The Sydney Swans will celebrate Marn Grook at the SCG as part of the AFL’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round this week.
The match honours the Indigenous roots of Australian football and recognises the enduring contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players to the game.
Our football club has had 19 male Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players run out in red and white. Ahead of Friday's clash, see their profiles below.
1. Elkin Reilly. Player #859, Reilly is the first of 18 Indigenous players known to have played for the Swans. Reilly played 51 games for South Melbourne from 1962-66 in the #35 red and white guernsey in an era that featured Bloods Legend Bob Skilton and Team of the Century defender John Heriot. Renowned for his competitiveness, Reilly was an under-sized ruckman who at times shared a wonderful partnership with Skilton in an era of limited success for the club. He died on 3 September 2020 aged 80 but he will forever hold a special place in club history after a remarkable journey from the NT outback via Adelaide to Lake Oval in South Melbourne. Reilly holds an esteemed place in the Club’s history, as the first Indigenous player to represent the Swans.
2. Reuben Cooper. Player #966, he hailed from Darwin, and played two games for South Melbourne as a 17-year-old under Norm Smith in 1969. He was the first NT player to play in the then VFL. He was born into a footballing family. His grandfather, who had the same name, was the first Indigenous player to play in the Darwin League and a member of the NT Team of the Century. His father Ron also played top-level football in the NT capital.
3. Kevin Taylor. Player #1089, he was from Carnamah in mid-west WA and played 14 games and kicked 24 goals with South Melbourne under Ian Stewart in 1981 as a rover/forward pocket. He was recruited by South after winning the Simpson as best afield in the 1979 WAFL Grand Final in which he kicked seven goals for East Fremantle, including his 100th for the season. He kicked five goals in his VFL debut under Ian Stewart in Round 1 1981 against North. He finished third in the South goal-kicking behind John Roberts (51) and Silvio Foschini (37) but he returned to the WAFL in ’82. He joined Fitzroy in 1984 but played only one game, instead concentrating on the WAFL and later the SANFL. He was a WA State representative 1982-84, won the Simpson Medal for WA v SA in 1982 and won All-Australian selection in 1983.
4. Jamie Lawson. From Wentworth in the Sunraysia League, the same club from which Reilly was recruited, he was player #1206 and played 61 games and kicked 29 goals with the Sydney Swans from 1991-94. Having shared his debut at 19 with Ben Doolan under Col Kinnear he had a career-best 30 possessions and kicked two goals to earn three Brownlow Medal votes against Brisbane at the SCG in 1992. Sadly, having also picked up Brownlow votes in Rounds 17-18 1994 he broke his leg at the MCG in Round 19 and was forced to retire at 22 after contracting compartment syndrome.
5. Brian Stanislaus. A Tiwi Islander in the NT, he is a product of St.Mary’s in Darwin and played one game with the Sydney Swans under Col Kinnear in Round 3 1991 after being drafted with selection #54 in the 1990 National Draft. Swans player #1204, he was also drafted by the Brisbane Bears in the 1992 Mid-Season Draft but didn’t play at senior level for them. Instead, he was a marvellous player in the NTFL, playing 258 games for St.Mary’s to kick 776 goals and win eight premierships. He twice won the St.Mary’s B&F, was the club’s leading goal-kicker six times, NTFL leading goal-kicker three times, club captain and a regular NT representative. He also played with North Launceston in the Tasmanian State League in 1992-93 and had a brief stint with East Perth in the WAFL and West Adelaide in the SANFL and was inducted into NT Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
6. Alan Thorpe. From Tatura in the Goulburn Valley, he was player #1218 and played three games with the Sydney Swans under Gary Buckenara in 1993 in a career that include time at four AFL clubs. He was first drafted by Fitzroy in the 1991 Mid-Season Draft but didn’t play at senior level despite 32 games with the Under 19s and 11 games in the Reserves. Returning to Tatura, he was picked up by the Swans in the 1992 Pre-Season Draft and shared his debut with Gavin Rose, picking up 17 possessions and kicking two goals in a Round 7 draw with Melbourne at the MCG. He joined VFA club Oakleigh in 1993 and after two games as a top-up player with the Footscray Reserves they signed him via the 1993 Mid-Season Draft. He played four games in ’93 and eight games in 1994. Delisted again, he was picked up by Carlton in the 1994 Pre-Season Draft but never played at top level. He was a foundation host of the Marngrook Footy Show, with started on radio in the 1990s before switching to television in 2007.
