Today we reveal the Swans’ best individual performances of 2019. And there are two of them which each earned the maximum 50 votes from the coaching panel. The perfect game.

They top the list from Isaac Heeney’s 43-vote game against Carlton in Round 3, followed by the 44-vote games of Dane Rampe against Essendon in Round 8 and Lance Franklin against West Coast in Round 12 in equal 8^th and five performances that shared third position with 45 votes: Dane Rampe, George Hewett and Tom Papley against North Melbourne in Round 9, Luke Parker against Hawthorn in Round 14, and Josh Kennedy against St Kilda in Round 23.

The first maximum score of 2019 came in Round 10 – in a losing side.

=1^st Sam Reid, 50 votes – Round 10 v Collingwood at SCG

After playing just one game in 2018 Sam Reid bounced back to play every game in 2019. And in Round 10 he produced not only his best effort of the year but the equal best effort by a Swans player across the entire season. It was a Friday night at the SCG when the 14^th-placed Swans hosted 2^nd-placed Collingwood. The Swans had won two in a row after a 1-6 start and the Pies, after starting 1-2, had won six in a row. It was a fluctuating affair. Sydney kicked the first three goals and led by nine points at quarter-time, but Collingwood kicked the next four and five of the next seven to lead by the same margin at halftime. The Swans came again, kicking five of six goals in the third term to lead by eight points at the final change. Collingwood kicked the first three of the final term to get out by 10 points before Nick Blakey cut it to two points. As it turned out, there were 12 minutes to play. It was end to end stuff. Neither side would give an inch until, with less than two minutes to play, Chris Mayne kicked what turned out to be the clincher for the Pies. Collingwood had been the better side but one player kept Sydney in it. Reid. He kicked six of his side’s 11 goals – an equal career-best and for the third time in 131 games. He had 15 possessions, including 11 contested – his third best all-time – to go with six contested marks and five marks inside 50 – both one short of his best. It was good enough for the maximum 10 votes from the coaches, and two votes in the Brownlow behind Collingwood’s Brodie Grundy. And, in recognition of a truly outstanding individual performance in a losing side, he received a massive 50 votes in the Skilton Medal.

The second perfect game came two weeks later.

=1^st Tom Papley, 50 votes – Round 12 v West Coast at SCG.

In Round 12 against West Coast at the SCG, when the Sydney Swans beat the reigning premiers by 45 points, the collective team polled 547 votes in the Skilton Medal. It was a season high – easily – a whopping 67% above the average. Heading the list, with the equal best tally of the year alongside Sam Reid’s 50-vote haul in Round 10 against Collingwood, was Tom Papley. In his 72^nd game he re-wrote his own career-best file, picking up an all-time high 27 disposals and five goals. Plus two goal assists. He even upstaged Buddy Franklin, who also kicked five goals in what was a win to behold. The Swans had lost Jarrad McVeigh, Jackson Thurlow and Colin O’Riordan by halftime, and played the entire second half with only one man on the bench.  Papley earned the maximum 10 votes from the coaches and three Brownlow votes from the umpires, and was rated the Swans best for the third time in six weeks. It was rated “one of the better wins” by coach John Longmire, and was certainly one of the better performances by Papley, who went on to finish fourth in the 2019 Bob Skilton Medal after his previous best finish had been seventh in 2017.

The 22 scores of 40 votes or more were:

50

Sam Reid – R10 v Collingwood (SCG)
Tom Papley – R12 v West Coast (SCG)

45

George Hewett, Tom Papley, Dane Rampe – R9 v North Melb (Hobart)
Luke Parker – R14 v Hawthorn (SCG)
Josh Kennedy – R23 v St Kilda (SCG)

44

Dane Rampe – R8 v Essendon (SCG)
Lance Franklin – R12 v West Coast (SCG)

43

Isaac Heeney – R3 v Carlton (Marvel Stadium)

42

Tom Papley – R7 v Brisbane (Gabba)
Jake Lloyd – R12 v West Coast (SCG)

41

George Hewett, Luke Parker – R8 v Essendon (SCG)
Jordan Dawson – R15 v Gold Coast (SCG)

40

Josh Kennedy – R2 v Adelaide (SCG)
Aliir Aliir – R10 v Collingwood (SCG)
George Hewett – R12 v West Coast (SCG)
Luke Parker – R15 v Gold Coast (SCG)
Isaac Heeney – R20 v GWS Giants (Giants Stadium)
Jordan Dawson, Tom Papley – R23 v St Kilda (SCG)

Total 40-Point Scores
4 – Tom Papley
3 – George Hewett, Luke Parker
2 – Jordan Dawson, Isaac Heeney, Josh Kennedy, Dane Rampe
1 – Aliir Aliir, Lance Franklin, Jake Lloyd, Sam Reid

Dane Rampe, first-time winner of the Bob Skilton Medal, played 21 games and ranked in the Swans best five players 19 times (including ties). He was rated best four times, second-best three times, third-best once, fourth-best three times and fifth-best four times.

Tom Papley, Isaac Heeney, Jordan Dawson, Ollie Florent and Josh Kennedy each were rated the Swans best player three times.

Papley had 12 top five ratings, followed by Heeney (9) and Luke Parker (9), Aliir Aliir and Callum Mills (8), George Hewett (7), Dawson (6), Florent (6) and Kennedy (6).

Best Team Totals
547 – R12 v West Coast (SCG)
478 – R9 v North Melb (Hobart)
471 – R14 v Hawthorn (SCG)
470 – R15 v Gold Coast (SCG)
442 – R8 v Essendon (SCG)
435 – R23 v St Kilda (SCG)

Lowest Team Totals
111 – R17 v Carlton (SCG)
142 – R1 v Western Bulldogs (Marvel Stadium)

Most Players Polled
21 – R15 v Gold Coast (SCG)
20 – R8 v Essendon (SCG)
20 – R9 v North Melbourne (Hobart)
20 – R22 v Melbourne (MCG)

Least Players Polled
6 – R17 v Carlton (SCG)
10 – R10 v Collingwood (SCG)