Michael O’Loughlin, Ryan O’Keefe, Kieren Jack and Dennis Carroll might shake their head a little and ask themselves: “What’s going on?” Likewise, Daryn Cresswell, Barry Mitchell, Nick Malceski, Tadhg Kennelly and Andrew Dunkley.
But in a week in which every AFL match will be played in NSW and Queensland and not even one of 18 teams in the League is playing at home, what more can you expect?
It is just how it is these days.
In yet another example of how times have changed, teenagers Chad Warner and Dylan Stephens will debut for the Swans against Richmond at the Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday wearing #1 and #3.
Warner will inherit the #1 guernsey worn most recently by James Rose in 14 games from 2015-18 and worn most often for the club by 162-game premiership hero Barry Hall.
Stephens will slot into the #3 guernsey vacated last year by #3 games record-holder Jarrad McVeigh after he wore it through his entire career of 325 games from 2004-19.
While Rose and McVeigh started and finished in their allocated guernseys, they are the exception rather than the norm with the lower numbers.
Indeed, of the Swans games record-holders for guernseys #1-20 only six began their career in the same red and white jumper they finished in.
The aforementioned nine players are all Swans record-holders for most games in their identifying guernsey number. For O’Loughlin it is #19, O’Keefe #5, Jack #15 and Carroll #7. Cresswell is best known for his exploits in #8, Mitchell in #10, Malceski in #9, Kennelly in #17 and Dunkley in #6.
Yet these players are among the 14 guernsey record-holders from 1-20 who did not finish in the guernsey they started.
Cresswell began in the lowest number of this group , who together played a combined 2223 games for the Swans. He started in #28. O’Loughlin started in #38, O’Keefe in #39, Carroll, Dunkley and Malceski in #40, Kennelly in #41, Jack in #48 and Mitchell in #49.
Five of the Swans guernsey record-holders from 1-20 began their career elsewhere. They were Hall (#1), Rhyce Shaw (#2), Stuart Maxfield (#11), Josh Kennedy (#12) and Rod Carter (#13).
The six who wore only one number were McVeigh, Dan Hannebery (#4), Bob Skilton (#14), Ricky Quade (#16), Paul Harrison (#18) and Jim Cleary (#20).
The shared AFL debut of Stephens and Warner against Richmond in Brisbane on Sunday will be just the third shared debut of coach John Longmire’s 10 years at Sydney’s helm.
In 2016, Longmire debuted Tom Papley, Callum Mills and George Hewett together in Round 1 and in 2017 Will Hayward, Robbie Fox and Nic Newman enjoyed their introduction to League football together in Round 2.
Stephens, the Swans’ first pick in the 2019 AFL National Draft at #5 overall, will share another line in the club history books with McVeigh.
The classy midfielder from SANFL club Norwood will be the lowest draft pick to play for the Swans since McVeigh, who was pick #5 in 2002.
Stephens, so highly rated by Swans recruiting chief Kinnear Beatson that he cleverly kept his interest in him a closely guarded secret, was drafted after the Gold Coast took Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson with the first two picks, Melbourne took Luke Jackson at #3 and GWS claimed Lachlan Ash.
Stephens will extend the Swans connection with Norwood, which also has delivered Heath Grundy, Jared Crouch, Swans games record-holder in guernsey #28, Nic Fosdike, Adam Heuskes, Robert Neil, Scott Direen, Ben Wilson, Simon Phillips, Jim West, Matthew AhMat and Nathan Irvin to the SCG.
Other Norwood players who represented South Melbourne include 1953-57 club champion Jim Taylor, SA football legend Jack Oatey, who played five games with the club in 1944, Gordon Sawley, Bob Kingston and Reg Harley – while CEO Tom Harley also ran out in the red and blue early in his career.
Born in Victoria but raised in Mildura, where his family still lives, Stephens is a product of St Peter’s College in Adelaide which counts among its alumni new teammate Will Hayward, Tom Harley and AFL CEO Gill McLachlan.
Similarly, Warner, the club’s fourth pick in the 2019 AFL Draft at #19 after Stephens, Will Gould (#26) and Elijah Taylor (#36), will extend a Swans connection to WAFL club East Fremantle headed now by Aliir Aliir. He was drafted from there after moving from Brisbane where he was introduced to football.
Brad Tunbridge, Swans games record-holder in #48, Matt Spangher and Gerard Neesham are other East Fremantle products who played in Sydney.
South Melbourne’s connection to East Fremantle is headed by Harvey Kelly, who played 82 games with the club in three stints (1902, 1905-06 and 1913-14), was coach in 1919 and played in the 1914 grand final, and Jack Scobie, a 75-gamer who was a premiership player in 1909 and a grand final player in 1912.
AFL Hall of Famer Jack Sheedy is an East Fremantle product who played six games with South in 1944, while Eric Sarich played 62 games from 1965-68 and in 1971.
Brian ‘Whale’ Roberts, better known as a Richmond player, also has a place in South Melbourne history, having been part of the trade which sent him, Francis Jackson and Graham Teasdale to the Swans for John Pitura.
Swans games record-holders in guernsey numbers 21-50 are: 21. Leo Barry, 22. Jason Saddington, 23. Ron Clegg, 24. Jude Bolton, 25. Ted Richards, 26. Stevie Wright, 27. Reg Gleeson, 28. Jared Crouch, 29. David McLeish, 30. Mark Bayes, 31. Brett Kirk, 32. Lewis Jetta, 33. Greg Lambert, 34. Troy Luff, 35. David Murphy, 36. Ken McCormack, 37. Adam Goodes, 38. Mike Pyke, 39. Heath Grundy, 40. Nick Smith, 41. Shane Mumford, 42. Paul Bevan, 43. Mark Browning, 44. Jake Lloyd, 45. Warren McKenzie, 46. Nigel Kellett, 47. Leon Higgins, 48. Brad Tunbridge, 49. Terry McGhie, 50. Gary Frangalas.
