiftly removed by security, with Channel 9 reporting others had posters confiscated on their way into the ground.
Another flag read: “Be confident. Be courageous. Stand proud, even when it hurts.”
There were reports last week some fan groups were set to boycott the event in response to five players being stood down for breaching the club’s standard of behaviour during a late night of partying, drinking and bringing women back to their Pullman Hotel following the club’s win over Essendon.
It is alleged five Swans players — Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice — were present inside a hotel room when a woman claims she was sexually assaulted.
The alleged incident remains under investigation by Victoria Police’s Sexual Crimes Squad.
Many fans flocked to talkback radio and social media to convey their disgust and sense of betrayal towards those five players, with some walking out of the SCG in protest before the men’s match against North Melbourne began.
As supporters streamed out one could be seen holding a sign that read: “Respect all women.”
The number of fans who walked out is estimated to be in the hundreds, with a crowd of 30,058 for the men’s game far below the Swans’ season average of 39,620.
Ahead of the double-header Sydney’s AFL Women’s captain Lucy McEvoy made a passionate plea for fans to come along and support them.
McEvoy said the club is united across its men’s and women’s team with the decision to suspend the so-called “Hotel Five” for the remainder of the season.
Swans men’s captain Callum Mills also made a private and public apology to the AFL Women’s squad.
The swirling drama had potential to cause drama outside the stadium, but Swans supporters have shown up to watch the AFL Women’s game, which began from 12.30pm.
Eerie scene as Swans fans make statement
There was a noticeable cheer from the crowd as the ball was about to be tossed up for the first time in the centre circle.
Fox Footy commentator Kelli Underwood called it a “warm start” to the game.
While there were many empty seats with the early timeslot, the cheer made it seem like the stadium was half full.
The Swans are hopeful a record crowd of 10,000 will watch the game.
“It is electric if you’re a Sydney Swans fan,” Fox Footy sideline reporter Alexia Pesce said.
“The crowd is going bananas and they have been from the very first moment.”
Football star’s powerful statement
Former AFL Women’s star Chloe Dalton has spoken passionately to urge supporters to flock to the SCG to watch the Swans’ Round 2 game against the Bombers.
“As a women’s player, when you walk into a football club, there are a lot of things that tell you it’s a space that has been built for men over a lot of years and you’re trying to prove you deserve to be here and you deserve to be invested in and when something like this happens within the four walls of your club, it feels really, really close to home,” Dalton told Nine’s WWOS.
“When I was at the Giants there was obviously the scandal around Mad Monday and the dress-ups that happened. As a playing group, we felt that really heavily and for me the Swans AFLW players have been really front of mind this week as it has transpired.
“I’m really hoping the general public in Sydney and Swans fans get around these AFLW players to show they’re backing them in.”
AFLW coach’s classy statement
Sydney Swans AFLW senior coach Colin O’Riordan and captain McEvoy on Friday made a desperate plea for supporters to rock up and support the team.
“As a program, we fully support these sanctions,” O’Riordan said.
“I’m looking forward to celebrating these incredible women on Sunday the SCG and I encourage everyone, all our fans, to turn up and support them because these bunch of women deserve it.
“We touched on how they can be a beacon of light. They can be a beacon to every woman out there who wants to be them and they’re huge role models in the community. As Lucy said, come and support the team. They deserve it.”
McEvoy said she was “incredibly disappointed” with the five men’s players, but said she has not felt disrespected as a woman during her time at the club.
Most pointedly, she said she has not been contacted by any of the five Swans players involved. Mills earlier this week made a private apology to the women’s team on behalf of the mens’ program.
Despite this, she said the club is “united as one”.
“I strongly believe that we’ve deserved to have this opportunity to play on the SCG,” she said.
“It’s going to be really exciting and the group are pumped.”