| Bill Swan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Bill Swan | ||
| Date of birth | 1956 (age 66–67) | ||
| Original team(s) | Broadmeadows | ||
| Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1976–1988 | Port Melbourne | 219 | |
| 1989–1993 | Williamstown | 83 | |
| Total | 302 | ||
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1993. | |||
| Source: AustralianFootball.com | |||
Bill Swan (born 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer who was a star of the Victorian Football Association (VFA) during the 1980s over an eighteen-year senior career with the Port Melbourne and Williamstown Football Clubs.
Originally from Port Melbourne before moving to Broadmeadows at age 14, Swan was zoned from Broadmeadows to the Carlton Football Club in the Victorian Football League and played under-19s and reserves football there from 1973 until 1975, before walking out on the club. [1]
In 1976, he joined Port Melbourne in the VFA, and was part of the club's senior premiership team in his first season. Standing at only 173 cm tall, [2] Swan played a variety of roles, before he cemented a position as the centreman in the strong Port Melbourne team which won three consecutive premierships from 1980 until 1982. [3] He won the J. J. Liston Trophy as the best and fairest player in the VFA First Division in both 1982 and 1983; he originally finished second behind Preston's Geoff Austen for the 1982 award on countback, [4] but was later made a joint-winner of the award when the countback was retrospectively eliminated; [5] he won the 1983 award outright by a margin of three votes. [6] Altogether, in thirteen seasons with Port Melbourne, Swan played 219 games, won four premierships, two club best and fairest awards (1982 and 1986) and served as club captain from 1986 until 1988. [1] He was named as a wingman in the Port Melbourne Team of the Century (despite the fact that his entire Port Melbourne career was played during the VFA's 16-a-side era when there were no wingmen). [3]
In 1989, at age 32, Swan left Port Melbourne after he and the club were unable to come to terms for a new deal, in large part because the club believed that he was too old for the deal he was requesting. [7] As a result, he moved to the Williamstown Football Club, Port's bitter rivals. [1] He played at Williamstown for five years, winning club best and fairests in 1989 (jointly with Barry Round) and 1991, [8] and won one premiership – the fifth in his VFA career, in 1990. In the 1990 Grand Final against Springvale, Swan kicked the winning goal for Williamstown with fifty seconds remaining, to complete a famous come-from-behind victory by two points after Williamstown had trailed by 34 points early in the final quarter; Swan was not known for his long kicking, and most observers, including Swan, thought that the fifty metre set shot was well beyond his range. [9] In August 1993, Swan played his 301st VFA game, passing Fred Cook to become the all-time VFA games record holder; he played one more match before retiring at the end of the season. [10] He held the games record for almost thirty years, until passed by Ben Jolley in 2023. [11]
Like his father before him, Swan's primary career outside football was on the wharves in Port Melbourne, where he was a union delegate. Swan's son Dane is also a highly decorated Australian rules footballer, who played for Collingwood in the Australian Football League (AFL); Dane's achievements include an AFL premiership, a Brownlow Medal, a Leigh Matthews Trophy, [1] and, like his father, a premiership with Williamstown. [12]
The J. J. Liston Trophy is awarded annually to the best and fairest senior player in the Victorian Football League. It is named after J.J. Liston, a businessman, civic leader and sports administrator who was fundamental in advancing sport in Australia, particularly Australian Rules Football and Soccer.
Brunswick Football Club was an Australian rules football club which played in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) from 1897 until 1991. Based in Brunswick, Victoria, for most of their time in the Association they were known as the Magpies, and wore black and white guernseys. In its final two seasons in the VFA, it was known as Brunswick-Broadmeadows.
Vic Aanensen is a former Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Port Melbourne in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) during the 1970s and 1980s.
Wallace Francis Carter was an Australian rules footballer who played for and coached North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Sunshine Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, was an Australian rules football club which played in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) from 1959 until 1989. The club colours were navy blue and white.
Moorabbin Football Club was the name of two distinct Australian rules football clubs which played in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). The first club, founded in the early 20th century, joined the VFA in 1951 and played there until 1963 with great success; they played home matches at Moorabbin Oval and wore royal blue and white hooped jerseys. The second club played in the VFA from 1983 to 1987.
Derek King was an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the late 1960s.
The 1967 Victorian Football Association season was the 86th season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the seventh season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Dandenong Football Club, after it defeated Port Melbourne in a controversial Grand Final on 24 September by 25 points; it was Dandenong's first Division 1 premiership. The Division 2 premiership was won by Oakleigh, in its first season after relegation from Division 1.
The 1968 Victorian Football Association season was the 87th season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the eighth season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Preston Football Club, after it defeated Prahran in the Grand Final on 22 September by 14 points; it was Preston's first Division 1 premiership. The Division 2 premiership was won by Geelong West.
The 1969 Victorian Football Association season was the 88th season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the ninth season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won for the second consecutive year by the Preston Football Club, after it defeated Dandenong in the Grand Final on 21 September by 12 points; it was Preston's second Division 1 premiership. The Division 2 premiership was won by Williamstown, in its second season since being relegated from Division 1.
Kevin Sait is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
The 1976 Victorian Football Association season was the 95th season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 16th season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Port Melbourne Football Club, after it defeated Dandenong in the Grand Final on 19 September by 57 points; it was Port Melbourne's 11th Division 1 premiership, taking it past Williamstown to become the club with the most Division 1 premierships in VFA history, a title it still holds outright as of 2019; and, it was the second of six premierships won by the club in nine seasons between 1974 and 1982. The Division 2 premiership was won by Williamstown; it was its second Division 2 premiership, won in its first season in after relegation.
The 1982 Victorian Football Association season was the 101st season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 22nd season of second division competition. It was the first season of a restructured two-division competition, in which automatic promotion and relegation between the divisions was abandoned.
The 1983 Victorian Football Association season was the 102nd season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 23rd season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Preston Football Club, after it defeated Geelong West in the Grand Final on 18 September by seven points; it was Preston's third Division 1 premiership. The Division 2 premiership was won by Springvale; it was the club's first Association premiership, won in only its second season of competition.
The 1984 Victorian Football Association season was the 103rd season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 24th season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Preston Football Club, after it defeated Frankston in the Grand Final on 23 September by 54 points; it was Preston's fourth Division 1 premiership, and its second in a row. The Division 2 premiership was won by Box Hill; it was the club's first premiership in either division since joining the Association in 1951.
Mark Fotheringham is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Yarraville and Williamstown football clubs in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in the 1970s and 1980s.
The 1989 Victorian Football Association season was the 108th season of the Australian rules football competition. It was the first season since 1960 in which the Association operated as a single-division competition after having operated as a two-division competition with promotion and relegation between them for the previous 28 years. The premiership was won by the Coburg Football Club, after it defeated Williamstown in the grand final on 24 September by 20 points; it was Coburg's second premiership in a row, and its sixth and, as of 2019, last top division premiership overall.
The 1990 Victorian Football Association season was the 109th season of the Australian rules football competition. The premiership was won by the Williamstown Football Club, after it defeated Springvale in the grand final on 30 September by two points; it was Williamstown's twelfth top-division premiership.
The 2003 Victorian Football League season was the 122nd season of the Australian rules football competition.
Russ Hodges is a former Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL).