While Kirk and Bolton have both earned their stripes and the respect of their peers in their collective 350 games at the Club, the path to success has been a rocky journey for both and exemplary of their individual fight and determination.
Kirk, 32, debuted in 1999, but prior to this spent time playing in the reserves. He was delisted from the Club’s supplementary list before being re-signed in the rookie draft and played sporadic senior football for a few seasons until the appointment of Paul Roos as coach in 2003. Kirk is now a two-time Club best and fairest winner, All-Australian, International Rules representative, Swans co-captain and premiership player. On Saturday Kirk will become only the 22nd player in Swans history to play 200 games.
Bolton, 28, was a two-time grand final emergency for the Brisbane Lions when they won the flag in 2001 and 2002, and managed only 29 games in four seasons. After struggling to earn a regular place on the team that boasted the likes of Michael Voss, Jason Akermanis, Simon Black and Nigel Lappin, Bolton made the bold move South to play with the Swans in 2003. In the two seasons after Bolton left the club, the Lions won another flag in 2003 and went on to play in their fourth consecutive grand final in 2004.
Now, Bolton is a co-captain, a premiership player, an All-Australian, has played for the Dream Team in last year’s Hall of Fame tribute match, is soon to be made a life member of the Swans and is regarded as one of the best defenders in the competition, continually shutting down the opposition’s biggest and best defenders.
It is a great testament to Kirk’s and Bolton’s individual fight and determination to have battled their way through tough times to become the integral players they are today.
What’s more, to celebrate another milestone together as great friends is something both players described as a great moment in their careers.
“Craig’s one of my best mates and to be able to share something like that is pretty special,” Kirk said.
“Craig typifies everything what we want at our football Club and he has done for a long time and I think it is only fitting that this weekend he gets his life membership.
“Things happen for a reason I think and since Craig crossed from Brisbane we’ve been really close and we’ve worked closely together and he’s been a great asset for our football Club.
“We shared a milestone and we’ve played every game since so I think there’s a bit of luck involved there.”
Bolton shares a similar admiration for Kirk, as a midfielder who has led the Club to finals success and has been one of the competitions most prolific tacklers for many years.
“If you look at him (Kirk), you wouldn’t think he would be a typical elite midfielder in the competition, but he is,” Bolton said.
“He’s just got a great ability to be so consistent every week. On his best games he is really able to lift the team and be a driving force for us and his best games happen generally most weeks, it’s very rare that he has a bad one.
“From a leadership perspective he offers a lot in that regard.”
The chemistry these players share together on the field is most evident in the way they go about their football, but off the field they are just as close.
Bolton is the godfather to Kirk’s four children and the two only live down the road from one another, which for Kirk has its benefits since Bolton’s babysitting skills are just as good as his defending.
“For all of our kids, Craig’s been what we call our spiritual guide,” Kirk said.
“He comes up and helps us out a lot and my kids really look up to him and they love him.”