7. Matthew AhMat. From Alice Springs, he was a product of the Darwin FC where his father and grandfather had played. Initially signed by the Brisbane Bears as an NT zone selection he played six games under Robert Walls at 17 in 1991-92. After joining Norwood in the SANFL he was picked up by the Sydney Swans in the 1993 Mid-Season Draft. He played the first two games of 1993 under Ron Barassi at 19 as Swans player #1243. Is a cousin of fellow Swans player Robbie AhMat.
8. Derek Kickett. Originally from Kellerberrin in the WA wheat belt 200km east of Perth, he was a football journeyman who finished his AFL career with the Sydney Swans after time at North Melbourne and Essendon, and also played with West Perth , Claremont and Subiaco in the WAFL and Central District in the SANFL. Played junior football with SANFL club Central Districts, including an Under 19s premiership, before joining West Perth and then Claremont, where he was a key member of a side that won 21 games in a row including the flag in 1987. He topped the 1987 Sandover Medal vote count with 46 – 16 more than next best - but was ineligible. After playing back at Centrals in 1988 and was drafted by North with pick #60 in the 1988 National Draft, playing 12 games with the Kangaroos in 1989 before being delisted. Then claimed by Essendon in the 1990 Pre-Season Draft, he played 77 games with the Bombers from 1990-93 including every match in ’92 and every match to the preliminary final in ’93 before being dropped by Kevin Sheedy for the grand final. So sour was he that he quit the club and didn’t speak with Sheedy until the pair patched things up 25 years later. After the Swans threw him a lifeline in the 1994 Pre-Season Draft. He debuted with the Swans under Ron Barassi as player #1251 in 1994 and played 63 games and kicked 73 goals with the club, finishing under Rodney Eade in the 1996 grand final. A regular WA State representative, he was inducted into the WA Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
9. Michael O’Loughlin. Born in Adelaide and a product of SANFL club Central District, he was an all-time great with the Swans after joining the club as selection #40 in the 1994 National Draft. A member of the Indigenous Team of the Century named in 2005, he was the first Swans player to top 300 games, eventually playing 303 games from 1995-2009, including 18 finals, and kicked 521 goals to tank second on the club’s all-time list behind Barry Hall. In a career of highlights, he was a 2005 premiership player, won the Bob Skilton Medal in 1998, was All-Australian in 1997-2000, twice represented his country in the International Rules series, and won a Fos Williams Medal playing State of Origin for SA. The AFL’s third Indigenous 300-gamer, he was as inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2015 and the SA Football Hall of Fame in 2017. Has been a wonderful ambassador for Indigenous people in retirement, working closely with ex-teammate Adam Goodes via the Goodes – O’Loughlin (GO) Foundation, that was founded in 2009.
10. Troy Cook. From Carnarvon, a WA coastal town 900km north of Perth, he finished his schooling and played junior football in Geraldton and represented WA at Under 18 level in 1993. He joined WAFL club Perth in 1994, playing 40 games over three years and finishing runner-up in the 1996 Sandover Medal. He was picked up by the Sydney Swans at selection #26 in the 1996 National Draft and played 43 games from 1997-99, establishing himself as one of the premier tackling players in the AFL. He was lured ‘home’ to Perth in 2000 to join expansion club Fremantle, who had joined the League in 1995. He was club champion in 2000 and played 150 games with the Dockers from 2000-07, including a then club record 88 in a row in his first four seasons. He finished his career with Perth in the WAFL, and played 301 games overall.
11. Robbie AhMat. Originally from Darwin, he was originally drafted by Collingwood with selection #47 in the 1994 National Draft and played 25 games with the Magpies from 1995-97, becoming just the second Indigenous player to represent the club after Wally Lovett in 1982. Traded to Sydney during the 1997 Draft period, he played 42 games with the Swans from 1998-2001 as player #1282. Later played with Norwood in the SANFL and Campbelltown in the Sydney. Is a cousin of fellow Swans player Matthew AhMat.
