How did Chad Warner slide through to pick #39 in the 2019 AFL Draft? And how could he be the eighth West Australian drafted that year, and the fourth choice from his East Fremantle Colts side?
Six years on it’s one of those curious football questions that sits unanswered as the now 24-year-old Swans midfielder prepares for his 100th game for the Swans when they take on the Western Bulldogs at the SCG on Friday night.
Statistically, Warner ranks 9th for games among the Draft Class of 2019 , is 5th for possessions, 7th for goals and 4th for Brownlow Medal votes. He’s one of only two All-Australians, is 2nd for finals and is the only player to have played in two grand finals.
And, going into his 100th game with a 60-39 win/loss record, he’ll have better strike-rate than all but two of his 100-game predecessors.
But that’s only part of the story that is the Swans #1, who is the only ‘Chad’ to play for the South Melbourne/Sydney, and is on a journey to be ‘one of a kind’ on the field.
He’s excitement plus, so special is his explosive power, his fearless run and carry, and his like for the unexpected.
Last year Warner led the competition for running bounces with 80 in 25 games. Next best were Port’s Zac Butters, who had 61 in 26 games, and Geelong’s Max Holmes, with 60 in 25 games.
His running blitzkrieg included a career-high nine bounces in Round 11 against Carlton as he and teammate Isaac Heeney formed the most dynamic midfield double-act in the competition.
Through the first 11 games of last year Warner averaged 24.5 possessions (without a 30-possession game), 1.72 goals, 3.8 tackles and clearances, and 3.7 bounces. And he polled 19 Brownlow votes.
In the same period Heeney averaged 26.4 possessions (without a 30-possession game), 1.55 goals, 5.36 tackles, 6.45 clearances and 1.27 bounces. And he polled 21 votes to lead the medal count from Warner and eventual winner Patrick Cripps (19).
Warner already is in elite company. He went one Sydney game ahead of Tony Lockett with his 99th game last week, and will go one ahead of Roy Cazaly and Laurie Nash this week.
Certainly, he has come a long way since he was one of 14 West Australians drafted in 2019.
Chosen ahead of him were East Fremantle teammates Luke Jackson at #3, Jeremy Sharp at #27 and Trent Rivers at #32, and Claremont’s Liam Henry at #9, Subiaco’s Mitch Georgiades at #18, and Perth’s Deven Robertson and Elijah Taylor at #22 and #36.
Taylor was the third of four Sydney choices behind South Australians Dylan Stephens at #5 and Will Gould at #26 and ahead of Warner at #39.
Yet Warner is the sole SCG survivor of this quartet, with 72-gamer Stephens now at North Melbourne, while Taylor and Gould were both delisted.
Casting his mind back to 2019, long-time Swans recruiting boss Kinnear Beatson admitted the Warner of 2019 wasn’t the same as the Warner of today.
Even his testing results at the Draft Combine were nothing mid-range. His agility and his 6min29sec 2km time were good, but he didn’t do the jumping tests and his 20m sprint time of 3.08sec was outside the mark generally considered to be quick.
“He was like a lot of young guys who turn out to be very good AFL players …. his Under-18 championships weren’t exactly special. We saw glimpses of it, but we certainly didn’t see his breakaway speed,” Beatson recounted.
“What we did like was his appetite for the contest, and his ability to crack in and win a crucial contest, or least halve it. We knew then he liked to compete, and was up for the fight.
“What I remember vividly was when we showed him some footage and asked what he was thinking at the time he was fantastic. He could explain his thought processes and you knew he was really into his footy.”
“Why did he (Warner) go at #39? It’s the same question as why did Simon Black go at #32? It’s just how things work out sometimes. But Chad has thrived on the professionalism of an AFL environment, and the hard work the coaching staff have put into him.”
The top 10 in the 2019 draft were:
- Matt Rowell (GC)
- Noah Anderson (GC)
- Luke Jackson (Melb)
- Lachie Ash (GWS)
- Dylan Stephens (Syd)
- Fischer McAsey (Adel)
- Hayden Young (Frem)
- Caleb Serong (Frem)
- Liam Henry (Frem)
- Tom Green (GWS)
How would it fall if the same players from the 2019 draft were re-drafted now?
Western Bulldogs champion Brad Johnson did the exercise 12 months ago and went #1 Green from #2 Serong, #3 Anderson, #4 Jackson and #5 Warner, ahead of #6 Kysaiah Pickett (originally pick #12), #7 Keidean Coleman (originally #37), #8 Rowell, #9 Sam deKoning (originally #19) and #10 Cody Weightman (originally #15).
By the time this group have finished their AFL career it will most likely be different again. And it will surprise nobody if a career which started at Willetton, 12km south of Perth, isn’t near the very top.
What won’t change is Warner’s place in Swans history. He will be the 145th of 1457 Swans all-time to play 100 games for the club, and the 13th among the current playing group.
He’ll be the Swans’ first 100-gamer from the East Fremantle Sharks, who wear blue and white and have a club song that is an adaptation of the Swans song. And the third AFL 100-gamer from East Fremantle who played with the Swans.
The others were Scott Watters, a 37-games with Sydney in 1993-94 after 46 games at West Coast and before 26 games at Fremantle, and before coaching St Kilda in 2012-13, and Darren Gaspar, who played 21 games with Sydney in 1994-95 before 207 games at Richmond.
