Making the All-Australian team tends to go hand-in-hand with impressive stats. And Swans fans will be well aware that young guns Errol Gulden and Chad Warner notched up some pretty impressive stats this year.

Both Gulden and Warner topped 50 Brownlow Medal votes in their fourth AFL season – a feat achieved by few other Swans, although perhaps unsurprisingly, Swans legend Bob Skilton was among them.

We know that Skilton reached 50 Brownlow votes in something like 60 games. It’s impossible to be certain, because in the early days details of game-by-game votes were not retained.

Skilton definitely had 33 votes after 47 games at the end of 1958, and definitely had 53 votes after 63 games at the end of 1959, when he won the game’s highest individual honour for the first of three times.

He definitely kicked eight goals in a 34-point Round 11 win over Geelong at Lake Oval in 1959 and played only five games thereafter for one win against North Melbourne in Round 17 (when he kicked five goals) and four losses.

So we can reasonably ‘guesstimate’ the greatest Swans player of all time, and the highest Swans vote-getter of all-time, got to 50 votes in his 58^th game in Round 11, and 53 votes in Round 17.

Warner, 11^th in the 2024 medal count with 23, took 72 games to reach 50 votes (excluding finals). And Gulden, equal 8^th in 2024 with 25 votes, took 78 games.

This means that, despite the statistical vagaries of the early years, among Swans players all-time Warner is at least fourth quickest to 50 votes, and possibly third. And Gulden is probably sixth. And Skilton is the only player among those quicker than them who started their AFL career in red and white.

Indeed, the champion rover reached 50 Brownlow votes before his 21^st birthday.

There are three others in the ‘quickest Swan to 50 votes’ discussion.

Lance Franklin posted his 50^th Brownlow Medal vote for the club in his 59^th game. But he was 30 and had played 182 games for 82 votes at Hawthorn before joining Sydney.

Graham Teasdale is a case like Franklin, and is further complicated by the fact that he played in 1976-77 when double votes were awarded. He played six games for Richmond and had a year off before joining South Melbourne in 1975.

But when it’s all squared away Teasdale polled 15 votes in 22 games in 1978, and had 53 Swans votes at the end of that season after 74 Swans games. Given they won Rounds 17-18, when statistically at least he was among the better players, before losing Rounds 19-22 a ‘guesstimate’ says he got to 50 votes in 69 Swans games.

The other ‘contender’ is Greg Williams. He played 34 games with Geelong before joining Sydney in 1986 to play his first game in red and white aged 22, and posted 50 Swans votes in his 76^th game for the club.

So, to align the facts with the ‘guesstimates’, it’s Skilton at 58 games from the vastly more-experienced Franklin at 59 games, Teasdale at 69 games, Warner at 72, Williams at 78 and Gulden at 78.

Undeniably, it’s a statistic that puts the two young men, who were All-Australians in 2024 and finished second and third in the 2024 Bob Skilton Medal behind Isaac Heeney, in elite company.

After all, among 1453 Swans players all-time, even allowing for 358 players who began before the introduction of the Brownlow in 1924, only 28 players have polled 50 votes.

The all-time Swans vote count, adjusted to allow for double-votes in 1976-77, is Skilton (180), Adam Goodes (163), Luke Parker (152), Josh Kennedy (146), Ron Clegg (121), Herbie Matthews’ Jnr ( 117), Dan Hannebery (106), Lance Franklin (104), Paul Kelly (103), Barry Round (90), Jude Bolton (89), Peter Bedford (82.5), Brett Kirk (81), Ryan O’Keefe (77), Isaac Heeney (74), Jack Graham (73), Graham Teasdale (64), Barry Hall and Greg Williams (63), Daryn Cresswell and Kieren Jack (61), Dennis Carroll (58), Gulden (57), Jarrad McVeigh (55), Bill Gunn (53), Fred Goldsmith and Warner (52), and Jim Taylor (50).

So in a year in which a mountain of wonderful statistical achievements should not be lost in the disappointment of a grand final loss, Gulden and Warner are right up there.

Having played 93 and 85 games respectively they are among just 20 Swans players since 1965 to average better than 20 possessions a game. Gulden is at 22.7 and  Warner 22.1. They rank 11^th and 12^th on the average possession list, headed by Greg Williams (28.4) from Skilton (26.6), Gerard Healy (26.4) and Josh Kennedy (25.8).

And Gulden, four years into his AFL career, has already had as many wins in a season as any Swans player in history. And more than all but 23 others.

Like Nick Blakey, Ollie Florent, Brodie Grundy, Will Hayward, James Jordan, Jake Lloyd, Logan McDonald and Hayden McLean, Gulden enjoyed a 19-7 win/loss record in 2024. Joel Amartey went 19-6.

Only three times previously – in 2012, 2014, and 2016 – has the club won 19 games in a season.

In that period, Heath Grundy, Dan Hannebery, Kieren Jack, Josh Kennedy, Jarrad McVeigh, Luke Parker and Ted Richards had two 19-win seasons, and Craig Bird, George Hewett, Alex Johnson, Nick Malceski and Tom Mitchell one.

