AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon stood beside a bar in the Steve Waugh Room at the Sydney Cricket Ground and cracked open a cold bottle of Carlton Draught.

Parked up in a busy corner of the AFL’s official Opening Round function on level two of the Victor Trumper Stand on Thursday night, Dillon was in buoyant mood, surrounded by the game’s movers and shakers, all in town after the AFL’s AGM in Sydney earlier in the week.

What transpired next was nothing short of remarkable as the Swans booted 12 goals – and 75 points – in a third quarter where majors felt like they arrived more frequently than sixes at a T20 match. It was the third-highest tally in a single term in AFL history.

The breathtaking blitz – the most points by a team in a quarter since Essendon piled on 94 against Gold Coast in 2011 – saw Sydney’s vociferous red-and-white army lose its collective mind.

At 9.13pm, came the moment the marketing department had been waiting for.

Charlie Curnow of the Swans celebrates a goal on Thursday night. Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images

Lining up against his new club, Charlie Curnow slotted his first goal after a couple of tentative behinds, pressing his claim to become Sydney’s newest poster boy and their latest forward star – a mantle previously held by Lance Franklin, Barry Hall and Tony Lockett before him.

The SCG erupted, with rock anthem Black Betty pumping around the stadium to mark a moment in Swans history. As far as sporting atmospheres go, it was right up there.

The city of Sydney needs a new Franklin, and the AFL needs Sydney to find another Buddy.

© The Sydney Morning Herald