The Swans are counting down the top 10 individual performances of 2019, as determined by the votes in the Bob Skilton Medal. Previously, in 10^th place, was the 43-vote haul of Isaac Heeney in Round 3 against Carlton, followed by two 44-vote performances by Dane Rampe against Essendon in Round 8 and Lance Franklin against West Coast in Round 12, in equal 8^th.

Today, there are five performances which each earned 45 votes sharing third spot on the list.

Three of them came in the same Round 9 game against North Melbourne in Hobart from Dane Rampe, George Hewett and Tom Papley. They were followed by Luke Parker in Round 14 against Hawthorn and Josh Kennedy in the Round 23 clash with St Kilda.

=3rd Dane Rampe, 45 votes – Round 9 v North Melbourne in Hobart
It had happened again in Round 9 … Dane Rampe was undervalued by pretty much everyone except those awarding votes in the Skilton Medal. In a brave and sometimes brutal five-point win over North Melbourne in Hobart the first-year co-captain had 18 disposals and 11 rebound 50s. It was a staunch performance in defence as the Swans hung on, despite conceding the last four goals. He was a match-saver, but didn’t rate even a mention in the best players on the AFL website and was ignored in the Brownlow Medal votes. He ranked only fifth in the coach’s votes, ignored completely by the North coach, but, he shared top billing with George Hewett and Tom Papley in the Bob Skilton Medal votes with a season-high 45 votes. In a season in which he would go on to win the club’s most prestigious individual award for the first time after four top 10 finishes in the previous five years, Rampe ranked in the Swans best five players 15 times in 21 games.

=3rd George Hewett, 45 votes – Round 9 v North Melbourne in Hobart.
Hewett has played 93 of a possible 95 games in four years in the AFL, including 83 games in row since Round 12, 2016, yet he ranks among the League’s most under-rated players. But not at the Swans where he has finished 5^th, 7^th and 2^nd in the Bob Skilton Medal in the past three years. And definitely not in Round 13. George Hewett polled a season-high 45 votes and picked up the maximum 10 votes from the coaches after a stellar performance in a big-hearted five-point win over North Melbourne at Bellerive Oval. In a side boasting 11 players with fewer than 50 AFL games, he performed like a veritable veteran, picking up 29 possessions – 20 contested – to go with nine clearances and five tackles. The Swans led by 27 points at three-quarter time after being nine down at the first change, but they were out on their feet in their final stanza. And somehow they found a way to hang on despite conceding the last four goals. It was the only game for the year that Hewett topped the Club Champion votes tally, sharing this honour with Dane Rampe and Tom Papley, but it came amid a six-game streak in which he ranked in the top four.

=3rd Tom Papley, 45 votes – Round 9 v North Melbourne in Hobart
In 66 games Tom Papley had never polled a vote in the Brownlow Medal and never topped the Swans best players. He topped the Bob Skilton Medal vote count for the first time in his 67^th game in Round 7, and did it again in Round 9. And, in the same game, finally, he picked up his first Brownlow vote. The dynamic small forward had 15 possessions and kicked four goals in a five-point win over North Melbourne in Hobart, where the Swans hung on desperately after conceding the last four goals. Papley polled 45 votes in the Bob Skilton Medal to share top billing with Dane Rampe and George Hewett. And although North’s Jack Ziebell was judged best afield by the umpires and Luke Parker polled two Brownlow votes, Papley picked up the one vote. It was the third time in his career the former rookie had kicked four goals in a game, and was a major building block of what went on to become a career-best 37 goal season.

=3rd Luke Parker, 45 votes – Round 14 v Hawthorn at the SCG.
Luke Parker entered the Bob Skilton Medal race in rare form, having finished 5^th, 1^st, 7^th, 4^th, 1^st and 2^nd in the six years from 2013-18, but he started a little slowly in 2019. He was an uncharacteristic 13^th after Round 7 before bursting back to top form in brilliant fashion Parker ranked in the Swans best five players five games in a row from Round 8, and then in Round 14 he produced a blinder against Hawthorn at the SCG. Coming off the bye, sitting 15^th on the ladder, the Swans led at every change to beat the Hawks by 19 points. Parker had a team-high 31 possessions – 12 contested – and a team-high 12 tackles, to go with seven clearances and a goal. He scored maximum votes from the coaches and the umpires. And, in the standout performance of a year in which he went on to finish third in the Bob Skilton Medal, he polled a season-high 45 votes. 

=3rd Josh Kennedy, 45 votes - Round 23 v St Kilda at the SCG.
It was Round 23 and a massive day for the Sydney Swans. Jarrad McVeigh, Kieren Jack, Heath Grundy and Nick Smith were being sent off into retirement, and Lance Franklin was playing his 300^th game. A revitalised St Kilda were in town desperate to finish the season on a high, but there was no way Josh Kennedy was going to let the visitors spoil the party. It was a moment when a player so hugely admired and respected by teammates demonstrated single-handedly what the Blood’s culture is all about. He produced a magnificent solo performance to ensure the party began even before the “big five” were carried off the SCG in celebration. After scores were level at halftime, the Swans won by 45 points. Kennedy had a team-high 32 possessions, including a team-high 15 contested, plus a team-high 11 clearances and nine tackles. And he kicked two goals. The 31-year-old warrior, in his 12^th season and his 246^th AFL game, earned maximum votes from the umpires and the coaches. He polled a season-high 45 votes in the Bob Skilton Medal to add a 10^th placing overall to his extraordinary run of nine consecutive top five placings. Was there ever any doubt he would deliver when it meant so much to his mates? Not a chance.