Sydney have made a habit of proving the naysayers wrong and this year has proven to be no different.
This will be the Swans' third grand final in the last five seasons but there were many who believed at the start of the season the club would struggle even to make the eight.
Their fears were well founded, though proven wrong. There were doubts over how superstar forward Lance Franklin would come back after his well-publicised battle with mental illness.
Club great Adam Goodes retired along with premiership stars Mike Pyke and Rhyce Shaw, while two other heroes from the 2012 success, Craig Bird and Lewis Jetta, were traded out. That's a combined total of 983 games' experience.
Teams normally take a few years to recover from such a hit but not the Swans. They invested heavily in youth and it has paid tremendous dividends.
Coach John Longmire has blooded seven debutants this year, headlined by young gun Callum Mills – who won the AFL's Rising Star award – and the exciting Aliir Aliir.
Sadly, Aliir, who was born in a Kenyan refugee camp to Sudanese parents, will not be taking part in the grand final, his dream ruined by a knee injury in last week's preliminary final.
As well as their kids have performed, it's been their established stars who have powered the Swans' charge to the first Saturday in October.
Franklin's return to the elite ranks of the game has been one of the feelgood storylines of 2016. It's arguable this year, with the exception of 2008, has been his best in the game. Win on Saturday and whatever that comes from the final six years of his megadeal will be seen as a bonus.
Franklin is the name the casual watchers recognise but the rusted on will tell you it's the Swans' blue-chip midfield that is the heartbeat of this team.
Josh Kennedy, who hails from football royalty, Dan Hannebery and Luke Parker put their heads where angels fear to tread. If the Swans salute, they'll have their fingerprints all over it.
There's also a strong Sydney flavour to this team. Captains Kieren Jack and Jarrad McVeigh are local boys, so too backman Dane Rampe, who grew up in Clovelly. He's become one of the best defenders in the competition.
For much of their 35 years in Sydney, the Swans have been many people's second team in Victoria but not anymore, particularly this week.
The Western Bulldogs are in their first grand final since 1961 and aiming to end a 62-year premiership drought. The Swans would have liked nothing more than to square up with the Giants but they'll be just as happy ending the Bulldogs' fairytale.
