Mark Bayes
1985-1998
246 games
174 goals
Best & Fairest 1989
All Australian 1989
Swans Team of the Century

The Victorian Football League's zoning system was a revolutionary concept designed to redistribute talented young players across the League's 12 clubs. A product of its time, reflecting footy’s bold and innovative spirit, its legacy continues to shape the game, living on through the AFL’s national draft.

The Swans' astute football manager, Greg Miller, had been tracking a talented young wingman from the eastern Melbourne suburb of Doveton named Mark Bayes, even though he was zoned to Footscray. Miller convinced the Bayes family that Mark, 16, should shift into South Melbourne's zone and join the Noble Park Football Club. The Bulldogs still needed to clear Bayes, which they eventually did, and he began his distinguished career in red and white in the Under 19s.

In 1984, the 17-year-old Bayes trained with a group of seniors and reserves players who remained in Melbourne under the watchful eye of coach Peter Hogan. That squad included future Swans Hall of Famers Warwick Capper and Barry Mitchell, and despite the majority of the Swans' senior team living in Sydney at the time, the younger core developed well.

Having just turned 18, Bayes debuted in Round 2, 1985, against Richmond at the MCG. As he told Jim Main, his early days as a League footballer provided a mixed experience. "The club ordered everyone to move to Sydney for the 1985 season, and although one or two others were unable to move, I made the shift. I was a bit homesick at first but eventually settled in, even though the club seemed to run into one crisis or another."

During Bayes' debut 1985 season, a group of wealthy businessmen, fronted by Dr Geoffrey Edelsten, purchased the club and became the first private owners of a VFL team. While the much-anticipated announcement declaring the winning bid brought great excitement, many remained sceptical.

"In 1985, when I first arrived, I didn't find the conditions too bad. But maybe that was because I was new and pretty excited to be there. The following two years were a lot more exciting," Bayes said in Flying North for the Winter: The Story of the Sydney Swans.

"It was more like a circus. The last time I said that, I got a letter from Geoffrey Edelsten saying that he didn't feel that was true—but it felt that way to me. They bought a team, gave away a lot of free tickets and it was all very razzamatazz."

A tall and mobile player, Bayes became a vital part of an entertaining Swans side under new coach Tom Hafey. Mainly playing on a wing or half-forward flank, he used his lethal left boot to significant effect, and the team finished in second place at the end of the 1986 home and away season and third in '87. However, misfortune at the wrong time of the year severely affected their finals chances.

"There certainly was a buzz around the place in those years, especially when we were kicking such mammoth scores against West Coast, Essendon and Richmond in 1987," Bayes told Jim Main.

"But, by the end of both seasons, we were tired and jaded. We just didn't have the legs to finish the job and losing captain Dennis Carroll to a knee injury just before the 1986 finals really hurt us badly."

After two years of relative success, uncertainty and frustration crept in during 1988. A new group of private owners took charge, and a group of prominent on-field contributors, including Capper, were moved on. The classy Bayes spent more time in a back pocket or on a half-back flank. While performing either role admirably, he truly excelled when Col Kinnear took over as Swans coach in 1989, deploying Bayes predominantly at centre half-back.

Displaying tremendous versatility and consistency, Bayes claimed the club’s best and fairest award. He played on some of the game's most prominent key forwards, utilising his meticulously crafted skills to impact the game defensively and offensively. In fact, throughout his 14-year career, Bayes worked tirelessly to develop an impressive all-round game, kicking 174 goals from 246 games—a phenomenal record, having spent most of his career in the backline.

However, Bayes and his teammates experienced an incredibly challenging period from 1990 to 1994, watching teammates walk out the door and conditions deteriorating even further. "Back in '91, '92, the facilities were terrible; my home club back in Melbourne, Noble Park, was better than this AFL club. It had nothing basically, and that was pretty ordinary and hard to deal with," Bayes said in Flying North for the Winter.

When the Swans appointed 23-year-old Paul Kelly captain ahead of the 1993 season, Bayes was named vice-captain. The club, struggling to stay afloat, looked to its champion players to lead a resurgence. After a tumultuous start to the season, the biggest name in football, Ron Barassi, agreed to coach, giving the entire club an injection of hope.

"Once Barassi arrived, you could see a gradual climb in our form," Bayes said. "I played my best footy under him. I didn't get along with him that well, but he always got the best out of me, and as far as I was concerned, that was his job, and he did it."

"When we heard that Tony Lockett was coming up to play with us, it was awesome. I've played on him, and whenever anyone asks me, 'Who's the hardest player you've played on?' it's always, 'Tony Lockett.' To get him up here was sensational."

Fitzroy champion Paul Roos joined Lockett in 1995, and a year later, rookie coach Rodney Eade came on board along with new additions Stuart Maxfield, Craig O'Brien, and Kevin Dyson. The Swans' form improved steadily throughout the 1996 season, but Bayes, frustrated by an osteitis pubis injury, didn't feature until Round 18. His inclusion proved timely, however, as the Swans reached their first Grand Final in 51 years.

"People forget that two years before, we'd only won one game for the whole season. We'd watch other teams playing in the finals and never really believed that we'd get there. But, from the start of 1996, Rocket really got the players believing in themselves."

"Obviously, we were disappointed in losing the Grand Final, but while it was very disappointing, it was also quite thrilling. Some of the blokes who played, like Dunks and Kel, had gone through those lean years, and for us, even getting there was awesome. To have turned around so quickly was just amazing," Bayes said.

Persistent injuries hampered Bayes' final two years. In 1997, five hamstring strains derailed his campaign, and in the final round of the 1998 season, Bayes farewelled the SCG faithful alongside fellow retiree Paul Roos. In a career that included five matches for Victoria, Bayes won acclaim for his ability to tackle the biggest tasks, achieving an incredibly high level of performance no matter the obstacle.

Former teammate and fellow Swans Hall of Famer Mark Browning expressed his admiration for Bayes: "I've got so much respect for Mark Bayes. He could've gone anywhere during those lean years, but he stayed with the Swans. He played on the best forward every week and never let anyone down. I was so happy when he got to play in the Grand Final in 1996."