In other 2024 highlights player by player:

The Luke Parker Legacy
The former captain, who played his 293^rd and last game in Swans colours in the grand final, finished 5^th on the all-time games list at 293, behind only Adam Goodes (372), Jarrad McVeigh and Jude Bolton (325) and Michael O’Loughlin (303). He’s 6^th for games at the SCG with 121, behind Goodes (143), O’Loughlin (136), Bolton (128), Mark Bayes (125), Daryn Cresswell (123) and McVeigh (122).

He was 2^nd in all-time possessions, 2^nd in contested possessions, 4^th in uncontested possessions, 2^nd in Brownlow Medal votes, 2^nd in tackles, 2^nd in clearances, plus equal 3^rd for finals, equal 2^nd for finals wins and 4^th in finals possessions.

Forty-six times he had 30 possessions or more in a game, including a career-best 40 in 2017. Only Josh Kennedy (85), Barry Mitchell (61), Dan Hannebery (57) and Greg Williams (51) had more 30-plus games.

He ranked 21^st all-time in goals for the Swans, having kicked three or more goals 14 times (including five twice and four once), and finished his career with his 11^th bag of three in the grand final – all in the last quarter.

Parker played 293 of a possible 327 games from his debut in Round 8, 2011, when he was the starting substitute in a 62-point win against Port Adelaide at the SCG. It was John Longmire’s seventh game as coach when Parker got his first run replacing second-gamer Nathan Gordon to collect seven possessions in 16 per cent game time.

Of the 33 he missed, 11 were in 2011-12, five were in 2015 with an ankle injury, and 15 were at the start to 2024 due to injury and suspension.

Overall, he played every game in a season eight times, and missed one game twice.

Parker was a fixture in the top 10 in the Bob Skilton Medal from 2013-23, winning the coveted club championship three times in 2014, 2017 and 2021, and overall finishing 6th-1st-7^th-4^th-1^st-2^nd-3^rd-2^nd-1^st-4^th-4^th through his prime.

And his 293 games in jumper #26 is second only in AFL history to Tom Hawkins’ 359 games at Geelong.

Errol Gulden - had 705 possessions to become just the fourth Swans player behind Dan Hannebery, Josh Kennedy and Tom Mitchell to top 700 since the introduction of statistics in 1965. It’s also the seventh highest season aggregate by a Swans player behind Hannebery’s 802 in 2016, Kennedy’s 787 in 2016 and 731 in 2015, Tom Mitchell’s 725 in 2016, Hannebery’s 720 in 2016 and Kennedy’s 708 in 2012. Gulden with the equal sixth-highest in possessions in 2024 behind GWS’ Tom Green (770), Brisbane’s Lachie Neale (762), GWS’ Lachie Whitfield (754), Bulldog Adam Treloar (725) and Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko (711), and level with Collingwood’s Nick Daicos.

Chad Warner – his 587 possessions was a career-best and his third 500-plus season in a row. There have been only 94 seasons of 500-plus in club history since 1965, split between only 27 players. And only nine players have had more than three in a row – Josh Kennedy (10), Luke Parker (9), Jake Lloyd (8), Daryn Cresswell (7), Dan Hannebery (5), Kieren Jack (5), Barry Mitchell (5) and Ryan O’Keefe (4). And Warner has played only three 20-game seasons.

Isaac Heeney – Had a career-best 602 possessions and, with 35 goals, became just the second  Swans player to post a 600-possession/30-goal double. Barry Mitchell did it twice – 616 and 35 in 1988, and 689 and 30 in 1991. Heeney’s 28 Brownlow Medal votes was third most by a Swans player in a season, behind only Herbie Matthews’ 32 votes in 1940 in just 18 games, and Graham Teasdale’s 29.5 votes (adjusted) in 1977. Heeney also became the third player to play 200 games in the #5 Swans jumper, but at 201 is still well behind Ryan O’Keefe (281) and John Rantall (260).

Dane Rampe – his 251^st game in the grand final took him to equal 11^th on the club’s all-time games list, level with Mark Browning (251) and behind Kieren Jack and Heath Grundy (256), John Rantall (260),Josh Kennedy (277), Ryan O’Keefe (286), Luke Parker (293), Michael O’Loughlin (303), Jarrad McVeigh and Jude Bolton (325), and Adam Goodes (372). Having played in the grand final aged 34 years 118 days he is now 19^th on the oldest Swans players all-time behind Bill Fraser (37/53 in 1904), Arthur Hiskins (37/27 in 1923), Bill Windley (36/278 in 1905), Lance Franklin (36/180 in 2023), Tony Lockett (36/98 in 2002), Jack Bissett (36/32 in 1936), Bert Howson (35/349 in 1908), Rod Carter (35/286 in 1990), John Rantall (35/266 in 1979), Adam Goodes (35/254 in 2015), Barry Round (35/218 in 1985), Laurie Nash (35/150 in 1945), Harry Brereton (35/95 in 1922), Paul Roos (35/77 in 1998), Billy Billett (35/19 in 1923), Roy Cazaly (34/240 in 1927), Jarrad McVeigh (34/139 in 2019) and Peter Everitt (34/132 in 2008).