12. Adam Goodes. Not just a Swans champion but a one-time holder of the AFL record for most games by an Indigenous player, now second only behind Shaun Burgoyne, and one of the AFL’s all-time greats. Born in Wallaroo, a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in SA, he spent much of his childhood at Merbein in the Sunraysia region of Victoria, just north of Mildura, and then Horsham in the Wimmera, 300km northwest of Melbourne after his parents separated when he was four. Originally a soccer player, he took up Australian football at 16 with the North Ballarat Rebels in the TAC Cup and was drafted by the Swans at #43 in the 1997 National Draft. After one season in the Reserves he won the 1999 AFL Rising Star Award in his first season and went on to play a club record 372 games for a club record 216 wins and kick 464 goals - fourth on the all-time Swans list. Quite simply, he did it all. A premiership player in 2005-12, he was the Brownlow Medallist in 2003-06 and finished top 10 six times, won the Bob Skilton Medal in 2003-06-11 and finished top seven eight times, was a four-time All-Australian, represented Australia in International Rules and was a member of the Indigenous Team of the Century. And in 2014 he was named Australian of the Year. Known for his outstanding community work and his anti-racing advocacy via the Goodes O’Loughlin (GO) Foundation, formed in 2011 in partnership with long-time Swans teammate Michael O’Loughlin.
13. Fred Campbell. From Alice Springs, he was a product of Pioneers FC who won the Hunter Harrison Medal as the best player in division two at the 1997 Australian Under 18 championships representing the NT after he’d played previously with the Eastern Ranges in the TAC Cup. He was drafted by the Swans with selection #40 in the 1997 National Draft and after a year in the Reserves debuted at 19 in 1999 as player #1296. But after playing rounds 8-9-10-11-18 he quit the club to return home for family reasons. He then surprised the Swans again when he nominated for the 2000 Pre-Season Draft, and after being taken by StKilda he played a further seven games for the Saints in 2000 before going home again.
14. Lewis Jetta. A member of the elite group of players to have won a premiership with two clubs – Sydney and West Coast. Born in Bunbury, a coastal city 175km south of Perth, he played with Swan Districts in a 2007 WAFL Colts premiership but had to wait two years for a chance in the AFL. After being overlooked at the draft in 2007 because he was so small, he returned home to play against men with Bridgetown in the Lower South West Football League in 2008 before going back to Swan Districts in 2009. Second time round, he had a breakout year in the WAFL and kicked three goals for WA against SA. Drafted with selection #14 in 2009 by the Swans, he debuted at 20 in Round 1 2010 in what was also the first game for the club for Josh Kennedy, Shane Mumford, Ben McGlynn, Mark Seaby and Daniel Bradshaw. Player #1358, he played 65 of a possible 71 games in his first three years, culminating in the 2012 grand final win over Hawthorn. By the end of 2015 he totalled 127 games in red and white when he requested a trade to West Coast for family reasons. He played 75 games five years with the Eagles, including their 2018 premiership win, and retired after being delisted at the end of 2020.
15. Byron Sumner. From Adelaide, he was drafted by the Swans with selection #54 in the 2009 National Draft after playing at senor level with Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL at 17 and representing SA at Under 18 level. He spent 2010 in the Swans Reserves and at 19 debuted in John Longmire’s first game as senior coach against Melbourne at the MCG in Round 1 2011. Swans player #1368, he was an emergency in Round 2 and Round 4 but spent the remainder of the year in the Reserves before being delisted. Still, he went into the history books as the only Swans player whose only AFL game was a draw after a Ryan O’Keeffe behind inside the last minute. He is the older brother of Tim Sumner, who played 17 games with the Gold Coast Suns from 2013-15, and the uncle of Lewis Jetta.
