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Celebrating 40 years in Sydney: Swans all-stars line-up

Roar Guru
18th March, 2022
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Roar Guru
18th March, 2022
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It has been 40 years since the South Melbourne Swans, a club on the brink of financial collapse, was effectively forced to relocate up north to the harbour city to become known as the Sydney Swans.

It is a story of immense hardship in the early years with the club often finding it difficult to find a regular training venue, the flamboyant yet turbulent ownership period of Geoffrey Edelsten, the equally flamboyant and turbulent Warwick Capper and a 26-game losing streak in the early 1990s.

Things started to turn around in the late 1990s and since the turn of the century, the Swans have one of the most successful AFL franchises, reaching five grand finals (winning two of them).

As they celebrate the milestone, here is my best Sydney Swans team from the last 40 years.

Back pocket: Leo Barry
“Leo Barry you star!” The immortal words in the dying stages of the 2005 grand final will forever symbolise ‘Leaping Leo’s’ contribution to the Swans. His match-saving mark is etched into Swans history. A key part of the Swans’ back line in the early and mid 2000s, Barry would regularly play as an undersized fullback, playing and often beating forwards much taller and bigger than himself.

Leo Barry

(Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)

Full back: Andrew Dunkley
A tough, tenacious defender, Dunkley was the stalwart of the Swans’ back line for a decade. He played in the 1996 grand final after seeking receiving a Supreme Court injunction to play. He regularly faced off against forward champions of the era such as Wayne Carey, Jason Dunstall and Gary Ablett Sr.

Back pocket: Nick Smith
He was an often underrated player with a name to match. Smith would go about his work quelling the opposition’s dangerous small forward with little to no fuss. He kept Hawthorn’s Cyril Rioli goalless during the 2012 grand final. He made the All Australian team in 2014.

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Half back: Nick Malceski
The mercurial left footer was a key rebound defender for the Swans for the best part of ten years. Significant injury setbacks hampered his career and he underwent the at-the-time revolutionary LARS surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament. He was pivotal to the Swans’ 2012 grand final victory, scoring the Swans’ first and last goals in the match. He made the All Australian team in 2014 and was one of the Swans’ best players in their disappointing loss to the Hawks in the same year.

Centre half back: Paul Roos
Recruited from Fitzroy in 1995, Roos continued where he had left off, earning two more All Australian honours as a Swan in 1996 and 1997. He was one of the Swans’ best in the losing ’96 grand final side. He became caretaker coach of the Swans in 2002, before coaching them to their drought-breaking premiership victory in 2005.

Half back: Jarrad McVeigh
One of the few high draft picks the Swans had the early 2000s, it took McVeigh a few years to cement his place in the side as a midfield tagger. He won the club best and fairest in 2008 and was appointed co-captain alongside Adam Goodes in 2011. He lifted the premiership cup in 2012 and made All Australian in 2013. He also won a second best and fairest. Throughout the later part of this career, McVeigh played in defence. His exceptional decision making and precision passing was a hallmark of his play.

Jarrad McVeigh looks to pass the ball.

(Photo by Brett Hemmings/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Wing: Dan Hannebery
An outstanding junior player, Hannebery debuted for the Swans while still finishing high school in Melbourne. He won the AFL Rising Star award in 2010 as well as achieving a top ten finish in the Swans’ best and fairest. Hannebery’s star continued to rise and he was close to the Swans’ best player in their 2012 grand final win. He was integral to them reaching the grand finals in 2014 and 2016. Hannebery made the All Australian team in 2013, 2015 and 2016 before being traded to St Kilda in 2018.

Centre: Paul Kelly (captain)
‘Captain Courageous’, as he was known, was recruited to the Swans from Wagga and debuted for the Swans in 1990. Appointed captain in 1993, Kelly would go on to win four best and fairest awards and the Brownlow medal in 1995, when the Swans only managed eight wins for the year. He was named as vice-captain in the Swans’ team of the century. He was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2007.

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Wing: Gerard Healy
Joining the Swans from Melbourne in 1986, Healy made an immediate impact, winning the best and fairest in his first three seasons at the club to go with his All Australian selections in those years. In 1988 he also won the Brownlow medal. He was selected on the half forward flank in the Swans’ team of the century.

Half forward: Ryan O’Keefe
A diamond-in-the-rough draft pick, O’Keefe was drafted at pick 56 in the 1999 draft. After shifting to a more attacking role, O’Keefe soon became a key component of the Swans’ forward line during the early to mid 2000s. He was best on ground in the Swans’ 2005 prelim final win and made the All Australian team in 2006. After a failed bid to join Hawthorn in 2009, O’Keefe moved into a midfield role and became a key cog in the engine room. In perhaps a sliding-doors moment, O’Keefe won the 2012 Norm Smith Medal in the Swans’ epic win over the club he wanted to join. He is a member of an elite club to be a multiple premiership-winning Swan.

Centre half forward: Barry Hall
‘Big Bad’ Barry was recruited from St Kilda in 2002 as a talented yet temperamental forward. He soon established himself as an elite forward of his generation, winning All Australian selection in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and finishing runner up in the Coleman Medal in 2005. He was also the Swans’ leading goal kicker for seven consecutive seasons. On-field indiscretions marred his achievements. His hit on Brent Staker in 2008 has gone down in modern AFL infamy. Further on-field fracases led to Hall’s sacking in 2009. Nevertheless, Hall will go down as a Swans great.