Rampe also became the 19^th Swans player to top 4000 possessions since the introduction of possession statistics in 1965.

Jake Lloyd – Had 19 possessions in the grand final for a total of 5982 and fifth place all-time behind Josh Kennedy (7137), Luke Parker (6798), Adam Goodes (3290) and Jarrad McVeigh (6264).

Lloyd, whose 249 games in #44 for the Swans obliterates the aggregate 99 games by the 11 other players who have worn it, has climbed to 7^th all-time for games in jumper #44. But he’s still 83 games behind the record of 332 shared by Corey Enright at Geelong and Justin Madden and Essendon.

Will Hayward – Had a career-high 316 possessions and a career-high 41 goals. He kicked his 200^th goal in his 163^rd game in the grand final to become the 27^th Swan to a double-century, the eighth-youngest at 25 years 338 days and the 19^th quickest. Youngest is Bob Pratt at 20 years 311 days, and Tony Lockett was quickest in 36 games.

Tom Papley – With 21 games, 312 possessions, 36 goals and eight Brownlow Medal votes, he climbed to 12^th on the Swans’ all-time goals list at 294, and confirmed his standing as one of the great ex-rookies in AFL history. Despite playing ‘only’ 185 games, and sitting behind 45 ex-rookies who have played 200 games, Papley ranks 7^th for most goals by an ex-rookie at 294, and is 18^th all-time for votes with 31.

Ollie Florent – Had a career-high  524 possessions, and with 24 possessions in the grand final became the 37^th Sydney player to top 3000.

Nick Blakey – the first-time All-Australian topped 500 possessions for the first time with 544 and, now with 2101 career possessions, 39 goals, seven finals, two grand finals and a 72-1-55 win/loss record at 128 games, has taken bragging rights over 359-game father and long-time Swans assistant-coach John. At the same point of his career, when John was 481 days older, he had 2069 possessions, 37 goals, three finals, no grand finals and a 51-77 win/loss record. He did have 10 Brownlow Medal votes to Nick’s nine.

Matt Roberts – having played one game in 2022 and six games in 2023 for a total of 43 possessions at 6.0 per game, played 23 games for 422 possessions at 18.3 per game. He had two 30-possessions games and polled three Brownlow Medal votes in his 27^th game.  

Joel Amartey – kicked a career-best 43 goals – more than double his previous best – to top the Swans goal-kicking for the first time from Will Hayward (41), Logan McDonald (37), Tom Papley (36), Chad Warner (35) and Isaac Heeney (34).

Hayden McLean – In his sixth season he had career-best numbers in games (26), possessions (286),  goals (27), tackles (59) and marks inside 50 (34).

Lewis Melican – Played 24 games in his eighth season – seven more than his previous of 17 in 2017 and 2019 and as many as he played from 2020-23 combined. And, having worn jumper #43 throughout his career, his 84-game total is now a record for the Swans, surpassing Mark Browning’s 77 games in #43.

Harry Cunningham – Having debuted in jumper #44 in 2012, he played his 207^th game in jumper #7 in the grand final after having equalled Dennis Carroll’s 1993 club record of 205 games in the qualifying final.

Cunningham played his 208^th career game in the grand final and is still without a Brownlow Medal vote. This is still (just) behind the long-time AFL record of ex-teammate Nick Smith (211) and Geelong’s Tom Lonergan, and ahead of two other 200-gamers – Hawthorn’s Ben Stratton (202) and Bulldogs/Collingwood defender Jordan Roughead (201). But, having played 15 finals, Cunningham’s home-and-away game count without a vote of 193 had gone past the 191 games of Smith and Lonergan, and pulled level with Roughead’s 193.

Cunningham, who now heads Smith (211), Paul Bevan (129), Mike Pyke (110) and Robbie Fox (105) on a list of five Swans beyond 100 games without a medal vote, would have been happy to see Taylor Duryea go past him on the overall leaderboard. The Hawthorn turned Western Bulldogs defender has now played 214 games overall and 197 home-and-away games without a vote.

James Rowbottom – Had a career-high 456 possessions and, having finished the 2023 season without a medal vote in 93 games, escaped the ‘no votes’ club when he polled three times in 2024 – 1-2-1 votes in his 103^rd game, his 107^th game and his 112^th game.

Sam Reid – His official exit after confirmation of his pending retirement in July means there are now no players at the Swans who have played for the club under a coach other than John Longmire. Having debuted in Round 22, 2010 in Paul Roos’ 200^th game at the helm, Reid goes out ranked #2 for Swans games played in jumper #20 at 181, behind Jim Cleary’s 222, and 32^nd on the all-time goal list.

The injury woes that stopped Reid playing in his beloved #20 at senior level in the last two years and eventually forced his retirement have made for a change in the jumper worn most in Swans games all-time. The #20 has slipped to third place at 1429 games, while Hayden McLean’s 26 games in #2 this year saw #2 go to the top of the list ahead of Isaac Heeney’s #5, which he wore 24 times in 2024.

So now #2, with a total 1464 games, heads the list from #5 at 1462 and #20 at 1429. Tom Papley’s #11 is fourth at 1418, with the famous #14, now worn by Callum Mills, at 138