We know our Swans’ players are capable of launching some enormous kicks for goal.
2010 alone saw Dan Hannebery’s monster left-footer at the MCG against Hawthorn and Daniel Bradshaw’s unforgettable torp after the three-quarter time siren at the SCG against Brisbane, but how do our boys compare to the best from the United States’ National Football League?
Pretty favourably according to Dallas Cowboys’ two time Pro Bowl punter Mat McBriar - a passionate Swans supporter - who visited training today.
“If I can make it, I’m sure a lot of these other guys can too,” McBriar told sydneyswan.com.au.
“If there were American scouts here today I’m sure they would be amazed.”
McBriar, who led the NFL in average punting yards last year, grew up playing Aussie Rules in Melbourne and was delighted to be mixing it amongst the Swans’ playing group.
“Just seeing these guys and being able to put faces to names is a big thrill for me,” he said.
“This is the game I grew up playing and I still follow it massively, they just don’t show much of it over there...but it’s still my love.”
“I’ve been a Swans supporter all my life, and my family are mad Swans all the way through from my grandparents,” McBriar said.
McBriar cited the 2005 Grand Final victory as one of his favourite highlights, although he admits he was unsure whether the Swans would get over the line towards the end, even despite some canine intervention.
“I watched it…with my wife Erin and my brother who was travelling at the time, and we almost got in a bit of a blue because I thought we were going to lose it there at the end, but it was quiet emotional,” he said.
“We kind of felt that we had a say in it because we had rescued a dog earlier that year and named it Sydney after the Swans. We should have named our second dog Sydney II.”
McBriar was presented with a signed Swans’ jumper by coach John Longmire, before having lengthy chats about both codes with Adam Goodes, Craig Bolton and Kieren Jack.
He then took to Lakeside Oval where the players were training and tested his Sherrin skills with our resident punting guru, assistant coach Stuart Dew, before he and wife Erin were taken on a tour of the Swans offices and SCG.
After originally signing for the Denver Broncos as a free agent, McBriar landed at the Cowboys via the Seattle Seahawks, and has been at Dallas since Boxing Day 2003.
He was selected as a punter for the NFC team in the 2006 and 2010 Pro Bowls, and his longest kick in the NFL was 75 yards (68.6 metres).