Pyke to announce retirement at B&F

[DA_Swan]

Good career and did more that I ever expected - as our coaches would say - he always gave a contest which is all we could ask given his background - personally considering all the hype around an ex NRL player playing NFL I think Mike's achievements will be far greater than his will ever be !!

[gossipcom]

Thanks for the memories Mike!

And Swans have put it up on their website.

Pyke's remarkable career ends - sydneyswans.com.au

[dimelb]

The fantastic MikePyke - will be seen as a fabled career. Best wishes for the future.

[gazza]

thank you pykey for your efforts, good luck for the future

[YvonneH]

Sounds as if Mike waited to see if we recruited a ruckman before making the announcement.
Good luck Mike in your future endeavours.
Will he stay in Australia (for the next 18 years) so we can draft Jorge? Just kidding.

[liz]

Sounds as if Mike waited to see if we recruited a ruckman before making the announcement.
Good luck Mike in your future endeavours.
Will he stay in Australia (for the next 18 years) so we can draft Jorge? Just kidding.

He's already indicated he plans to stay in Sydney.

[CJK]

All class from Mike. As usual.

Amazing to see someone live in sydney with a young family. Just amazing. How does he do it? Canada IS EVEN FURTHER THAN WA. Just amazing.

[Meg]

Just watched the video interview. What a classy farewell. I'm feeling very sad - my two favourite players, for very different reasons, have been numbers 37 and 38. And now they've both gone!

[Rod_]

Thanks Mike Pike, fabulous efforts.

[Swansinger]

I remember Mike looking at me at the 2012 GF parade as I called out "Oh no ! A Canadian ?!" He gave a polite half-smile in reply - good to hear that he did get our sense of humour , saying he appreciated the jokes.
Anyway , all the best , Pykey - you were immense in that GF , especially after Mummy went off.

[goswannies]

Mike Pyke ... premiership player, once the second best contested mark in the AFL, almost an All Australian, definitely all Canadian, greatest Canadian to have played AFL football (leads Canadians in every stat category), AND genuine contender for point of the century ...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VvuFyhZ0RWE

Thank you for an amazing career Mike

[Meg]

I just looked at the Pyke highlights video again. Heck he was good end 2012 and through 2013 before his injured knee cruelled him.

And such a humble man, in his interview he made no mention of his knee, simply said he got to the point where he thought he had no further improvement left in him. If it hadn't been for that troublesome knee I think we would have seen a lot more improvement.

I'm proud Mike Pyke was a Swan.

[DaveyCaper]

Certainly a sad day for me.

I am a Canadian who lives in another Sydney, a much smaller and much less famous one, who grew to love this sport. I picked the Swans as my team a long time ago mostly for the city name but partially because the jumpers look like Canadian flags.

Who would have thought I would eventually have a fellow Canadian to cheer for on the Swans!! It was something very exciting to see him eventually become a regular and valued performer.

But it was clear that he wasn't quite at the same level he had been in the past and I think the time is probably right. It won't make me any less of a fan of the Swans in "your" Sydney but I will certainly miss him and Adam Goodes as well, who was another favorite of mine. However, on the upside, Isaac Heeney looks like he could be a real favorite of mine going forward! Time marches on and you can't keep them forever!!

So maybe not a sad day but a day to celebrate a fellow Canadian's mark on a "foreign" sport that I have adopted as my own!

[jono2707]

Well said Davey ^

If you happen to know of any other 6'7"+ Canadians running around playing rugby who'd like to give another sport a go on the other side of the world, let us know. The first one we got was a great one!