Ben Mathews
‘Mr Consistency’, a hard-nosed tagger who was very rarely beaten.
Andrew Dunkley
Fantastic footballer and one of the league’s best full-backs in his day. I always remembered his one-on-one contests with Wayne Carey.
Leo Barry
‘That’ mark – how could you ever forget the moment that saved the 2005 grand final for the Swans? A fantastic leader.
HALF-BACKS
Dennis Carroll
A great leader as Swans captain from 1986 to 1992. Fantastic skills and just a great clubman.
Ron Clegg
A brilliant key position player at centre half-forward or centre half-back. A former Swans captain known for his marking and kicking skills.
Mark Bayes
Lovely left foot. Was a great deliverer of the ball to the forwards. Also awarded five Victorian guernseys in his career.
CENTRES
Stuart Maxfield
An inspirational leader and a hard footballer who could really impact a game.
Greg Williams
In-and-under, he had fantastic skills and the ability to accumulate possessions.
Herb Matthews
Skilful with heaps of pace and stamina, he won South’s best and fairest five times and always polled well in the Brownlow. Started as a winger but was equally suited to centre or forward pocket roles.
HALF-FORWARDS
Michael O’Loughlin
‘Brother boy’, a premiership player, the magic man!
Barry Hall
Premiership captain, aggressive forward and three-time All-Australian.
Peter Bedford
The 1970 Brownlow Medallist, and a five-time best-and-fairest winner. An immensely talented player in the centre or at half-forward.
FORWARDS
Darren Jolly
An athletic ruckman, he improves every year.
Tony Lockett
‘Plugger’. A champion bloke. A great goalkicker and family man.
Bob Pratt
One of the finest forwards of all time. Excited crowds with his marking abilities and once kicked 15 goals in a game.
FOLLOWERS
Barry Round
A hard, fantastic forward and ruckman with great hands. The Harbour City’s heroic captain from 1980 to 1984.
Bob Skilton
To think he used to play footy and get knocked around the place – just an out-and-out champion, especially for his size.
Paul Kelly
An inspirational leader who could turn matches with his heroics.
INTERCHANGE
Brett Kirk
The heartbeat of the football club. He plays on pure emotion and passion.
Fred Goldsmith
A Brownlow Medallist and 1950s champion who could play forward or back.
Tadhg Kennelly
A brilliant half-back who risked more on the field than any other footballer I’ve played with.
Laurie Nash
A fabulous all-round sportsman in the 1930s. Could bat and bowl as a Test cricketer, and play footy at the highest level as South Melbourne’s captain and leading goalkicker.
COACH
Paul Roos
Cool, calm, collected. A great teacher and an inspiring leader.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
