My cherished memories of working at the Swans have been trampled
I worked at the Sydney Swans for two years. Needless to say, sitting down to write about the club as it wallows through this dark and devastating chapter stirs up a huge range of emotions in me.
Above all, shock, closely followed by immense sadness.
Swans captain Callum Mills talks to players and staff at the SCG after the devastating events in Melbourne. Phil Hillyard
Of utmost importance at this time are the alleged victims of sexual assault. I hope they are getting every bit of support they deserve.
I worked on the Swans media team in 2018 and 2019. In a nutshell, it was my job to interview the players and coaches on SwansTV and write for the club website.
Something I always admired in my time in red and white was a culture of deep respect for the club’s story, through both the South Melbourne and Sydney years, and a culture of great respect for the many people who had made the club so special.
I remember around the time of one Swans Hall of Fame night having a chinwag with former co-captain Kieren Jack, who said he looked forward to those kinds of evenings because he liked learning about, or being refreshed on, the club’s storied past.
The drastic relocation from South Melbourne to Sydney in 1982, and the iconic photo shoot on the Opera House steps that came with it.
The 26-game losing streak in the early 1990s that had the club on the brink of financial despair, and the Ron Barassi coaching appointment that hauled the club off the canvas.
The birth of the Brett Kirk-inspired “Bloods culture” on a 2003 pre-season camp in Coffs Harbour, and the end of a 72-year premiership drought that followed in 2005.
The day Michael O’Loughlin surpassed John Rantall to become the most capped player in Swans history, in the same game that his great mate Adam Goodes ran out for his 200th match.
And, simply, the witness accounts of how freakishly good Goodes was in his prime.
When Dane Rampe won the Bob Skilton Medal in 2019, awarded to the Swans’ best and fairest, he shed tears in his speech while paying tribute to the retiring Jarrad McVeigh.
“Your influence on my career has been profound,” Rampe said, his voice trembling.
Me speaking on SwansTV in 2019 ahead of Red Day, where the club and charity Redkite joined forces in support of children and families fighting cancer. SwansTV
Weeks earlier, when Sydney beat St Kilda in round 23 at the SCG, in a fairytale goodbye for Jack, McVeigh, Heath Grundy and Nick Smith, and in Lance Franklin’s 300th game, the sense of respect was as palpable as ever.
The four retiring champions and Franklin were chaired off the ground at full-time. Grundy and Smith had their club suits on, having not played because of injury. Swans premiership winner Dan Hannebery, who by this point was a Saint, took one of McVeigh’s legs as Rampe took the other.
It was my most memorable day at the Swans.
Before Jack and co. came Goodes, Jude Bolton, Stuart Maxfield and Kirk. Before that lot came Leo Barry, Paul Kelly and Tony Lockett. Earlier, Dennis Carroll and Rod Carter. And earlier again, Bobby Skilton, Barry Round, Peter Bedford and Rantall.
And that’s not to mention the legendary coaches and shrewd administrators: the likes of John Longmire, Paul Roos (first as a player, then as a coach), Barassi, Andrew Ireland and Richard Colless.
There was tremendous respect for the club’s story and tremendous respect for those who had come before – especially for players, and especially for players they’d received the proverbial baton from.
This was my most special day working at the Swans. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
On Monday morning, “the Pullman five” left the club’s reputation in ruins.
I’ve watched the Swans’ catastrophic week unfold from home in Brisbane, where my career as a sports journalist has taken me this year.
The club’s tapestry was disregarded. The club’s fabric is torn. It will take years to repair.
But, really, the health of a club’s image pales in significance to the importance of respecting women.
Dyson Heppell nailed it.
“There is one thing that should never – that should never – be complicated,” the former Essendon captain said in a stirring video message this week.
“And it’s that women deserve to feel safe; that they deserve respect.”
The issue isn’t only about what allegedly happened in a Melbourne hotel room on Monday morning. It is also about whether women in Australia can feel the game considers their safety and dignity as important as the success of the men who play it.
The Swans and the AFL must see this as an opportunity to look beyond the immediate fallout and confront the broader culture that surrounds the game.
Ultimately, they must ask what needs to change to ensure women feel safe and respected within Australian sport, and what role the game can play in shaping those standards more broadly.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
