Committed Swallow bound to the cause
DAVE Swallow is seven years into an AFL career with the Suns that has promised much and given little.
Gold Coast’s first ever draft pick conceded he had been partially flattened by a career so far spent at the bottom of the ladder with few wins and constant criticism about where the expansion club was heading.
“Three years ago, I thought we were on the brink of playing finals, so to still be in this position is disappointing,” Swallow said of another season that began with hope and ended with the loss of another coach and just six wins.
“For everyone involved with the footy club, and the fans as well, it’s flattening but we only know one way and that is hard work.
“We will be doing everything we can to put ourselves in a better position next year.”
Swallow (106 votes) finished second in Gold Coast’s club champion award count behind Gary Ablett (126) with Jack Martin (104) third. The hard midfielder was also named the player’s player.
It was Swallow’s first full season playing since spending the previous two sidelined with a serious knee injury.
He played 18 games in a successful return which included breaks through the season, he was happy with his transition back to the top level but insisted he had room to improve.
“I thought it would take me at least a year to get back to the form from when I was solid each week,” he said.
“I still have a body of work to do over the pre-season to get to where I want to get to.
“This is a good start. I just have to keep looking after my knee and keep moving forward with that.
“I took a lot out of this year in terms of management. I learnt a lot so I’ll be able to implement that next year and hopefully I won’t have to take as many breaks.”
Martin finished third in the club champion vote for a second straight year after playing all 22 games in 2017.
The 22-year-old said a big off-season, not pre-season, was his focus as he looked to go to another level in his fifth season next year.
“I have a lot of growth in me and a lot of improvement,” Martin said.
“For me I have to make this my best off-season – not pre-season, but best off-season – to make sure I rock up come preseason ready to go.
“That is the biggest challenge. Next year is going to be five years in the system, so I think to go forward I’m going to have to take that next step. It’s exciting and I can’t wait.”
THREE YEARS AGO, I THOUGHT WE WERE ON THE BRINK OF PLAYING FINALS SO TO STILL BE IN THIS POSITION IS DISAPPOINTING ... DAVID SWALLOW