Greatest ever Swan?

[bloodspirit]

Stuey's legacy isn't just historical either. He continues to work at the Swans to this day. I see him occasionally and I glimpsed him in the background of one of the videos on the Swans site recently. I believe his role is as 'opposition analyst' - at least it was when I spoke to him down at Tramway oval a couple of years ago - but I suspect he can help reinforce the Bloods culture while he's there. So great to keep these guys in the fold.

[Chilcott]

Arthur Chilcott......seriously Bob Skilton would be the greatest but never saw him play. The greatest in my lifetime was Plugger, followed by Paul Kelly, Paul Kelly would be my favourite player. Hard at it and one of our greatest ever captains.

[Blood Fever]

Arthur Chilcott......seriously Bob Skilton would be the greatest but never saw him play. The greatest in my lifetime was Plugger, followed by Paul Kelly, Paul Kelly would be my favourite player. Hard at it and one of our greatest ever captains.

Arthur one of the first Sydney/NSW products?

[Chilcott]

The first from the Illawarra region. Left swans to play rugby for Balmain Tigers:

[Blood Fever]

The first from the Illawarra region. Left swans to play rugby for Balmain Tigers:

Remember him as being solidly built

[MattW]

I saw Skilton at his peak throughout the mid-60s. His consistency against overwhelming odds, over a long period of time, was really extraordinary. Throughout his career, the team was good enough to make the finals just once - and that was late in his career - but he was always, week in and week out, among our best players, and more often than not, the best of the lot. He had huge courage, grit and determination, but his skill level and range of capabilities far surpassed that of Goodes, Kelly and even Bedford. It is this combination of skill and consistency that makes him the standout. Both Pratt and Nash were incredible talents, but they did not have his durability. Add to that his loyalty and humility, and you have the complete package.

Just a couple of minor corrections to posts above: Skilts was never an amateur as such, he was always paid for playing. Just not very much. And he coached us during, not after, his playing career - in 1965 and 1966. His post-career coaching was at Melbourne.

Thanks for the recollections, mate.

[Captain]

Tony Lockett

[Plugger46]

In my time, Lockett clearly.

[stevoswan]

Lockett? Peter Caven might disagree.....besides, Plugger misses, with the brief being 'greatest ever'......which, like the Brownlow, would include the 'fairest' bit.

[Bloods05]

Lockett? Peter Caven might disagree.....besides, Plugger misses, with the brief being 'greatest ever'......which, like the Brownlow, would include the 'fairest' bit.

Except he actually did win one.

[liz]

Did Lockett ever get suspended while playing for the Swans? I remember him being reported for assisting a Bomber over the fence - sometime in 1996 maybe. But that charge wasn't sustained against him. I don't remember any other tribunal woes he had in his Sydney days.

[bloodspirit]

In my view Lockett is definitely in the conversation about who are the greatest players to have played for the Swans, and he is also one of the greatest players ever in AFL/VFL history. But, as per my intro, I don't think he is the greatest Swan because he played most of his career and scored most of his goals for the Saints and played less than 100 games for us. Diesel Williams is in a similar situation in being a great player (perhaps not quite so great as Plugger) but with most of his career played elsewhere so not one of the greatest Swans.

[Melbourne_Blood]

Paul Kelly is seriously hard done by in this thread. Club captain ( courageous) , Brownlow medallist , multiple AA and B&F winner , seriously tough and a serious player ( brave ,skilful ,hard , quick ). Went at nearly a goal a game too. Bit stiff PK, not much love on RWO for his outstanding contributions.



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[graemed]

I grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Jacana and didn't really have any affiliation to the Swans until I started attending their matches in 1982. They had just moved to Sydney and the experiment to nationalise AFL had begun.

I had been playing footy in the SFL but had just retired after knee and ankle surgeries that did not help extend my career. Over the next few years, I began to admire this team that was battling all types of difficulty; poor publicity, poor conditions, no training facilities, public apathy, lack of support from the AFL, being poor and acrimony from their supporter base in Melbourne after deserting their beloved Lake oval.

Over the next few years, I really starting falling for them as a footy team. The whimsical genius of Warwick Capper, the football genius of Greg Williams, the grace of Mark Bayes, the kicking prowess of Mark Browning, et al.

But for the most part I was still going out of loyalty to the code rather than as a die hard supporter of the Swans. This changed after watching lose 23 games in a row. They had a captain that was extraordinary and a team that was staring to shine, but it was their captain that changed my mind. Paul Kelly was the catalyst that altered my behavior and my attitude. I became fully invested in this team and this club.

His courage was thoughtless, I still remember a quote from Dennis Cometti: "...he plays as if he is using somebody else's body...". One incident alone encapsulated his desire, his skill and his leadership. We were playing Essendon at home in a crucial match. We needed to get into the game and there was a contested ball on the Bill O'Reilly wing. Kelly was matched against Allessio and both had a head of steam up, the contested mark led to ground ball and Allessio tried to push both Kelly and the ball out of play, Kelly pushed back and brushed past his bigger opponent, kept the ball in play and set a game changing goal.

I loved Lockett, he was fantastic for the sport in Sydney. I marvel at the deeds of Skilton and did see him live in a number of matches. I met Laurie Nash at the Victoria Markets and was introduced to him by my father who knew well enough to address him as "the greatest player of all time, just ask him". Yet to me the player that inspired me to be a Swan and love this club was definitely Paul Kelly. Does this make the greatest player?

I cannot answer that beyond the fact that I came to watch him play.

[Bloods05]

I grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Jacana and didn't really have any affiliation to the Swans until I started attending their matches in 1982. They had just moved to Sydney and the experiment to nationalise AFL had begun.

I had been playing footy in the SFL but had just retired after knee and ankle surgeries that did not help extend my career. Over the next few years, I began to admire this team that was battling all types of difficulty; poor publicity, poor conditions, no training facilities, public apathy, lack of support from the AFL, being poor and acrimony from their supporter base in Melbourne after deserting their beloved Lake oval.

Over the next few years, I really starting falling for them as a footy team. The whimsical genius of Warwick Capper, the football genius of Greg Williams, the grace of Mark Bayes, the kicking prowess of Mark Browning, et al.

But for the most part I was still going out of loyalty to the code rather than as a die hard supporter of the Swans. This changed after watching lose 23 games in a row. They had a captain that was extraordinary and a team that was staring to shine, but it was their captain that changed my mind. Paul Kelly was the catalyst that altered my behavior and my attitude. I became fully invested in this team and this club.

His courage was thoughtless, I still remember a quote from Dennis Cometti: "...he plays as if he is using somebody else's body...". One incident alone encapsulated his desire, his skill and his leadership. We were playing Essendon at home in a crucial match. We needed to get into the game and there was a contested ball on the Bill O'Reilly wing. Kelly was matched against Allessio and both had a head of steam up, the contested mark led to ground ball and Allessio tried to push both Kelly and the ball out of play, Kelly pushed back and brushed past his bigger opponent, kept the ball in play and set a game changing goal.

I loved Lockett, he was fantastic for the sport in Sydney. I marvel at the deeds of Skilton and did see him live in a number of matches. I met Laurie Nash at the Victoria Markets and was introduced to him by my father who knew well enough to address him as "the greatest player of all time, just ask him". Yet to me the player that inspired me to be a Swan and love this club was definitely Paul Kelly. Does this make the greatest player?

I cannot answer that beyond the fact that I came to watch him play.

Great post Graeme.