The GWS Giants made history last week at the MCG defeating Collingwood 56-52 to qualify for their first AFL Grand Final.
It’s a massive achievement for a club that only entered the competition in 2012, especially after reaching the finals in each of their previous three seasons.
Expansion clubs often struggle in the early goings, which got us thinking about teams that have found immediate success around the sporting globe.
Here’ a look at 10 teams who wasted little time in their pursuit of glory.
Sunshine Coast Lightning
Super Netball first began in 2017, and the Lightning wasted little time getting to work in their first season as a club.
The Sunshine Coast finished second on the ladder to qualify for the finals, setting up a Semi-Final match against the Melbourne Vixens. The Lightning won narrowly by a goal, progressing to the Grand Final to face the Giants.
After a close call against Melbourne, the Sunshine Coast wasted no time pummeling the Giants in the Grand Final to secure their first premiership. The Lightning then went on to claim a second consecutive title with a close three-goal win over West Coast Fever in Perth.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Major League Baseball announced another expansion franchise in 1995, awarding Arizona a team to first begin play in the 1998 season.
The Diamondbacks got off to a slow start in their first year winning only 65 games, but they quickly turned things around the very next season to qualify for the playoffs.
Arizona lost in the NLDS 3-1 to the Padres, but momentum was building. The Diamondbacks then went on to win the World Series two years later over the Yankees, in what is often thought as one of the most exciting Game 7’s in baseball history.
West Coast Eagles
Two years into Mick Malthouse’s term as head coach and five years after first being founded, West Coast found themselves in the 1991 Grand Final after finishing the season as minor premiers.
The Eagles lost only three games all year, but it was a different story on Grand Final Day as West Coast fell by 53-points to Hawthorn.
After only entering the competition in 1987, it was still an encouraging sign from one of the AFL’s two 1986 up-start teams. West Coast would then go on to prove they weren’t a one-hit wonder the very next season, finishing fourth on the ladder in 1992 before earning a 28-point Grand Final win over Geelong.
Peter Matera, who booted five goals in the match, was awarded the Norm Smith Medal to go along with a memorable 60-metre goal to give the Eagles the lead.
West Coast went on to play in five more Grand Finals with wins in 1994, 2006 and 2018.
Brisbane Lions
The 2001 Brisbane Lions are remembered as one of the fiercest, in-your-face sides in the history of the game.
Four years after first entering the competition in 1997, Michael Voss, Alastair Lynch, Brownlow Medal winner Jason Akermanis and the Scott brothers made up a lethal mix of speed and physicality – all of which led to the Lions’ first flag in their inaugural trip to the Grand Final.
After finishing on the bottom of the ladder in 1998, the Lions made the finals in the following two seasons before meeting Essendon in the 2001 Grand Final.
The Bombers, looking to defend their premiership crown, failed to show up for the contest losing by 26-points. The Lions went on to win a famous three-peat, while the Bombers haven’t played in a Grand Final since.
Vegas Golden Knights
The NHL decided to expand to 31 teams after announcing an expansion franchise for the city of Las Vegas.
Hockey had grown in popularity in the city of sin, paving the way for the Golden Knights to enter the league in 2017.
Expansion franchises have a long history of struggling in American sports, but that wasn’t the case for Vegas. The Golden Knights, led by William Karlsson and Marc-Andre Fleury, not only finished the regular season 51-24, but also went on to play in the Stanley Cup against the Washington Capitals.
Vegas’ brilliant run eventually ran out as they lost the series 1-4, but the Knights’ 2017 season still remains one of the most remarkable stories for an expansion team, especially after qualifying for the playoffs again the very next year.
Port Adelaide
This one wasn’t quite as instant, but after first joining the AFL in 1997, Port Adelaide made their Grand Final debut seven years later in 2004.
Standing in their way was a Brisbane Lions juggernaut looking to win their fourth-straight flag, but the Power and coach Mark Williams had other ideas.
Scuffles pursued early in the match, setting up the foundation for a classic rivalry in years to come. Port kicked away in the third quarter though, going on to record a famous 40-point victory over the flag favourites.
The Power went on to play in the 2007 Grand Final, losing to Geelong by 119-points – the largest margin in Grand Final history. The Lions, meanwhile, haven’t returned to the big dance since.
Western Sydney Wanderers
The Western Sydney Wanderers got off to a slow start in their inaugural 2012 season before things quickly took a turn for the better.
Western Sydney went on to record a record-breaking season, setting a new all-time Australian national league record on their way to claiming the premiership. The ladder leaders strung together 10 consecutive wins under coach Tony Popovic, right before losing the Grand Final 0-2 to Central Coast.
On the plus side, the Wanderers gained a large increase in fans due to their instant success as well as a win in the 2014 Asian Champions League.
Adelaide Crows
The glory days of the 97/98 Crows feels like a lifetime ago considering how far this once proud club has fallen in recent times.
It took seven years to get there, but Adelaide won the premiership in their first year under Malcolm Blight in 1997 before returning one year later to defend their crown. Only this time around, the Crows had the odds stacked against them after finishing fifth on the ladder.
A resilient North Melbourne side awaited in the 1998 Grand Final and at quarter time, the Kangaroos held a narrow eight-point lead.
The tides turned even further in the second quarter as North led 51-27 at halftime, right before a huge five goal third gave the Crows the lead. Adelaide went on to boot another six goals in the fourth term, winning comfortably by 35-points.
Adelaide became the first club in AFL history to win the premiership after finishing lower than fourth on the ladder. Andrew McLeod also won back-to-back Norm Smith’s.
Melbourne Storm
Believe it or not, the Storm were once underdogs prior to their decade long dominance in recent times.
Before the likes of Craig Bellamy, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith, Melbourne was nothing more than a young expansion side trying to find its feet among some of the competition’s heavyweights.
Following the Super League and ARL merger in 1998, the Storm caught everybody by surprise winning their first game over the Illawarra Steelers. That victory turned into a four-game winning streak, which eventually led to the Storm finishing third on the ladder to secure a finals berth.
Melbourne lost to the Roosters in the qualifying finals before rebounding the very next week to hand the Raiders a 24-10 loss.
The Storm proved no match for the Broncos in the Semi’s, but Melbourne had shown everyone they weren’t to be taken lightly.
Melbourne once again made the finals the very next year after winning eight of their opening 11 games. Again, the Storm suffered a first-round finals loss before bouncing back to beat St. George 20-18 in the Grand Final.
Los Angeles Galaxy & D.C. United
The Galaxy finished first in the Western Conference during the first official year of MLS in 1996.
Los Angeles, alongside D.C. United, were one of the first two teams to contest for the first-ever MLS Cup, but the Galaxy’s run of luck came to an end in the final as United won 3-2.