Sydney have kept their AFL season alive with a stunning, come-from-behind nine-point win over Richmond at the MCG.

The Swans kicked eight of the last nine goals of Saturday’s engrossing contest to claim the 12.8 (80) to 10.11 (71) win in front of 58,721 fans.

The Tigers led from the early minutes of the match, but Kieren Jack put his side in front with a brilliant goal in heavy traffic with just under six minutes to go in the final term.

A pulsating last quarter went up another notch as Richmond tried to claw back the lead, but Gary Rohan sealed the famous win with a goal with eight seconds left.

Richmond kicked the first six goals of the game and led by 36 points in the second quarter before Sydney mounted a fightback.

John Longmire’s men couldn’t match the Tigers’ blistering pace early, but they worked back into the game with their improved contested work.

The margin was 25 points at halftime and shrank to 13 at the last break, setting up the finale.

The win could come at a cost after Lance Franklin went into the umpire’s book in the second quarter for a front-on bump on Connor Menadue that collected the young Tiger high.

Fans were given the Alex Rance-Franklin match-up they had wanted and Rance took the points, keeping his opponent to one goal.

The pair were at each other all day in an often spiteful, always enthralling, one-on-one battle.