When David Swallow became the 2010 No.1 draft pick by AFL expansion team Gold Coast, the sky was the limit.
The teenaged Swallow would’ve pictured himself by 2020 as a senior player with multiple finals campaigns behind him, possibly even a grand final or two.
At the very least a Suns team stacked with the competition’s best young players would be a regular in the competition’s prized Thursday and Friday fixtures.
Reality however has told a different tale.
In a career featuring 145 AFL matches, and two seasons wrecked by injury, Swallow has not made a single finals appearance.
He hasn’t even had the chance to take to the field in a standalone Thursday or Friday night fixture.
Until now.
Because on Thursday, the Suns co-captain will lead his team out on an AFL main stage for the first time when they take on the Western Bulldogs at Metricon Stadium.
It’s a proud moment for a man who has stuck through the club through a difficult first 10 seasons.
“It certainly hasn’t probably panned out like you dream of as a 17-18-year-old to be perfectly honest but I quickly realised that the AFL is a really tough industry,” Swallow told AAP.
“I’ve had my own journey and struggles to sort of overcome and obviously the club as well and it has gone really quickly.
“Now to be almost 10 years in, I’m feeling really confident where the club’s heading and hopefully have led us to a point now where we were able to have some success now and start to enjoy the game a bit more and some wins.”
Swallow is one of just four foundation Suns left at the club and while defender Rory Thompson is still on the comeback trail from a serious knee injury, his old teammates Jarrod Harbrow and Sam Day will be part of Thursday’s occasion alongside him.
After so long at the bottom, a 4-3 start to 2020 has the Suns in seventh position and aiming to further enhance their chances of a maiden finals berth against a Bulldogs team similarly confident following a 42-point mauling of Essendon last weekend.
“Harbs talks about it a lot … about wanting to win especially coming to the later stage of his career,” Swallow said.
“We probably haven’t had the wins that we would have liked over the years.
“That’s where all our focus is, just wanting to win and get that feeling each week because you ask anyone in the industry that’s what it’s all about.”
