History favours forward-thinking teams in Sydney Target: Lance Franklin might have had a couple of off weeks but that hasn't deterred other clubs such as GWS Giants from coveting the Hawks' star forward. Photo: Robert Cianflone If history is any guide, there's only one thing Sydney likes more than a winner, and that's a glamour forward. The Swans have set a membership record this year after their premiership success, but their ability to spread their wings beyond the rusted-on supporters in Sydney was at its highest not when the club was winning flags, but when they had a drawcard in the goal square. Although the club has pulled its biggest home crowds at ANZ Stadium, which has a capacity of 83,500, perhaps a more accurate gauge of interest are the numbers it draws to the SCG. Speccy: Crowd pleaser Warwick Capper flies high for the Swans in 1991. Photo: Fairfax Archive Of the top 10 attendances at the venue, excluding finals, seven occurred during the Tony Lockett era and two in 1986 when Warwick Capper became a household name. Capper - the flamboyant showman with the rock star hair, tanned skin and astonishingly tight shorts who used defenders as step ladders - was the first of the goal-kicking machines to wear the red and white after the Swans made their debut in Sydney in 1982. Then came, in contrast, the enigmatic and intensely private Lockett, the game's greatest goalkicker and one of the best players ever. Goal machine: Tony Lockett strikes a familiar pose for the Swans, kicking his record-breaking 1300th major in the AFL in 1999. Photo: Allsport He was followed by Barry Hall, a star forward and one of the most feared players of his generation. In a few weeks, last summer's big signing Kurt Tippett will also be available. Richard Colless has seen them all, apart from Capper, since becoming chairman of the club in 1994 but said no Swan has had a greater influence on the club than Lockett. "I'd almost argue he was the best-known footballer of any code in NSW for a number of years, notwithstanding the fact AFL was a relatively minor sport," Colless says. Tony's the most impactful player that has been at the club since I've been there. That's not to say there haven't been a lot of outstanding players but he was a terrifying force of nature, he really was, but he was ultra-skilful as well. People were terrified, but in awe of his skill. He played some wonderful football up here. He was physically imposing. People trembled just watching him from the stands. When Lockett arrived in 1995, the Swans were "totally unfashionable," Colless says. They had just emerged from a horror stretch in 1992-94 which produced just one win from 37 matches, including a 26-game losing streak. Despite Sydney's raft of on-field woes, Colless was warned by long-time supporters in 1994 of the drawbacks of signing Lockett from St Kilda. Only months earlier he had been handed an eight-week suspension after rearranging Peter Caven's face in an ugly incident at the SCG. But Lockett's arrival, along with Paul Roos in 1995, combined with the rise of players such as Paul Kelly, Dale Lewis, Andrew Dunkley and Daryn Cresswell produced a rapid rise up the ladder. In two years, the Swans morphed from cellar dwellers to grand finalists. They also played in four consecutive finals series - a feat the club had not achieved since the 1930s. The number of fans also increased. The Swans pulled more supporters through the turnstiles at home in 1997 than they have since the league started in 1897. "There's no doubt from '95 on, people came to the SCG to watch him play," Colless says. He was arguably the best full-forward of all time - there was an aura about him. There was a similar magnetism to Capper, whose hauls of 92 and 103 goals lifted the Swans to back-to-back finals series in 1986-87 - the club's first in Sydney. Dennis Carroll, Capper's captain when the spearhead was at his peak, can still remember the "massive attention" he drew. "Whether it was getting off buses or onto planes, wherever we were around the country, Warwick was the one sought after by young kids, by grandmothers and he had time for all of them," Carroll says. He was mobbed. The Swans averaged nearly 26,000 fans in 1986, which was more than double the previous three years and marginally higher than their crowds this year. He had a lot of appeal to young kids, females. The blond hair, olive tan and beach look - it fitted with a lot of the aspects of Sydney," Carroll says. No doubt he was a superstar with pulling power. For any player, you want to play in front of big crowds. It made a massive difference to the players, but it had a big impact for two or three years there on the wider AFL interest. Hall, by winning a flag, may have achieved what Lockett and Capper could not, but his box office appeal grew as it became apparent the man known as the "big, bad bustling" one also had ability. "Barry became a star at Sydney," Colless says. I don't think he was a superstar when he arrived in Sydney, whereas Lockett was. The Swans would be rapt if their latest star-signing Tippett generated the same level of interest as his predecessors when he is eligible to play in round 13. "Kurt hasn't had massive publicity every week since the deal was done but I think, as we get closer to him being eligible to play again, I think the awareness, the Tippett factor, will start to rise," Colless says. I think big exciting forwards are what every club wants, what every commentator thinks sets teams apart - and the punters will queue up to watch them. Greater Wester Sydney have been linked to Franklin but, for now, the fledgling club is zipping its lips on the prospect of the Hawthorn No.23 heading north. "There's no silver bullet in terms of building this club," Giants chief David Matthews says. [But] the point's valid. I think anyone in any sport likes to see the star [playing for their team].