The Swans match committee and Board are pleased to announce that recently listed recruit Craig Bird has accepted the Clubs offer to wear the coveted no.14 guernsey for season 2008.
After five years in retirement the Swans number 14 will next year be officially presented to Craig Bird at the 2008 Sydney Swans guernsey presentation night.
The guernsey was last pulled on by Paul Kelly who first wore the no.14 in 1991, the following year he won his first Club Champion medal. He went on to win the 1995 Brownlow along with a further three Club Champion medals in a career spanning 234 games.
Kelly captained the Swans for 10 years between 1993 and 2002 when he retired. The famous no.14 guernsey was then put away as a sign of respect.
Previously Bob Skilton had made the Swans number 14 famous winning nine Club Champion awards and three Brownlow Medals in 237 games. He wore the guernsey from 1956 to 1971.
Like Kelly, Bob Skilton also captained the Swans for 10 years between 1961 and 1972 (he missed 1969 through injury). The two champions hold the top two positions as Club captains with Kelly leading the Swans in 182 games and Skilton in 165.
In 2003 Skilton and Kelly were named as captain and vice-captain of the Swans Team of the Century.
Craig Bird secured All-Australian selection for the second time after leading the NSW/ACT Rams to a championship in Division 2 of the AFL U18 championships this year. He also played in numerous reserve grade games for the undefeated Swans reserves of 2007.
“There will be the obvious, and immediate comparisons between Craig and the previous champion players which, when any number is handed on is inevitable,” coach Paul Roos said.
“In making this decision, as a Club we feel Craig can certainly go on and become a very valuable member of the Sydney Swans however, in our determination that Craig should be the one to inherit this historic number, most importantly we felt there was a very real link between Craig and the previous wearer Paul Kelly.
“The fact that Craig is the first of our NSW scholarship players to be included on the senior list is a very significant moment for this football club and the Board, the executive and the football department, along with Paul Kelly and Bobby Skilton, felt that this historic occasion should be acknowledged by offering Craig Bird the opportunity to bring the guernsey out of retirement.”
Craig Bird
DOB: 21/01/1989
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 75 kg
Recruited From: NELSON BAY
Position: Small midfielder
