The David-and-Goliath battle at Optus Stadium proved sport is life’s greatest theatre

Sport is life’s greatest theatre. The sheer delight and gut-wrenching despair, the pure ecstasy and horrifying agony.

The proof came yet again on Saturday night.

Optus Stadium the venue, Fremantle and Gold Coast taking centre stage under the bright lights, in what some would call a David and Goliath battle.

The Suns making their first September campaign, on the road with only three players with post-season experience.

Up against a Dockers side entering the match with 12 wins from their past 14 games, a list stacked with young stars, in front of a daunting, dog hungry and passionate sold-out home crowd.

At the heart of the storyline was two ageing champions – the main acts – and there were plenty of indicators pre-game something special was brewing.

Nat Fyfe and David Swallow – both former captains, both retiring at seasons end, both their teams starting substitutes, both playing game 248.

The duo have been loyal, one-club players, desperate to taste success for the team which gave them the chance to realise a childhood dream.

Both put their body through hell throughout their careers and also this season in the hope of one more chance of glory.

And in a finals fairytale for the visitors, it was Gold Coast’s favourite son delivering the club’s greatest moment in history in the biggest game in their 15 years.

The outpouring of emotion, joy and pure pandemonium at Swallow’s goal, before being overturned, and then moments later at the final siren are rare scenes.

The pictures beamed nationwide and had the footy world captivated.

History was being made before our very eyes, and while it ripped the heart out of the purple army, it brought a smile to the neutral observer.

Swallow’s embrace with teammates, fans and then his family is something many will remember for a long time, something Swallow himself will remember forever.

On the flipside, Fyfe’s farewell, albeit not going to script, was all class.

He had a moment on field when taking a brilliant contested mark, displaying the type of courage he has throughout his 16 seasons.

His press conference post-game spoke more to the calibre of person he is than the athlete. Raw, reflective and insightful, conducting himself in a first-class manner.

He had accepted his fate, his lot in footy, that a premiership was not to be.

While David’s heroics has earned him the chance at another shot in September, the Goliath’s legacy will also live on at Fremantle.

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