Swaney returns home to Tasman
Football: The opportunity to represent his hometown team on the national stage has lured left-back Jordan Swaney back to Nelson.
The former Canterbury United and Waitakere United defender, who is currently living in Melbourne, has signed on with Tasman United for the upcoming national league season.
The 25-year-old is one of just three Nelson Pine LVL Tasman recruits so far, along with Coey Turipa and Mark Johnston, to have played in New Zealand’s premier domestic football competition before.
Confirmation of Swaney’s capture comes just five days after it was revealed that midfielder Atkin Kaua is unlikely to feature at all after failing to secure a work visa.
He has since flown home to Honiara in the Solomon Islands and has signed for Marist Fire.
Swaney, a former New Zealand under-23 trialist, last played in Nelson in 2012 when he linked up with Nelson Suburbs in the Mainland Premier League.
His signing is a real coup, Tasman getting a player that ticks a lot of boxes; he’s at a good age, is someone who has played in the national league before - albeit briefly - and will feed off representing his hometown. He is also versatile, able to operate in both defence and midfield.
Tasman club captain Mark Johnston was thrilled that the former Waimea College student is coming ‘‘home’’ for another shot at the national league after making his debut with Canterbury in 2010.
‘‘It’s really exciting to see local boys playing at a bloody good level coming back. He’s one of the guys that when we were doing the bidding process we had on the list of potential players and it’s really great that he’s committed to us,’’ Johnston said. ‘‘He’s the type of signing that makes the local fans excited and the local players too - seeing a guy like that come back and he’s someone most of us really know as well.’’
Johnston said quality left-footed defenders were always hard to find, and securing a local player was a bonus too.
‘‘They are few and far between. To get someone that we are 100 per cent familiar with in that position is really awesome and we can have a lot of trust in him.
‘‘He can definitely fill a void that we’ve got on the left-hand side and for us as players it’s always good to have our mates, who we have grown up with, coming back and playing in the national league.’’