Barry Hall

(Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)

Half forward: Lance Franklin
Lance ‘Buddy’ Forward was already a superstar when he became the hottest free agent at the end of the 2013 season. Widely expected to go to GWS, the Swans took the AFL world by storm, securing Franklin’s services on a mammoth nine-year deal. After a slow start, Franklin soon found his stride, adding to his already impressive highlights reel on his way to the 2014 Coleman Medal and All Australian Selection. A six-time leading goal kicker and three-time best and fairest winner for the Swans, Franklin is likely to soon become just the sixth man to kick 1000 VFL/AFL goals.

Forward pocket: Michael O’Loughlin
Michael ‘Magic’ O’Loughlin came to the Swans in the mid ’90s with the team on the rise. He played in the 1996 grand final as a teenager. O’Loughlin earned All Australian selection in 1997 and 2000 and the Swans’ best and fairest in 1998. Alongside Barry Hall, he was a key part of the Swans’ forward line in their 2005 flag. In 2009, he became the first Swan to play 300 games before retiring at the end of that year.

Full forward: Tony Lockett
As the song goes, there is only Tony Lockett and only one man who could fill this coveted position. Recruited from St Kilda in 1995, Lockett won two of his four Coleman Medals at the Swans in 1996 and 1998 along with three of his five All Australian honours. In 1999, he notched up his 1300th goal, breaking Gordon Coventry’s VFL goal-kicking record. Lockett finished his career with 1360 goals, a record that may never be broken. Featuring in both the St Kilda and Swans teams of the century, Lockett is one of the all-time greats.

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Forward pocket: Warwick Capper
‘The Whiz’ certainly brought colour and flair to the Swans in the ’80s with his blonde mullet, white boots and extremely tight shorts. He also had talent, leading the Swans’ goal kicking for four consecutive seasons. A controversial figure, Capper always managed to keep himself in the limelight both on and off the field.

Warwick Capper playing for the Sydney Swans

(Photo by Getty Images)

Ruck: Barry Round
The inaugural captain of the Swans, Round was the competition’s premier ruckman in the early to mid 1980s. The Brownlow medallist in 1981, Round would also feature as the ruckman in the Swans’ team of the century.

Follower: Josh Kennedy
A name synonymous with Hawthorn, Kennedy is the grandchild of legendary Hawks coach John Kennedy. He joined the Swans in 2010. Kennedy soon established himself as an elite inside midfielder and clearance specialist. To go with his 2012 premiership, Kennedy has won three best and fairest awards and three times has been selected as an All Australian. He was also co-captain from 2017 to 2021. Kennedy is also a big-game player, being one of the Swans’ best players in all of their grand final appearances in the mid 2010s. He could play his 300th game this year.

Follower: Adam Goodes
Another diamond-in-the-rough draft selection, Goodes was drafted at pick 43 in the 1997 draft. Goodes established himself early in his career, winning the AFL Rising Star Award in 1999. Goodes would go on to become arguably the Swans’ most decorated player, winning two Brownlow medals, two premierships, four All Australian honours, selection in the Indigenous team of the century and three best and fairest awards. He was also leading goal kicker for three consecutive years. Off the field, he was awarded the 2014 Australian of the Year. The booing saga overshadowed the later stages of his career and in 2015 he retired having played 372 matches, the most of any Swan.

Ted Richards, Adam Goodes and Ben McGlynn sing.

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Interchange

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Greg Williams
A member of the Swans’ team of the century, Williams played 107 matches for the Swans between 1986 and 1991. He tied for the Brownlow medal in 1986 in his first year at the club.

Luke Parker
The Swans’ current co-captain, Parker is a three-time best and fairest winner and premiership winner. He made the All Australian team in 2016. A tough and tenacious player, Parker is likely to notch his 250th match this season.

Brett Kirk
A mature-age recruit, Kirk was certainly not the fastest, strongest or biggest player and he was a fairly ordinary kick. However what Kirk lacked in talent he made up for in grit and determination. Kirk’s tenacity epitomised the Bloods culture that helped the Swans break a 72-year premiership drought. He was an All Australian in 2004. Kirk also twice won the Swans’ best and fairest including in their premiership year. He had two stints as Swans captain from 2005-2007 and 2009-2010.

Daryn Cresswell
Drafted from Tasmania, Cresswell won the best and fairest with the Swans in 1994 and played in the 1996 grand final side. Cresswell made the All Australian team in 1997 and sneaks onto the interchange bench in the Swans’ team of the century.

Coach: John Longmire
A premiership player with North Melbourne, Longmire became an assistant coach with the Swans under Paul Roos in 2008. He became senior coach in 2011 and coached the team to premiership glory in 2012. He has coached the most number of games for the Swans and has a winning rate of above 60 per cent. He will be the first coach to pass 250 games for the Swans this year.

Honourable mentions/emergencies: Jude Bolton, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Tadhg Kennelly, Kieren Jack, Mark Bayes and Ted Richards.

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