Dane Swan facts for kids
Dane Swan (born 25 February 1984) is a famous former Australian rules footballer. He played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Dane was chosen in the 2001 AFL draft and started playing in 2003.
He was known for getting the ball a lot during games. Dane Swan won many awards, including an AFL premiership in 2010. He also won the Brownlow Medal in 2011, which is a very important award in Australian rules football. He was named an All-Australian five times. After his football career, Dane was also a runner-up on the TV show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2017.
Quick facts for kids Dane Swan |
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Swan playing in a Collingwood intra-club match in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Dane Swan | ||
| Date of birth | 25 February 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ||
| Original team | Calder Cannons (TAC Cup) | ||
| Draft | No. 58, 2001 national draft | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Career highlights | |||
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AFL
Collingwood
VFL
Representative
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Contents
Early Life and Family
Dane Swan was born in Melbourne, Australia. His parents are Billy and Deidre Swan. His father, Billy Swan, was also a very good footballer. He played many games for Port Melbourne and Williamstown.
Dane started playing junior football for the Westmeadows Football Club. He went to St. Bernard's College before playing for the Calder Cannons. Some people thought Dane might not be a top player because of his kicking. But the Collingwood team saw his potential. They thought he could become a great player, just like his dad.
Football Career
Collingwood picked Dane Swan in the 2001 AFL draft. He played his first game in June 2003 when he was 19. For his first four seasons, he played only 30 games. He also played for Williamstown, which was Collingwood's partner team. He was part of their winning team in 2003.
In 2006, Dane started to play much more. He played 21 games and finished sixth in the Copeland Trophy voting. He played in the midfield and sometimes moved forward to kick goals.
His big breakout season was in 2007. He came fourth in the Copeland Trophy. He also surprised many people by leading the Brownlow Medal count for a while, finishing sixth overall.
2008 Season
In 2008, Dane Swan won the Copeland Trophy for Collingwood's best player. He got the ball about 25 times per game. He also took seven marks and kicked one goal on average. He led the team in total possessions. He had 14 games where he got 25 or more possessions. In one game against West Coast, he had 34 possessions and two goals.
2009 Season
The 2009 season was amazing for Swan. He got the ball almost 32 times per game. He was one of the best players in the AFL at getting the ball. He was also great at winning the ball in tough situations.
In a game against Port Adelaide, Swan got 48 possessions. This was one of the highest numbers of possessions in a single game ever. He was ranked first in total possessions for the season. He was also second in kicks per game. He was chosen for the 2009 All-Australian team.
2010 Season and Premiership
In 2010, Swan averaged almost 32 possessions per game again. He set a new AFL record for total possessions in a season with 820. On September 6, he won the Leigh Matthews Trophy. This award is voted on by other players. He was also named in the 2010 All-Australian team.
His great season helped Collingwood win their fifteenth premiership. Swan finished third in the Brownlow Medal count. He also won the Jim Stynes Medal in the International Rules Series. At the end of the season, he became only the fourth Collingwood player to win three Copeland Trophies in a row.
2011 Brownlow Medal
Before the 2011 season, there was talk about Swan moving to a new club. But he signed a new deal to stay with Collingwood until 2014. He started 2011 playing just as well as 2010. He got 40 possessions in one game.
He had a quad injury in the middle of the season. Collingwood sent him and some teammates to a special training camp. This trip helped Swan a lot. After he came back, he averaged over 35 possessions per game. He had a huge game against Essendon with 45 possessions and a goal. Later, he won the 2011 Brownlow Medal with 34 votes. This set a new record for the most votes ever.
2012 Season
At the start of 2012, some people said Swan was not fit enough. But in the yearly Anzac Day clash, he won his first Anzac Day medal. He was named the best player on the ground. He had 42 possessions, three goals, and six tackles.
He missed two games due to a hamstring injury. But he came back strong, getting 42 possessions in another game. He had over 40 possessions in six different games that year. He even reached a new high of 49 possessions in one game. Swan averaged 35.7 possessions per game, which was a career high and an AFL record at the time. He finished fourth in the Brownlow Medal count. He was also named in the All-Australian team for the fourth time.
2013 Season
Swan started 2013 well, averaging 30 possessions in the first three games. In round 4, he played his 200th AFL game. He had 35 possessions and one goal in that game. At the end of the year, he averaged 31.2 possessions per game. He was first in total possessions for the season.
He was chosen as a ruck-rover in the 2013 All-Australian team. This was his fifth year in a row being selected. Swan finished third in the Brownlow Medal with 26 votes.