But where does Warner fit statistically in the Swans 100-Game Club?
Oldest & Youngest
Warner, who will be 39 days beyond his 24th birthday on Friday, will be younger than all but 26 of the Swans’ 100-gamers. Mark Bayes, 22 years 170 days old when he hit the ton in the last game of 1989, is the youngest from Michael O’Loughlin (22/190), Dan Hannebery (22/202), Jason Saddington (22/228), Luke Parker (22/287), Bob Pratt (22/309), Tony Morwood (22/322), Isaac Heeney (23/97), Anthony Daniher (23/117) and Tom McCartin (23/120).
The Swans’ oldest 100-gamer was Bill Windley, a South Melbourne VFA premiership player in 1988-90 and a member of the club’s first VFL side in 1897. He was 34 years 296 days old at 100 games in 1903.
Next oldest have been Rhyce Shaw (32/150 in 2014), Paul Williams (32/146 in 2005), Joe Prince (31/329 in 1917), Lance Franklin (31/149 in 2018), Robbie Fox (31/103 in 2024), Mike Pyke (31/74 in 2015), Harry Lampe (31/8 in 1905), Bert Howson (31/4 in 1903) and Bob Deas (30/265 in 1917).
Most Possessions
Warner, with 2192 career possessions from 99 games, will be no worse than eighth on the 100-game possession count for players since the introduction of possession counts in 1965. And if he picks up 29 or more against the Dogs he’ll jump Jake Lloyd into seventh.
Greg Williams heads the Swans’ 100-game possession count at 2864 from Josh Kennedy (2446), Norm Goss (2378), Barry Mitchell (2287), Peter Bedford (2258), Dan Hannebery (2205), Lloyd (2200), Daryn Cresswell (2117), Luke Parker (2095) and Ricky Quade (1947).
Bob Skilton only played 98 games in which possession counts were kept, but his 2609 possessions would sit second behind only Brownlow Medallist Williams.
Most Goals
This is a real mix of the old and the new, with Warner 35th on the goal list with his current tally of 92, and within striking distance of Gary Rohan (94), Ron Clegg (95) and Stevie Wright (98).
At the top of the list is the club’s all-time leading goal-kicker and 1933 premiership player Bob Pratt, who had 458 goals after 100 games on his way to a 158-game total of 681.
After him are Ted Johnson (321), Lance Franklin (315), Barry Hall (307), Len Mortimer (204), Tony Morwood (190), Austin Robertson (184), Bob Skilton (182), Peter Bedford (172) and Brian McGowan (152). Tom Papley is 11th at 147.
Only four players reached 100 games for the club without a goal – 1933 premiership player Hec McKay, who finished with one goal from 152 games, 1918 premiership player Arthur Rademacher, who played 101 games without a goal, 1907 grand final team member Bill Dolphin, who played an even 100 without a goal, and Rod Carter who, after 76 goalless games at Fitzroy, played 217 games for the Swans through the 1980s for one goal. It came in his 139th game in red and white.
Most Finals
Gary Rohan, a 2014-16 Swans grand final team member, played a club-high 15 finals in his first 100 games from 2010-18 before a switch to Geelong in 2019.
Dane Rampe and Lewis Roberts-Thomson (12) are next, one final ahead of 1909 premiership player Bob Deas and 1933 premiership player Bill Faul, and five players from the Sydney era - Luke Parker, Mike Pyke, Luke Ablett, Jake Lloyd and Craig Bolton. Warner has played eight finals.
Most Wins
John Austin, a Swans premiership player in 1933 and a member of losing grand final sides in 1934-36, is the ‘winningest’ 100-gamer in Swans history. He had a 73/27 win/loss record.
Lance Franklin (72-28) and Jake Lloyd (71-29) are next from Sam Reid (69-2-29), 1918 premiership captain Jim Caldwell and 1912-14 grand final team member Joe Prince (68-3-29), 1909 premiership player Arthur Hiskins and Dane Rampe (69-1-30), 1918 premiership player Mark Tandy (69-31), and Bob Pratt and Harry Cunningham (68-32).
Sadly, one of the club’s greatest warriors, Brownlow Medallist Paul Kelly, has the lowest win ratio at 100 games at 18-2-80. Then comes Dale Lewis (21-2-77), Norm Goss (23-1-76), Reg Gleeson (26-1-73), Ricky Quade (27-1-72), Brian Woodman and Steve Hoffman (28-1-71), John Heriot (29-71), Paul Harrison (29-1-70) and Peter Bedford (31-1-68).
Most Brownlow Medal Votes
If the Lance Franklin 10-year deal needs any further vindication this is it … he polled more Brownlow Medal votes in his first 100 Swans games than anyone else.
‘Bud’ polled 79 votes to edge out triple Brownlow Medallist Bob Skilton, who is credited with 75.25 votes using votes-per-game numbers when full game-by-game votes are not available,
Warner, with 52 votes from 85 games to the end of last year, sits eighth on the current list, and while the Franklin and Skilton tallies are out of reach, he could climb as high as third.
Ahead of him are Greg Williams (62), Graham Teasdale (60), Jack Graham (58.71), Ron Clegg (58.53) and Herbie Matthews (53.25). Barry Hall, Peter Bedford, Bill Gunn and Fred Goldsmith had 51 votes at 100 games.
Note: The 100-game figures include finals in which medal votes are not counted.
