SWALLOW AT HOME
100 games has been a long road for Swallow
IF you can’t play the first major milestone of your career on your home ground, next best must be in your home town.
David Swallow will run out for his 100th game for the Gold Coast at Perth’s new Optus Stadium on Saturday night and while many of his teammates were gifted plenty of games on the way to their own milestones, the gutsy midfielder has earned every one of his the hard way.
The club’s No.1 pick in their first ever draft had the world at his feet as one of the most hyped teenagers ever but has had to watch nine teammates get to the ton ahead of him due to two years wiped out by a serious knee injury.
Although he downplays those tough times in his typically understated manner, there were real concerns he might not play again.
“Obviously there were times when I was struggling to get my body right and it (doubt) does creep into your mind,” Swallow said.
“But the body’s feeling really good at the moment and I’m enjoying being out there.”
When he has been fit Swallow has lived up to the expectations, never out of the top 10 in club champion voting in a season where he has
DAVID SWALLOW
managed more than 10 games. A win in 2014 and a second place last year bookended his two years on the sidelines.
Swallow, 25, left Perth at 16 to join the Suns for their first season in the VFL, finishing fourth in the JJ Liston Trophy as that competition’s best and fairest despite playing just 14 games against hardened men and AFL-listed players.
Only Rory Thompson, who was at the club as a local access selection, remains from that inaugural crop, and the pair have seen plenty of change, including three coaches, three CEOs, two chairmen and a revolving door of teammates.
What they haven’t experienced is many big crowds. Trips to Adelaide to take on the Crows and Port are the biggest crowds the Suns play in front of but Swallow hopes their first run at Perth’s new stadium could produce the biggest crowd of his career.
His instructions to Suns officials are to get their hands on as many tickets as possible so, while the crowd will be almost exclusively pro-purple, there might be a pocket in red.
“I’d expect it to be hostile,” he said. “We know what it can be like over there, they’re very passionate.
“You love playing in front of the big crowds when you can, especially for us because we don’t get the opportunities like the other clubs.’’
YOU LOVE PLAYING IN FRONT OF THE BIG CROWDS WHEN YOU CAN