2014 and 2015 Seasons
After wrist surgery, Swan started 2014 slowly. But he quickly found his form. He had 35 possessions and 11 marks against North Melbourne. He also got his second ANZAC medal after a great game against Essendon.
In 2015, Swan returned to his best form. He averaged 29 possessions and one goal per game. He also played his 250th game. He had 30 or more possessions in 11 games that year. Even though Collingwood missed the finals, Swan showed he could still play at a very high level.
2016 and Retirement
In the first game of 2016, Swan got a very bad foot injury. He broke three bones in his foot. This injury meant he could not play for the rest of the season. In August, he announced that he was retiring from the AFL.
Career Statistics
Dane Swan was known for getting the ball a lot. He led the AFL in total possessions four times. He also led in total kicks five times. When he retired, he had the second-highest average possessions per game in AFL history.
| G | Goals | B | Behinds | K | Kicks | H | Handballs | D | Disposals | M | Marks | T | Tackles |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2002 | Collingwood | 36 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 2003 | Collingwood | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 9.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2004 | Collingwood | 36 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 105 | 66 | 171 | 49 | 18 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 8.1 | 5.1 | 13.2 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0 |
| 2005 | Collingwood | 36 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 143 | 91 | 234 | 67 | 22 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 10.2 | 6.5 | 16.7 | 4.8 | 1.6 | 0 |
| 2006 | Collingwood | 36 | 21 | 19 | 12 | 311 | 176 | 487 | 168 | 44 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 14.8 | 8.4 | 23.2 | 8.0 | 2.1 | 11 |
| 2007 | Collingwood | 36 | 25 | 13 | 14 | 422 | 173 | 595 | 187 | 85 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 16.9 | 6.9 | 23.8 | 7.5 | 3.4 | 20 |
| 2008 | Collingwood | 36 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 368 | 222 | 590 | 163 | 75 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 15.3 | 9.3 | 24.6 | 6.8 | 3.1 | 12 |
| 2009 | Collingwood | 36 | 25 | 18 | 25 | 444† | 325 | 769† | 161 | 77 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 17.8 | 13.0 | 30.8 | 6.4 | 3.1 | 12 |
| 2010# | Collingwood | 36 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 505† | 315 | 820† | 146 | 123 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 19.4† | 12.1 | 31.5† | 5.6 | 4.7 | 24 |
| 2011 | Collingwood | 36 | 24 | 32 | 23 | 472† | 288 | 760† | 129 | 77 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 19.7† | 12.0 | 31.7† | 5.4 | 3.2 | 34± |
| 2012 | Collingwood | 36 | 21 | 25 | 22 | 442† | 283 | 725 | 138 | 71 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 21.0† | 13.5 | 34.5† | 6.6 | 3.4 | 25 |
| 2013 | Collingwood | 36 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 436† | 281 | 717† | 131 | 79 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 19.0† | 12.2 | 31.2 | 5.7 | 3.4 | 26 |
| 2014 | Collingwood | 36 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 244 | 180 | 424 | 79 | 49 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 14.4 | 10.6 | 24.9 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 17 |
| 2015 | Collingwood | 36 | 21 | 21 | 14 | 336 | 273 | 609 | 104 | 81 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 16.0 | 13.0 | 29.0 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 13 |
| 2016 | Collingwood | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Career | 258 | 211 | 196 | 4242 | 2686 | 6928 | 1526 | 804 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 16.4 | 10.4 | 26.9 | 5.9 | 3.1 | 186 | ||
Awards and Achievements
Dane Swan won many awards during his career:
- Team Awards:
- AFL Premiership with Collingwood in 2010
- McClelland Trophy with Collingwood in 2010 and 2011
- NAB Cup with Collingwood in 2011
- Individual Awards:
- Brownlow Medal: 2011
- Copeland Trophy (Collingwood's Best and Fairest): 2008, 2009, 2010
- Leigh Matthews Trophy: 2010
- All-Australian: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- Herald Sun Player of the Year: 2009, 2010
- AFLCA Champion Player of the Year: 2010
- Lou Richards Medal: 2010
- Jim Stynes Medal: 2010
- AFL ANZAC Medal: 2012, 2014
- AFL Hall Of Fame: Inducted in 2024
Personal Life
Dane Swan has been with his girlfriend, Taylor Wilson, since 2010. They announced in 2020 that they were expecting a child. Their son, Tate, was born on February 13, 2021.
