After taking the lead 13 minutes into the first term the Demons never let go, piling on six first-quarter goals which proved to be the difference as they clinched their second premiership with a 13.8 (86) to 7.7 (49) victory.

The Demons had winners all over the ground with Jesse Tuckerman restricting dangerous Swans forward Nick Child to one goal for the day, veteran Andrew McLean dominating in the ruck and skipper Robert Blair leading from the front in the midfield.

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Four-goal coach Thane Bardenhagen, who kicked three in a seven-minute burst just before quarter time, said going down to Old Scotch in the 2016 decider had made his team a stronger unit.

“Obviously last year was very heartbreaking but we stuck together (with a) pretty similar group, we didn’t add a lot we just built on what we already had,” he said. 

“I think the boys really learnt a lot (from last year), I think we were probably a little bit immature and it was a bit too early but today we knew what to expect and we were good from the get-go.

“We had a little lapse or two but we were able to rebuild and I’m very proud of our efforts.”

Going into the first break five goals down, the Swans showed why they had built such a fearsome reputation over the course of the season, restricting the Demons’ forward entries and kicking the first three goals of the second term.

The margin would stay at 10 points for much of the third quarter, with an Eddie Betts-like boundary line pickup and banana from Michael Musicka inspiring the Swans to keep chipping away.

But the floodgates opened in the last term.

After 10 minutes of back-and-forth Bradley Rayner took the margin out to four goals before a 45-metre snap from Billy Tuckerman and Lincoln Jackson’s fifth sealed the game.

“We knew they were going to come but in the end we were good enough to hold them off,” Bardenhagen said.

“After a few down years and losing last year there was a bit of pressure on us but for the club... you can see by all the people here (how much) they appreciate it.”

For the losing side midfielder Jack Rushton was again industrial for his new club, while Lewis Ritchie gave the Swans plenty of drive out of defence. 

East Coast coach Ned Hyland said his side would use the result as “fire in the belly” for next season and guaranteed the Swans would come back bigger and better. 

“It doesn’t make the hurt any less but I am very proud of how far we’ve come in our first year,” Hyland said.

“They were definitely within reach a couple of times today but I think mentally it was bit too hard on a few of our younger players and all the hype around the occasion probably got to them.

“But we’re a young team and for our boys to go this far as a group is just an absolutely unbelievable effort.”   

Hyland also thanked the NTFA for welcoming the Swans from the NEFU last year.