Stuart Maxfield
1996-2005
200 games
87 goals
Captain 2003-2005

Sydney Swans 2005 premiership-winning coach Paul Roos happily classifies Stuart Maxfield as one of the club's most impactful captains, among a group that Roos thinks only includes Bloods Legends, Bob Skilton and Paul Kelly.

While Maxfield provided the Swans with outstanding service since his arrival in 1996, the genesis of his legendary leadership occurred late in 2002, shortly after the club appointed Roos as senior coach. When leadership and management consultant Ray McLean introduced the Leading Teams performance improvement program to Roos, he invited McLean to address the players at their pre-season training camp in Coffs Harbour.

At the time, the Swans' players wanted to change the football world's perception of them as a team. They established values and behaviours that would become their trademark; they created the now-fabled Bloods culture. The next step? To elect a captain.

"Stuart was, in fact, a tremendous choice for captain," McLean recalled. "He had what the team needed from their captain, which was the ability to maintain a high level of performance himself and the character to make it clear to other players that he expected them to follow suit."

Bloods Champion Brett Kirk later said that Maxfield was "the player we most trusted and who best embodied our team ethos." Former teammate Luke Ablett wrote in The Guardian, "Stu drove a lot of this, and from the outset, there was a significant amount of respect for him for wanting us to get better."

Maxfield's appointment may have surprised some from outside the club, but he'd always demanded respect from within through his actions. After playing his junior club football with Oakleigh Youth and Glen Waverley Rovers, Richmond recruited Maxfield straight from Caulfield Grammar, making him one of the AFL's last non-draftees.

He made his league debut in 1990, and after playing in the Tigers' 1995 finals campaign, he surprised most football followers by signing with Sydney. Maxfield told The Age, "In the end, there wasn't much difference between the Richmond and Sydney offers, but after talking with Rodney Eade, I believe there are greater footballing opportunities in Sydney, and I'm really looking forward to the challenge."

Eade was embarking on his first season as an AFL coach, and at 23, Maxfield had played 89 games for Richmond. His pace was a much-needed commodity at the Swans, and Craig O'Brien and Kevin Dyson arrived in Sydney with him. The new trio added significantly to the previous year's bounty of Roos and Tony Lockett.

Excited by the change in lifestyle, Maxfield enjoyed Sydney and settled quickly. On the field, the Swans surged up the ladder, ultimately claiming the minor premiership for the first time since 1945. After two nail-biting SCG finals wins against Hawthorn and Essendon, they also reached their first Grand Final in 51 years.

The Swans, who once had to pay thousands of dollars for newspaper publicity, were plastered all over the Sydney and Melbourne papers. The build-up was immense, and the MCG stands were filled with red and white. Maxfield played well on a wing, and the Swans started strongly before North Melbourne reeled in the deficit and kicked away to a decisive win.

The following year, reflecting his satisfaction with the Sydney lifestyle, Maxfield purchased a Kingsford property across the road from Andrew Dunkley and, with Craig O'Brien, a laundrette business in Wooloware. On the field, the Swans had a relatively inconsistent season, knocked out of the finals in the first week.

With his speed and dare, Maxfield became a crowd favourite, and his trademark hard-running, long-left-foot kicking bursts down the wing made him a nightmare match-up for the opposition. From 1998 to 2000, though, Eade used Maxfield as more of an impact player, using him in shorter bursts from the interchange bench. He'd bulked up considerably to pinch-hit through the midfield, but his overall game suffered.

Leading into the 2001 season, Maxfield—always strictly committed to his preparation and fitness regime—returned his focus on becoming a damaging, endurance-based outside player once again. Alan Kennedy wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald, "Sydney Swan Stuart Maxfield, he of the booming left boot, has returned to his best form in years. He is roaring out of the backline like a train and is noticeably quicker."

Maxfield attributed his turnaround to the Swans' new Elite Performance Manager, David Misson. In return, Misson said, "Stuart is the most professional athlete I have ever worked with, and all the credit for his improvement has to go to him."

The Swans, a regular finals performer under Eade, finished seventh in 2001, and Maxfield recorded career-high numbers for kicks, disposals and marks. At season's end, he joined Swans teammates Adam Goodes and Matthew Nicks in the Australian International Rules team, now highly regarded across the competition.

A knee injury restricted Maxfield's on-field output in 2002, but he spent the latter part of the year in the coaches' box with caretaker coach and former teammate Paul Roos. By this time, Maxfield harboured captaincy aspirations and greatly benefitted from his injury-enforced layoff. "I'd never been given the opportunity before, and it's certainly an eye-opener," Maxfield said at the time. "Just all the operational aspects and how long it takes to make a move."

Following the aforementioned Coffs camp, the Swans announced Maxfield as the club's captain for the 2003 season. He later told Jim Main, "There was a bit of media speculation that I would get the job, but I didn't really think much about it until I was called into a meeting of the board. Then, when I was invited to take over the captaincy, I felt both very humbled and very proud. It was a great feeling."

A private man, Maxfield led by example and worked tirelessly to improve training standards and expectations around the club. His fearlessness created an ethos of grit, resilience, and honesty on which the playing group thrived. The '03 season ended with a preliminary final loss when most pundits tipped the Swans to occupy the ladder's lower rungs.

Bloods Legend Adam Goodes was among the younger players who followed their captain's lead. "Everything he does is so professional," Goodes said in The Sydney Morning Herald. "He does everything possible to get himself ready to play. He's always doing extra work. It's unbelievable and I think it shows up in the way he plays. He is an example to all of us on how to approach being a professional footballer."

The Swans exited the 2004 season at the semi-final stage, and Maxfield, 33, retained the captaincy for 2005. Early in the season, he relinquished the role due to personal reasons. Eventually, another knee injury prompted him to announce his retirement amid a drought-breaking premiership year.

Ever the professional, he used his experience and football nous to assist his teammates from the sidelines, and he watched proudly as his mates claimed the first Swans' flag in 72 years. Paul Roos said in Life is Sport, "The role that Stuart Maxfield played in our rejuvenation cannot be overestimated. Not only did he live our values, he made sure everyone else did too."

"He was universally respected, and he was well-liked, but the point is he didn't care if he was liked or not. That, like the respect, came naturally because of his strength, what he did and the way he thought."

Maxfield played 200 games in red and white and gave years of exemplary service in the club's football department, but his legacy extends further beyond that. A key architect in one of the club's most pivotal and subsequently successful eras, he has had a profound and lasting influence on the Sydney Swans.