Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 9:39 am
It's time to build a Dane Statue in Jacana.
Loved him.
I used to go to the footy sometimes during his peak and did not watch the team but just watch him play. He was a unique football talent. Wasn’t as graceful as Judd, Pendles, Ablett etc. but just as effective. A Goalkicking midfielder who had enormous strength in contests and was able to power out of contests with speed. Was incredibly smart he knew where to run but most importantly knew when to run to get the ball (which you can’t teach) just burned off opponents with his speed and stamina. Like all great players he had superior core strength and was able to shake off the tackler as well as using that same strength effectively in marking contests.
This wasn’t talked about much in the media but I believe the way his career finished by a collision injury (A couple of bone breaks in his ankle) was a tragedy! If not for that occurring, I truly believe he could have played for at least another 2-3 years at Collingwood (may even had played in the 2018 GF) as he hadn’t had many soft tissue injuries up until that point and hadn’t lost any speed or power.
Anyway sometimes and particularly at Collingwood players are branded as ‘great players’ without any validity. But Swanny was truly a great player!
Thanks for the memories Swanny!