16. Tony Armstrong. Born in Albury, NSW, he grew up in nearby Burrumbuttock in the Riverina and played for Brocklesby-Burrumbuttock in the Hume League before attending the prestigious football school Assumption College in Kilmore, 250km south-west of Albury. A Swans fan from an early age, he played with the NSW/ACT Rams and the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup before being drafted by Adelaide with selection #58 in the 2007 National Draft. Having played with North Adelaide in the SANFL in 2010 he was selected to debut in Round 13 2009 but was quarantined with housemate and fellow Assumption College graduate Richard Douglas due to a swine influenza scare and had to wait until Round 1 2010 to finally play. He played 14 games for the Crows in 2010-11 before requesting a trade to the Swans. He became Swans player #1375 under John Longmire in Round 4 2012 when he deputised for the suspended Adam Goodes, one of his childhood heroes. It was the game in which Goodes was scheduled to play his 304th game and break Michael O’Loughlin’s club record. Armstrong played 15 games for the Swans in 2012-13 before being delisted and after joining Collingwood as a free agent played a further six games for a career total of 35. In retirement Armstrong made a name for himself as a fine media performer, first with “Yokayi Footy” and later on ABC radio and television.
17. Lance Franklin. Known exclusively as ‘Buddy’, he has been widely regarded as the greatest forward of his generation and one of the AFL’s all-time greats. Born in Perth, he grew up in the wheatbelt town of Dowerin, 156km north-east of Perth, and attended Wesley College on a football scholarship. He represented WA at Under 18 level and played one senior WAFL game with Perth before he was drafted by Hawthorn with selection #5 in the 2004 National Draft. As would later turn out to be one of the great football ironies, he debuted at 18 in Alastair Clarkson’s first game as Hawthorn coach against Sydney at the SCG, picking up six possessions in a 63-point Swans win. After 182 games and 580 goals with the Hawks from 2005-13 he was snared by the Swans in one of the game’s biggest recruiting coups. Signed on a much-publicised nine-year deal, he rewarded the club with enormous value on two fronts – not only as a match-winning figure on the field but as an enormous promotional AFL tool in the Harbour City. Player #1385 on the all-time Swans list, he became the seventh Indigenous player to reach 300 AFL games in the last game of 2019, following Gavin Wanganeen (2006), Andrew McLeod (2008), Michael O’Loughlin (2009), Adam Goodes (2011),Shaun Burgoyne (2016) and Eddie Betts (2019). He is a 2008-13 premiership player, an eight-time All-Australian, including All-Australian captain in 2018, a four-time Coleman Medallist, six-time Hawthorn leading goal-kicker, five-time Sydney leading goal-kicker and twice winner of the AFL Goal of the Year. To the end of 2020, having missed the entire 2020 season through injury, he was 7th on the all-time goal-kicking list at 944, needing 56 goals in 2021 to become the 6th player to top 1000. He kicked his 1000th goal in Round 2 of the 2022 season, and currently requires one more to pass Doug Wade in outright fourth spot on the all time goal kicking list. He also had polled 170 Brownlow Medal votes to rank 20th on the all-time vote list and 7th among players not to win the game’s most coveted individual award, with a best finish of equal 3rd in 2014.
18. James Bell. The first Indigenous product of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy to play in the AFL, he was born and raised in Shellharbour in the Illawarra region south of Sydney. Originally a soccer player linked to the Western Sydney Wanderers, he took up Australian football at 13, joined the Academy soon after and at 15, having to decide between his two sporting loves, chose the AFL after attending a three-day camp with his childhood idol Adam Goodes. He subsequently moved to Sydney to join the Academy full-time and after being listed by the club as a Category B rookie at the 2017 National Draft he became Swans player #1424 at 20 in Isaac Heeney’s 100th game in Round 21 2019.
19. Elijah Taylor. Western Australian Elijah Taylor was recruited by the Sydney Swans with the 36th draft pick in the 2019 AFL draft and went on to debut in the 7th round of the 2020 AFL season against the Gold Coast Suns. He kicked one goal during his four game career. The club had high hopes for the promising youngster but parted ways with him in November 2020.
Sydney Swans AFLW Indigenous players Aliesha Newman and Jaide Anthony have also represented the red and white in the side's inaugural year.
