THE FANS play a massive role at our footy club. Fans give you the support you need, through thick and thin. It's what footy clubs are about, sticking together through the good times and the bad.

That huge Sydney roar gives us players a big lift and I'm certainly hoping to hear it this Saturday against Adelaide at the SCG.

The thing about the Swans supporters is that they know their team is never out of the game - like last week's thriller against Carlton.

It comes back to the way we like to play our football. I reckon the fans really enjoy the fact that the Swans are always going to be in with a chance of winning no matter how well or bad we've been playing in recent times.

Swans fans really believe in the brand of football we play and the way the football club is set up. And as players we really believe in our fans. Their importance to the footy club can't be underestimated.

We have a close bond with our fan-base, too, just like other AFL clubs. The players do a lot of after-match functions, trivia nights and Swans clinics and membership drives where we are available for a chat.

I genuinely enjoy it. It's a chance for the fans to really meet the players. I guess some of the Swans are role models who they wouldn't usually meet so there are plenty of questions.

They ask us all sorts of things. Some are personal, like where we were brought up and how far did we have to move away from our family to pursue our footy dream.

You could say it's about sharing stories.

And speaking of stories, our footy club has its own unique tale, forged from our ties as the South Melbourne footy club.

When we play in Melbourne, those old South Melbourne supporters see that we are still "The Bloods", and they barrack for us like they once did for South Melbourne. It's special.

But it must be hard for our Melbourne fans to support us living in a different state. That's why we appreciate them so much.

We might only play there four or five times a year. And since winning the grand final in 2005, it seems the crowds in Melbourne are getting bigger for us and we have supporters who travel down from Sydney too. It makes for a great atmosphere.

I enjoy playing in Melbourne. It's a different type of crowd and you can really feel the fan rivalry when we kick a goal. Our fans scream as loud as they can and when the opposition scores they do really boo.

It's almost like an off-field contest.

And I know what that feels like. I've got great memories as a youngster of my mate Andrew, my cricket coach Neil and I always going to the Anzac Day match between the Pies and the Bombers. I was a huge Collingwood fan.

That was my very first introduction to watching live AFL football. What an introduction, with 100,000 fans in the ground and an electric atmosphere.

And after I learnt the rules, I was just like every other fan yelling and screaming and booing the umpires as we all did.

There's nothing like supporting your footy club, is there?

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL.